The best sci fi movies to watch on Netflix in October 2023

Polygon readers, happy October!

The night is getting darker as we approach the end of the year and prepare to see the big movies of this year. If you’re looking for a great sci-fi movie on Netflix to throw into the mix, don’t sweat it: We’ve got you.

Each month, we pick the best science fiction movies for you to watch at home on the platform, tailored to the time of year, what’s out in theaters, or just straight up vibes. We have an epic Space Opera, a blockbuster from ParasiteBong Joon Ho, Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller with Tom Cruise.

Let’s get into it!

Dune

Warner Bros. Pictures

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac

Denis Villeneuve’s been on something of a sci-fi tear over the past decade, adapting Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” into the critically acclaimed Arrival, and even helming a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Adapting Frank Herbert’s feudal space opera Dune is the director’s latest major effort, a two-part adaptation set to conclude with the release of the second film, Dune: Part twoNext March.

If you somehow haven’t had the opportunity to watch Dune, there’s no better time than now to catch up on the hype — it’s new on Netflix, and great fall viewing. The story is epic, yet intimate, centering on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the heir to a powerful family whose patriarch comes into possession of one of the valuable and contested territories in the known universe: Arrakis, a desert planet home to the spice melange, a vital resource for interstellar travel. When Paul’s family is betrayed, he and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are forced to flee into the desert to seek refuge among the planet’s native population, who view Paul as the potential harbinger of profound prophecy.

This adaptation is a re-design of the original. DuneAs a film, it is a great success. A sci-fi tale that has the perfect blend of action, intrigue political, stunning visuals and panoramic views. The film is a success. DuneThis is not only a great standalone story, but also the beginning of an epic saga that introduces the audience to all the important rules of the universe.

Snowpiercer

Image: The Weinstein Company

Director: Bong Joonho
Cast: Chris Evans, Song Kangho, Tilda SWinton

Do you feel a chill in the air when it’s cold? That’s Jack Frost nipping at your nose! Winter might not be here yet, but as Ned Stark said, it is on its way. The Snowman is the perfect movie to get you ready for that first winter snowfall. Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian action thriller starring Chris Evans and Song Kang-ho?

In a film set two decades after an ice age caused by climate change, we follow the passengers of a train designed to sustain the human race. The train’s design is based on a class system, where the upper class lives in the front, more comfortable section, while the lower class must toil and live in poverty at the rear. At the insistence of his mentor, Curtis (Chris Evans) leads a revolt among the tail passengers to take the front section and strike down Wilford (Ed Harris), the train’s mysterious creator. A story that is blunt and effective about class and rebellion with gripping set designs and action sequences. SnowpiercerIt’s a sci-fi thriller. Bong will be returning early next year. Mickey 17, his new sci-fi movie starring Robert Pattinson, now’s as perfect time as any to revisit this one.

War of the Worlds

DreamWorks Home Entertainment

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto

You never quite forget the sight of a man peeling away at a shattered windshield with his bare bloodied hands as a crowd descends on a minivan in Steven Spielberg’s War of The Worlds. The film, starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning in the roles of a dockworker and his divorced daughter trying to flee a violent alien invasion, channels the fear and hysteria that engulfs a post-9/11 society.

As they trek across the nation in an attempt to find their daughter and son, the three survivors witness horrific horrors caused by both the mysterious machinations behind this threat as well the desperation that their fellow survivors have shown. 2005’s War of the WorldsIt is both a sci-fi thriller and a cultural artifact that reflects a time in which our institutions had to grapple with a horror previously considered unimaginable.