8 Best Low-Budget/High-Concept Sci-Fi Movies That Will Blow Your Mind, Ranked by IMDb
Here are the flicks that don't require big budgets to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Science fiction is a genre that can surprise even with a modest budget. Brilliant ideas, unconventional plots, and strikingly beautiful locations can transform a low-budget movie into a memorable masterpiece.
8. 'Beyond the Black Rainbow', 2010
IMDb Score: 5.9/10
Every day, a therapist named Barry comes to examine the imprisoned Elena in a secret laboratory. He tries to understand the nature of her strange psychic abilities and forces the woman to take part in experiments once again.
Barry believes he is the chosen one and that Elena's abilities are the key to proving it. The woman feels like she has spent her whole life in captivity and is preparing to escape.
Panos Cosmatos, the creator of Mandy, made his directorial debut with an equally strange, frightening, and hypnotic horror film inspired by the works of David Cronenberg, Stanley Kubrick, and David Lynch.
7. 'Marjorie Prime', 2017
IMDb Score: 6.3/10
In the near future, an ordinary family tries to cope with their 85-year-old mother's Alzheimer's disease. To do so, they decide to use the services of a company that creates holograms of deceased people.
The woman chooses a younger version of her deceased husband. The children don't trust the hologram, but Marjorie spends all her free time with it. She teaches it to be a real person, tells it what her husband was like, and even reveals family secrets.
Michael Almereyda's movie could have been one of the best episodes of Black Mirror. At the same time, it is the complete opposite of the series – a touching reflection on mortality and fading memory.
6. 'Prospect', 2018
IMDb Score: 6.3/10
In the distant future, a father and daughter wander through the galaxy. Their goal is a distant, forest-covered planet where precious stones grow. However, they are being hunted by smugglers who aren't willing to share their loot.
Thus, the father and daughter's small trip for stones turns into a brutal battle for survival.
Prospect is a rare space Western in which budgetary restrictions helped create a modest yet impressive story about a forced partnership and parental love.
5. 'Upstream Color', 2013
IMDb Score: 6.5/10
Shane Carruth doesn't make movies often, but his two films, Primer and Upstream Color, are the true hidden gems.
A drug dealer grows strange worms that paralyze will when they enter a person's body. One of the victims is Kris. She transfers all her property to the mysterious Thief and gives him all her money. Kris can't go to the police and doesn't know what to do next.
A year later, she meets a man to whom she feels a strange attraction. She learns that he was also a victim of the mysterious scam.
4. 'Primer', 2004
IMDb Score: 6.7/10
The main characters are two scientists who accidentally invent a time machine. Rather than sending the user millions of years back or forward, it makes time go backwards for a short time.
With the help of their discovery, the scientists begin to make money on the stock exchange, but their endless copies start causing chaos in their lives.
The plot of Primer is not easy to understand the first time, but that's the point. Stock up on pens and paper because the movie, which was shot on a shoestring budget, will confuse you in a way that no other film has.
3. 'Safety Not Guaranteed', 2012
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
Three journalists from a small-town newspaper are assigned to write a story about a man who posted a strange ad. He is looking for a companion for time travel but warns that he cannot guarantee his partner's safety because he has only traveled once before.
Colin Trevorrow's directorial debut keeps viewers guessing whether it is a strange indie comedy or science fiction film. Only closer to the finale will viewers receive all the answers and understand why it is one of the most unique time travel movies.
2. 'Another Earth', 2011
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
One day, an Earth twin appears in the sky. That same evening, Rhoda, an astronomy student, becomes the culprit of a catastrophe in which nearly an entire young family perishes. Only the father, John, survives.
Driven by guilt, Rhoda tries to contact John to ask for forgiveness but keeps putting it off.
Ultimately, she has the opportunity to visit the mysterious Earth 2 and try to figure out how her life could have turned out and whether it is possible to change the past.
1. 'Coherence', 2013
IMDb Score: 7.2/10
James Ward Byrkit's Coherence is one of those low-budget movies that rivals big commercial blockbusters. While it may not have impressive special effects, Coherence has something better: a genuinely interesting – and scientifically sound – idea about traveling to parallel realities.
The film's plot centers on a group of friends who find themselves under the influence of Miller's Comet when it unexpectedly comes close to Earth.
Byrkit chose not to shoot the film based on a strictly scripted script – instead, he let his actors improvise. This made the movie more realistic and frightening.
