Sometimes, you just want your mind to be taken to a place it has never been before. The most obvious genre to do this is science fiction. The premises are generally rooted in scientific fact, helping them seem more plausible. But the fiction side is where audiences and directors can have some fun.
You can be whisked off to a different planet or plunged below the sea and all of it will fall under the sci-fi genre. Sci-fi movies and shows have a certain feel to them; like something is off, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Prime Video has become a bona fide destination for some of the best sci-fi movies and TV series available on streaming. Here are some of the more recent best options to watch.
Watch the Skies
A Swedish film that might not be about alien abduction after all
A young girl’s father goes missing. With his having been the leader of a “UFO cult”, is there an extraterrestrial reason behind his disappearance? That’s the premise of Watch the Skies, a Swedish film (UFO Sweden) directed by Victor Danell. The film stars Inez Dahl Torhaug as Denise, a teenager who goes searching for answers following her father’s disappearance.
She uncovers more about his passion, and she joins forces with a group of alien believers to try and uncover the truth. The space movie has a bit of a fish-out-of-water storyline as Denise must acclimate herself to this group of misfits. But the camaraderie that is shown between the gang leads to the ultimate adventure for them all. There’s a hint of Stranger Things here, for anyone looking forward to the series’ upcoming final season.
Release Date
May 9, 2025
Runtime
115 minutes
Director
Victor Danell
Writers
Jimmy Nivrén Olsson
Producers
Emil Wiklund
Jesper Barkselius
Lennart
Kalki 2898 AD
A dystopian future where a warrior must rise against
Kalki 2898 AD was released in 2024 and is a Hindi sci-fi epic of massive proportions. For anyone in the mood for a nearly three-hour visual masterpiece, Kalki 2898 AD might be that for you. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film tells a tale set in the distant future as Earth has turned into a dystopia. The final human city of Kashi is ruled by a god king and one warrior must protect a woman who is carrying Kalki, the final avatar of Vishnu.
Steeped in religious themes, the film features epic battle scenes and top-notch CGI. The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, and Deepika Padukone. It is the first part of the future Kalki Cinematic Universe, as the mid-credits scene helps set up the sequel.
Release Date
June 27, 2024
Runtime
180 Minutes
Director
Nag Ashwin
Writers
Nag Ashwin
Foe
What if you had to leave your spouse with a robot?
In Garth Davis’ Foe, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal play Hen and Junior, a couple living on a secluded farm. They are visited one night by Aaron Pierre’s Terrance, who informs Junior that he has been drafted to live and work on a space station orbiting Earth for two years. While he is away, Hen will be accompanied by a replica of him. This irks Junior, but Terrance spends a lot of time with the couple, studying them in order to create a realistic replica in his absence.
The story is one of jealousy, lust, love, and betrayal, as audiences can expect some twists with the film. It features strong performances from the three main stars and is held together by the chemistry of Ronan and Mescal. The ending is a good conversation starter as well. This Prime Video movie might be one you haven’t heard of, but it’s an Amazon Studios film as well.
Release Date
November 2, 2023
Runtime
110 Minutes
Director
Garth Davis
Writers
Iain Reid, Garth Davis
The Edge of Sleep
Scared to go to sleep? You have a new reason to be now
A psychological horror sci-fi TV series on Prime Video, The Edge of Sleep will have you on the edge of your seat. It stars Mark Fischbach (a popular YouTube star known as Markiplier) as Dave, a night guard who finishes his shift and realizes that every person who went to sleep the night before died from a mysterious virus. He and a select few survivors must work together to fight off hallucinations from sleep deprivation to solve why this is happening. The circumstances get stranger as Dave’s night terrors, which he’s had since he was a kid, could be the key to the whole thing.
The show also stars Lio Tipton, Eve Harlow, and Franz Drameh. It is based on the popular podcast of the same name created by Jake Emanuel and Willie Block. The show did a decent job of adapting the podcast to the visual medium of TV. The show is a tidy six episodes, making it an ideal show to binge on a weekend before you try and take a nap.
Release Date
2024 – 2024-00-00
Network
Prime Video
Directors
Corey Adams
Writers
Jake Emanuel
Mark Fischbach
Dave Torres
The Last Spark of Hope
The last woman on Earth at least has a friend
If you were the last person on Earth, would you be happy you had a robot as a friend? I think I can speak for all of us when I say the answer is yes. That’s the predicament that faces Ewa (Magdalena Wieczorek), who survives the extinction of humanity in The Last Spark of Hope. Luckily, it’s the future, and she has a robot companion to keep her company. But what if all her efforts go for naught, as the robot might have ulterior motives?
The Polish film has a simple premise, but it keeps you guessing throughout. It is a mixture of I Am Legend and Ex Machina, as you aren’t quite sure whose side the robot is on. Audiences will wonder just how much they can trust their technology and also what they would do in a situation like Ewa is in. It’s under 90 minutes, making it an easy short film to watch for anyone trying to cram in a sci-fi flick after dinner.
Release Date
November 24, 2023
Runtime
88 minutes
Director
Piotr Biedroń
Writers
Piotr Biedroń
Producers
Beata Pisula
Jacek Beler
Robot Artur (voice)
Prime Video delivers on sci-fi experiences
Prime Video is one of the most popular streaming services, largely because of the number of Amazon Prime subscribers. Those who take the time to look through all that Prime Video offers will realize that the streamer has a strong offering of sci-fi shows and movies. These are just a few of the newer options to stream, but Prime Video has a lot of movies and shows, dating all the way back to the 1950s and 1960s. If you’re in the mood for science fiction, Prime Video is a good place to go.
