Science fiction is one of the most exciting genres out there. It allows storytellers to experiment with potential futures and mesh the realistic and eccentric together into compelling and thought-provoking stories. Some of the best films, novels, video games, and television shows have come from the sci-fi genre.
Blade Runner, Star Wars, Star Trek, and the entire world of DC and Marvel comic books wouldn’t be here without it, and that’s only scratching the surface. Unfortunately, sci-fi has also given birth to some of the worst movies of all time. In this list, we’re looking at the ten most terrible sci-fi movies, according to IMDb user ratings.
Far Cry (2008) (3.1)
Uwe Boll directed this film. That should be all I need to say about its quality. Boll is also responsible for directing another movie that ranked on this list too. Far Cry is based on the popular video game series of the same name. The film stars Til Schweiger as Jack Carver and Emmanuelle Vaugier as Valerie Cardinal.
It was a box office bomb and performed terribly with critics. The storyline follows Jack in his day-to-day life transporting cargo around the Pacific Ocean. Then he crosses paths with Valerie, a reporter, and becomes part of a mission to stop a species of super-soldier from being developed.
Rollerball (2002) (3.1)
Chris Klein starred in this science-fiction sports film as a famous rollerball player, Jonathan Cross. He and his teammates are known for supplying crowds with adrenaline highs and intense action. But then the creator of rollerball realizes that more people tune in when the stakes are higher. Suddenly, Jonathan and his teammates must play to survive.
The movie is a remake of the original 1975 film and along with Kelin also starred LL Cool J and Rebecca Romjin. The editing of the movie is one of its worst qualities. If you’ve seen it before, you know the infamous night-vision sequence is one of the film’s most unintentionally hilarious moments.
Steel (1997) (2.8)
Shaquille O’Neill ditches the basketball court and dons spandex to play a superhero in this 1997 film. O’Neill’s character is a former military scientist. A gang steals a dangerous weapon he created and modifies their guns with it, making the streets hazardous for anyone who happens to cross paths with them.
To try and undo the damage he caused, he dons a cape and becomes a new hero on the streets. Steel was critically panned due to its over-the-top cheesiness and ridiculous usage of the many superhero tropes. Aside from Shaq, Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson, and Richard Roundtree also starred.
Baby Geniuses (1999) (2.6)
Baby Geniuses is a 1999 sci-fi comedy film revolving around the premise that babies are super-geniuses at the age of two. They just don’t know how to communicate appropriately. The tech wizards at BabyCo try to change that by developing a tool that would allow babies to talk using fully-formed human languages.
Despite the silly concept of Baby Geniuses, it still attracted a high profile cast, including actors like Kathleen Turner, Kim Cattrall, and Christopher Lloyd. It was also the first feature film to use CGI to create human visual speech to make the babies appear like they were talking.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) (2.6)
What happens when a Martian leader tries to punish Earth’s children for being too lazy and obsessed with pop culture? Well, he winds up kidnapping Santa Claus to ruin Christmas and accidentally becomes responsible for two children that got scooped up in the heist.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was considered a massive bomb at the time of its release in 1964. However, it is regarded as a cult film by today’s standards due to the following it found in the years after, mostly thanks to its appearance on Mystery Science Theater 3000. This movie also featured the first appearance of Mrs. Claus in a major motion picture.
Dragonball Evolution (2009) (2.5)
A little over ten years ago, Hollywood tried to recreate the charm and popularity of Dragon Ball-Z on the big screen. It did not succeed. While Dragonball Evolution did get a decent return at the box office, it became notorious for being an awful anime adaptation. Even Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama felt that this was a missed opportunity for his work.
He felt the movie didn’t even deserve to be called Dragonball. The story followed Justin Chatwin as Goku. After receiving a mystical gift on his 18th birthday, Goku attempts to track down the legendary Dragonballs to save the Earth. Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, and James Marsters also starred.
Battlefield Earth (2000) (2.5)
John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Kim Coates, and Forest Whitaker led the cast of this sci-fi flop based on the 1982 novel written by L. Ron Hubbard. The movie is about a race of aliens known as Psychlos that have ruled over Earth for centuries.
One day, a group of remaining human survivors decide to band together and rebel against their extraterrestrial overlords. There was a great deal of controversy over this film, including rumors that the Church of Scientology was involved. It is often considered one of the worst movies ever made. It won numerous Razzie Awards, including “Worst Picture of the Decade.”
Alone in the Dark (2005) (2.4)
There is a reason video game movies have such a bad reputation. Alone in the Dark is a big contributor to that stigma. The film is based on the video game series of the same name. Christian Slater stars as Edward Carnby, a supernatural detective with a “sixth sense” for detecting paranormal activity. Tara Reid also stars as an archaeologist named Aline Cedrac.
Blair Erickson initially wrote the script for the film, but it was heavily doctored to be more of an action film than a thriller. Erickson spoke about the mistreatment and the changes in his original screenplay on Something Awful. Despite all the bad press and terrible box office return, Alone in the Dark still received a sequel in 2008.
Hobgoblins (1988) (2.2)
If you have ever seen Gremlins, then you know what Hobgoblins was trying to achieve. Hobgoblins is famous for multiple reasons. One, it is a blatant rip-off of Gremlins. Two, it was famously featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Finally, it is considered one of the worst movies ever made, and yet it is also a beloved cult film.
Director Rick Sloane is known for his famous B-grade horror films, and Hobgoblins is either his proudest or worst achievement, depending on how you look at it. The “hobgoblins” in question are a mischevious alien race viciously kill people.
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004) (1.9)
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 is one of the many sequels that no one ever asked for. Baby Geniuses is already on this list as one of the worst sci-fi movies ever but, apparently, someone thought we needed another. The follow-up film stars Jon Voight, Scott Baio, and Vanessa Angel.
It features the super baby geniuses teaming up together to try and stop an evil media mogul from brainwashing children worldwide. Poor Justin Chatwin. He also stars in this film. That makes two movies on this list he’s been a part of. Hopefully, he has a better agent now.
Next: 10 90s Sci-Fi Masterpieces You’ve Probably Never Seen
