6 Sci-Fi Movies Set In Space That Are 10/10 Masterpieces

Published Oct 26, 2026, 10:30 PM EDT Anthony is a news reporter and a guide writer who has covered the entertainment industry for five years. He has covered a wide range of genres, including aviation incidents and international crime, and has a keen eye for details that may slip under the radar. When he's not writing, Anthony can be found at Brands Hatch race track or at home watching indie horror movies nobody has heard of. The sci-fi genre has produced some of the most beloved and respected movies of all time. It's a genre that can explore alternate realities and distant planets inhabited by aliens. Sci-fi movies can also depict futures closer to home, and they often do so with incredible world-building. Movies like Blade Runner also offer incredible portrayals of the near future, and these classics are fascinating to revisit because some are set close to the present day. Many sci-fi movies are set on Earth in the future or on planets far away from our solar system. Others take place in space, aboard spaceships. Numerous films depict space as wondrous and beautiful, but also perilous. After all, you cannot just leave a spacecraft if something goes wrong. Space is so vast that it can be isolating, even for large crews. Movies set in space can also play on audiences' fear of the unknown. Many of the best movies in the history of the sci-fi genre were notably set in outer space. Some lean into horror territory, while others tell epic stories of heroism and self-sacrifice. Others even have laugh-out-loud funny moments. Space is a versatile setting for movies, and these titles are so great that audiences still discuss them long after the credits. 6 Event Horizon (1997) Image via MovieStillsDB Event Horizon is particularly remarkable because it actually performed quite poorly at the box office when it premiered in 1997. Paul W.S. Anderson's sci-fi horror is now widely regarded as a cult classic, with scares that still hold up today. The Event Horizon is actually a spacecraft. It mysteriously vanished after using experimental black hole technology. Miller (Lawrence Fishburne) and his crew are sent to investigate when authorities pick up a distress signal from the ship years later. They board with the ship's creator, Dr. Weir (Sam Neill), but it's immediately clear something is wrong. Miller and his crew become stranded on the Event Horizon, and unexplained events suggest the ship has been somewhere far more sinister than just our solar system. Event Horizon features some disturbing imagery, but also leaves some elements open to interpretation, which arguably makes the movie even scarier. The film uses its deep-space setting to full effect, as Miller's crew is so far from home that no one is coming to rescue them. 5 Sunshine (2007) Sunshine is a powerful sci-fi movie set in space, where the stakes couldn't be higher. Our sun is dying. A group of the greatest minds on the planet embark on a dangerous mission to launch a massive nuclear payload into the sun to reignite it and save the world. The crew of the Icarus II spacecraft quickly enters uncharted territory. The journey to the sun is complicated, and tensions run high because the payload 'should' theoretically reignite the sun, but there's no guarantee. Icarus II also encounters another ship on the journey, called Icarus I. The vessel was on the same mission as them once before, but mysteriously vanished, and the Icarus II crew are shocked to see it still intact. The crew must decide whether to ignore it or investigate, as it might improve their own mission's chances of success. Sunshine is an intense sci-fi thriller with an all-star cast, including Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, and Chris Evans. The movie has some scary moments and incredible abstract imagery as Icarus II journeys closer to the sun. 4 Project Hail Mary (2026) Project Hail Mary is the most recent release on this list, and it lacks the prestige of some other titles because of that. However, the movie is arguably a modern sci-fi masterpiece. Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace. He's a science teacher on a quest to stop a mysterious substance from destroying the sun. Ryland wakes up alone on a spacecraft, disoriented, with no idea what has happened. As he regains his memories, he learns how important his mission is and how billions of lives depend upon him. Ryland also encounters an alien lifeform on the same mission, and the pair become friends. That friendship is at the core of Project Hail Mary, as these two unlikely allies work together toward a common goal. The movie tells a charming, heartwarming story and feels entirely different from many other sci-fi movies that focus on the perils and isolation of space travel. The movie has serious, emotional scenes, but it's also lighthearted, with several laugh-out-loud moments. 3 Interstellar (2014) Interstellar is a grand sci-fi epic directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie is set in the near future, when Earth is becoming uninhabitable because of environmental disasters and a global food crisis. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a skilled, former NASA space pilot living in a secluded farmhouse with his children. Strange phenomena at home lead him to discover the location of a secret NASA research facility. Authorities reveal to Cooper that they have located a wormhole in our solar system. They plan to send astronauts through it in hopes they find new planets that can sustain human life. The mission has more to it than meets the eye, and Interstellar also explores the personal cost of Cooper leaving his family. Interstellar has many moving parts and a complex story full of twists and turns I won't spoil here. The movie's imagery is incredible, and it explores time-travel themes and strange phenomena as the crew approaches the wormhole. 2 Aniara (2018) Aniara is a heavy sci-fi movie that tells a remarkably bleak story with a chilling concept. Earth is becoming increasingly difficult to live on, prompting people to board spaceships in hopes of colonizing elsewhere. One of those ships is the Aniara. It leaves Earth and is scheduled to reach Mars in just a few weeks. Disaster strikes when the spacecraft veers off course, with no way to correct it. The captain makes a horrifying admission, explaining that they could drift into space for years without encountering anything else. It's a shocking concept, and the fear and paranoia that spread through the Aniara are so believable because the colonists are just regular people. Many on board cling to the hope that the ship will eventually course correct. Others are more cynical, believing they will remain floating in space for the rest of their lives. The colonists split into smaller communities. The Aniara also has a Mima Room, similar to a Star Trek holodeck. People use it to de-stress, but overuse could have consequences. Some audiences may find Aniara an uncomfortable watch. It's not a cheerful movie, but it's impactful and will stay with you long after the credits. 1 Alien (1979) Alien is widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. The movie takes place almost entirely in space on board the USCSS Nostromo. It's a commercial towing vessel, but the crew is ordered to investigate a mysterious distress signal from a moon called LV-426. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the ship's warrant officer. Her crew mates investigate, but encounter a terrifying alien lifeform. It latches onto Kane's (John Hurt) face, and the team returns to the Nostromo with it, even though Ripley initially refuses to let them back on board. The alien lifeform appears to die, and Kane seems fine. However, a creature bursts from his chest, killing him, and flees into the ship. That creature is the legendary Xenomorph, and a battle for survival ensues, with the crew having no idea what their adversary can do. Ripley also makes a chilling discovery about the directives that sent them to LV-426 in the first place. Alien still holds up more than 45 years later. Ripley and the Xenomorph are highlights, but the movie is also fascinating for its retro-futuristic depiction of space technology. Alien is scary, but its world building is so impressive that it transcends its horror roots, making it a movie any sci-fi fan can appreciate.