Sci-fi movies are a dime a dozen, but even the most avid fan hasn’t seen them all. From big productions to low-budget films, there are so many of them. We have rounded up three underrated sci-fi movies on Amazon Freevee you should watch in August. Since they’re available on Freevee, you can watch without a subscription, but will see ads throughout.
One is an interpretation of a character who has been covered time and time again in movies, TV shows, and other forms of pop culture. Another hails from Canada as a hidden gem you probably missed. The third is a classic low-budget movie from 1982 that you’ll love adding to your watch list.
Frankenstein (2015)
The story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been told again and again, but never quite like in 2015’s Frankenstein. This adaptation of the sci-fi horror story stars The Acolyte‘s Carrie-Anne Moss as Elizabeth, wife of Victor Frankenstein (Danny Huston). The scientists bring to life a being they call Adam (Xavier Samuel) who has the chiseled looks of a young man but the mind of an infant. He starts to develop deformities, but Victor and Elizabeth aren’t able to subdue and end him, and he escapes.
A touching story about a “monster,” this version resembles a human more so than the character ever has. Adam is just trying to figure out his place in the world, giving Frankenstein deeper meaning behind its surface-level story. Dread Central’s Gareth Jones says the movie is “highly intelligent and deeply wounding.” He poignantly adds that the movie “stands as a stark reminder that in these so-called enlightened times, we still haven’t made it that far.”
Stream Frankenstein on Amazon Freevee.
Radius (2017)
Diego Klattenhoff (Homeland, The Blacklist) heads up this sci-fi thriller from Canada about a man who survives a car accident. In Jason Bourne style, he does not remember who he is, where he is, or what happened. He only knows his name from his wallet, which confirms that he’s Liam Hartwell. But everyone he approaches to find out more seemingly drops dead.
As it turns out, a deadly virus plaguing humanity is living inside him: if he comes in contact with a person, they perish instantly. When Liam meets a woman suffering from the same plight who claims to have been in the car with him, he believes Jane Doe (Charlotte Sullivan). She isn’t dying in front of him, after all.
The two begin an investigation to figure out what’s happening, all the while trying to avoid other humans and causing more death and destruction. Radius has received positive reviews from critics and mixed reviews overall, but it’s worth checking out. Leigh Monson of Substream Magazine calls it one of “the most intriguing films no one saw this year.”
Stream Radius on Amazon Freevee.
Forbidden World (1982)
Travel all the way back to 1982 with Forbidden World (originally called Mutant), a sci-fi horror movie that has drawn comparisons to Galaxy of Terror and Alien, even sharing some of the sets from the former. Nonetheless, the low-budget movie has a certain appeal to those who love low-budget B-movie horror films.
If you’re into gratuitous violence, nudity, sex, and cheaper special effects, Forbidden World has its own charm. Set in the distant future, it’s about an experimental life form created from a synthetic DNA strain that rapidly mutates and wreaks havoc on the remote desert planet and anyone or anything in the lab. For pure, escapist fun, Forbidden World will admittedly look familiar with a plot you’ve seen before. But it’s a fun watch. Scott Weinberg of FEARnet describes the movie as a “nastier, sillier, cheaper version of Alien.”
Stream Forbidden World on Amazon Freevee.
