21 Great Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Films You Need To Watch

21 Great Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Films You Need To Watch's icon

Created by mcmakattack.

Favorited 12 times, disliked 0 times, added to 21 watchlists.

Lo-Fi Sci-Fi is an emerging genre of the last decade or so inspired by Mumblecore and budgetary constraints. The name is derived from ‘Low Fidelity’ and ‘Science Fiction’, seemingly meant to convey the low budget, amateur approach of filming a Science Fiction movie. This is not to dumb down the genre at all but portray its indie status devoid of any Hollywood blockbuster characteristics that many contemporary Science Fiction films have. New Sci-Fi cinema has unfortunately began to suffer in thematic substance and has been generally made for commercial mass audiences with an ‘artistic’ endeavor to make it big at the box office.

The films of this emanating underground genre have similar, but at the same time, completely disparate themes and elements, which can make this genre hard to exactly pin down. As there is no definitive manifesto written on Lo-Fi Sci-Fi, characteristics such as a shoestring budget or outer space themes do not necessarily have to be abided by; this is no Dogme 95, yet. This list is a collection of Science Fiction films, not your generic blockbuster ones, these films are far more interesting, obscure, philosophical, mind bending and often intelligent.

Please comment below with any suggestions of films you may feel fit this genre. Apologies if I missed out on any but this is simply a list of 21 of them.

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  1. 2 -

    Her

    2013, in 10 top lists Check
  2. 7 -

    La jetée

    1962 — a.k.a. La Jetée, in 19 top lists Check
  3. 3 -

    Melancholia

    2011, in 10 top lists Check
  4. 10 -

    Moon

    2009, in 5 top lists Check
  5. 6 -

    Pi

    1998, in 6 top lists Check
  6. 12 -

    Primer

    2004, in 6 top lists Check
  7. 4 -

    Beasts of the Southern Wild

    2012, in 4 top lists Check
  8. 5 -

    Take Shelter

    2011, in 2 top lists Check
  9. 17 -

    Upstream Color

    2013, in 3 top lists Check
  10. 1 -

    Beyond the Black Rainbow

    2010, in 3 top lists Check
  11. 15 -

    La science des rêves

    2006 — a.k.a. The Science of Sleep, in 2 top lists Check
  12. 9 -

    Safety Not Guaranteed

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 14 -

    Monsters

    2010, in 3 top lists Check
  14. 13 -

    Another Earth

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 21 -

    Computer Chess

    2013, in 3 top lists Check
  16. 16 -

    Antiviral

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 20 -

    The American Astronaut

    2001, in 1 top list Check
  18. 8 -

    Europa Report

    2013, in 0 top lists Check
  19. 11 -

    Sound of My Voice

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  20. 18 -

    Christmas on Mars

    2008, in 1 top list Check
  21. 19 -

    Mars

    2010, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on Feb 8, 2014; source