5 Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Movies Based On Classic Short Stories

Watching a good sci-fi flick that leaves you feeling like your brain just went on a rollercoaster can be a great way to spend a Friday night indoors. Even if the recommendations from your favorite streaming services are accurate, you may still find yourself spending way too long scrolling past a list of titles that just aren’t grabbing your attention. Worry not, however, as we’ve got just the thing for anyone who wants a sci-fi flick that’ll have their brain contorting like a gymnast but that also takes cues and inspiration from some heavy-hitters in sci-fi literature. The following movies will have you traveling to Mars, uncovering propaganda, traveling through time, making contact with aliens, and performing freaky science experiments.

Along with each of these movies being absolutely mind-blowing, all of them are based on a classic short story, which means you can go back and read the original and see which one is better for scrambling your brain in all the right ways. We’ll tell you exactly where you can find these movies online, but be aware that many of them will require a rental or access to a streaming subscription. So grab yourself a bowl of popcorn and a blanket, make sure you’re taking full advantage of your Roku TV streaming stick, and get ready for a collection of films that will push your mind to its limits.

Though this list could be filled entirely with movies based on Philip K. Dick’s short stories, we went with one of our favorites to keep things simple. Though the 1982 movie “Blade Runner” may be more famous for being based on Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” it doesn’t quite fit the list. Nonetheless, “Total Recall” is still 113 minutes of ridiculous mind-melting sci-fi action, and it’s loosely based on Dick’s 1966 short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” The 1990 film “Total Recall” — not to be confused with the 2012 remake, which follows a similar story — stars the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid — a man living in the year 2084 who longs to visit a now-colonized Mars.

Quaid visits Rekall, a company that implants fake memories into its customers, so he can get a taste of the red planet. However, things quickly go south during the process, forcing Quaid to tackle what’s real and what’s just an implanted memory. Along with Schwarzenegger in the lead role, “Total Recall” stars Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Rachel Ticotin. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, who also directed 1987’s “RoboCop” and the 1997 cult-classic “Starship Troopers,” the film has an 81% Tomatometer score and a 79% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is currently available to stream on Paramount+ and Philo.

If you’re looking for a sci-fi movie that aims to stick out its tongue at the establishment, then the 1988 title “They Live” is just for you. The film is based on the 1963 short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” by Ray Nelson, and it’s going to be a good choice for anyone who’s a fan of dark and paranoid alien flicks. The film is responsible for one of the greatest one-liners in movie history, but folks will have plenty of reasons other than a great phrase to catch this sci-fi horror/action classic. “They Live” tells the story of Nada (Roddy Piper), a man lost in the world until he discovers a pair of sunglasses that show the true reality of society.

Wandering Los Angeles, the protagonist learns a terrible secret about the public’s upper elite, and he must do what he can to save our planet. Directed by horror legend John Carpenter — who you may recognize from the “Halloween” series that got yet another reboot in 2018 on Netflix – “They Live” stars Keith David, Meg Foster, and Peter Jackson alongside Piper. The film currently has an 87% on the Tomatometer and an 80% on the Popcornmeter over at Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s available to rent on Apple TV and Amazon Video. In a review for WBUR, critic Sean Burns says, “When you watch it, you feel like you’re getting away with something.”

First impressions can be important, especially if you have to be a group of aliens from another planet. Based on the 1998 short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, the 2016 sci-fi flick “Arrival” is going to be great for anyone who has found themselves in a sticky situation after miscommunicating. Just try not to think too hard about the fact that aliens may have tried to contact us from within the Milky Way while you watch it. “Arrival” follows the story of Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist who joins a team of investigators after gigantic ships from outer space land at several locations around the Earth. With the intrusion threatening a full-scale war, it’s up to Banks and her team to find a way to communicate with the planet’s new visitors.

Along with Adams in the lead role, “Arrival” also stars Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who some may recognize from the current wave of “Dune” movies that will hopefully see a third sequel before nuclear war arrives, the film is currently available to stream on Paramount+ or rent on Amazon Video. “Arrival” was nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year at the 2017 Oscars, and it currently has a 94% Tomatometer score and 83% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. On Roger Ebert’s website, Brian Tallerico gave the film three stars, stating, “It’s a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them, and get them talking. For the most part, it succeeds.”

Sometimes inspiration really can strike from anywhere. Along with being a classic sci-fi movie, some may not know that “The Fly” is loosely based on a 1957 short story of the same name by French author George Langelaan. There’s also a 1958 film adaptation starring Vincent Price, from which the 1986 movie also takes several cues. Nonetheless, this may be one of the more grotesque movies on this list, so you may want to brace yourself before watching this one. The film follows the story of scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), who builds a teleportation device and decides he should be one of its test subjects. Though things seem to have gone okay, Brundle realizes to his horror that a fly had made its way into the process, causing the scientist to slowly undergo a horrible transformation.

“The Fly” won an Academy Award for Best Makeup & Hairstyling, which was accepted by Stephan Dupuis and Chris Walas, and many critics praised the film’s practical effects. Along with Goldblum, “The Fly” stars Geena Davis and John Getz. It’s also directed by David Cronenberg, who’s responsible for the must-watch sci-fi thriller based on a banned Stephen King book. The film is currently available to stream on Hulu or rent on Amazon Video, and it holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and 83% on the Popcornmeter. In a review for The Guardian, critic Adam Fleet states, “Cronenberg’s delirious blend of horror, gore, and science fiction makes it a rightful horror classic.”

It’s pretty easy to make a story about time travel entirely confusing. Robert Heinlein’s 1959 story “All You Zombies” is beloved by many for its paradoxical approach to time travel and philosophical quandaries, and it’s likely for these reasons that the story serves as the basis for the 2014 sci-fi film “Predestination.” If you’re in the mood for a movie that’s going to make your head hurt in a good way, this time-bending thriller is the way to go. “Predestination” follows the story of a nameless temporal agent (Ethan Hawke, who is credited as “The Barkeep” at the end of the film) as he accepts his final assignment in which he must travel to New York in 1975 to prevent a terrorist attack.

With lives on the line, the protagonist soon discovers that the hunt may be even more challenging than originally perceived. Alongside Hawke, the film stars Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor, and Christopher Kirby. Written and directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, the film is currently available to stream on Pluto TV and is a part of 15 free movies you should stream. You can also rent it on Apple TV or Amazon Video. “Predestination” currently holds an 84% score on the Tomatometer and a 75% on the Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. In a review for The New York Post, critic Sara Stewart says its “Weirder and more contemplative than many of its time-traveling brethren, ‘Predestination’ is a stylish head trip.”