The best sexy sci-fi femme fatales

The femme fatale has been one of film’s most fascinating archetypes since the earliest days of the medium. The femme fatale is seductive and self-assured and can often be murderous. It is impossible for her to behave in real life, as she has mastered the art of using her power.

In space, no one can hear you scream — but that doesn’t stop an evil-doer from trying. Polygon is celebrating sci-fi villainy this week because somebody has (or else).

Even though femme fatales are not the first thought you have when thinking about sci-fi (which is often referred to simply as the domain of geeky men), the genre allows for her to grow in power. The femme fatale in sci-fi can be an alien, a robot, or any other type of fantasy being. Otherworldliness and the femme fatale can enhance each other. This allows her to have evil powers beyond that of an erotic thriller or film noir. Sure, Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity Glenn Close Fatal Attraction These were just two examples of iconic femme fatales. But could they channel the supernatural and shapeshift? Not quite.

We’ve gathered some of our favorite sci-fi femme fatales — all of them mythical creatures who get away with villainous behavior and look cool while doing it.

Pris (Daryl Hannah), Blade Runner

An up-close still shows Daryl Hannah as Pris looking into the camera

Warner Bros. Pictures

By design, it’s hard to definitively say who’s good and who’s evil in Ridley Scott’s stylish dystopian classic, but with her ass-kicking abilities and unforgettable character design, Pris makes for a dynamic (and robotic) femme fatale. A “basic pleasure model” Replicant who rebels, Pris is a punk in black mesh and dramatic makeup (including a killer streak of black across her eyes) who has incredible endurance and physicality and defies all expectations for a sex robot by refusing to go down without a fight.

Ava (Alicia Vikander), Ex Machina

Ava, played by Alicia Vikander, looks into a mirror in Ex Machina

Image: A24

Ava was created by an extremely wealthy tech bro, and lives in solitude. She is an android with a slim, silver body, and a human-like face. Ava is able to use the illusion of femmebot passivity to subvert expectations and double cross the two men she’s sequestered with. Ava eventually proves to be more skilled than her creator, and she ends up killing him.

Barbarella: The Black Queen Of Sogo (Anita Pallenberg),

Anita Pallenberg smiles while wearing a furry dress in Barbarella

Image: Paramount Pictures

As if being romantically involved with Keith Richards wasn’t already cool enough, Anita Pallenberg further cemented her status as a ’60s icon with her role as the evil queen in the cult classic Barbarella. Wearing S&M-chic outfits and an eyepatch and ruling over a ridiculous empire, the Black Queen is both tyrannical and seductive, a raven-haired gothic foil to Jane Fonda’s blonde and bubbly go-go girl.

Laura (Scarlett Johansson), Under Skin

A rear-view mirror shows the lower half of Scarlett Johansson’s face in Under the Skin

StudioCanal image

The Skin possesses a singularly unsettling atmosphere, bolstered by Scarlett Johansson’s mysterious and compelling performance as a woman who commits truly heinous acts without a hint of emotion. Johansson is an alien, who assumes the appearance of a pouting, unnamed woman wearing a furcoat and steely eyes. She wanders the streets of Scotland driven only by nightmare logic, saying very little as she seduces men, and then leads them into a dark, haunting abyss.

Sil (Natasha Henstridge), Species

Natasha Henstridge looks into the distance while hugging a man in a pool in Species

MGM Images

A classic of the glossy, oversexed period of mid-’90s filmmaking (with all the gratuitous nudity that implies), Species Sil is a humanoid, alien-like being who seduces as well as kills. Sil’s supernatural abilities befuddle the group of scientists tracking her, and they fear the possibility that her mating and giving birth could signal the downfall of the human race. Sil doesn’t care about the death, but her stunning looks allow her to continue murdering. H.R. Giger was the designer of the monster from horror/scifi classic, one of the most dangerous characters. Alien.

Space Girl (Mathilda May), Lifeforce

Mathilda May smiles while appearing naked in Lifeforce

Image: London-Cannon Films

What’s creepier than an alien? What about an alien vampire that takes the lives of its victims? Tobe Hooper’s film runs on coked-up, flashy energy, and an unnamed space babe, played by French actress Mathilda May, is nearly always nude and draws male attention effortlessly. This fatal mixture of nudity (vampirism) and shapeshifting alien abilities leads to brutal destruction.

Lori (Sharon Stone), Total Recall

Sharon Stone looks angry in a pink top and leotard in Total Recall

Image: Tri-Star Pictures

Sharon Stone is a woman fatale if you consider her. The Basic Instinct It is probably the most obvious film she thinks of, but it was her prior role as director for Paul Verhoeven. Total RecallIt was also a wonderful showcase of her abilities to play beautiful but devilish characters. Total Recall takes place in a paranoid world of implanted memories and shadowy organizations, and sees Stone posing as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife in order to spy on him, all while wearing some truly excellent early-’90s workout wear.

Consuella (Charlotte Rampling), Zardoz

Charlotte Rampling stands with her arms sticking out in front of her, while Sean Connery stands next to her pointing a gun offscreen

Image by 20th Century Fox

Charlotte Rampling’s sophistication makes her ideally suited for femme fatale roles, and in the ’70s cult classic Zardoz, she plays an immortal “Eternal” who imprisons Sean Connery and initially hopes to destroy him. The film is known for its outlandish plot and bizarre costuming (truly, Connery’s red suspender/codpiece/thigh-high boots look cannot be unseen), and Rampling’s matriarchal ruling, cool crop tops, and imperious attitude add intrigue to this strangest of sci-fis.

The Woman in Red (Fiona Johnson), The Matrix

Fiona Johnson smiles while looking into the camera and wearing a red dress in The Matrix

Warner Bros. Pictures

You can use it as a simulation of a character The Matrix’s Agent Training Program, The Woman in the Red Dress may not be real, but she’s definitely fatal. The red dress she wears is designed to stand out among a crowd of others in dull colors. She distracts Neo by her beautiful features, only for her to transform into Agent Smith, an evil gun-wielding criminal. Here, the ghost of the femme fatale serves as a distracting element and is one of many scenes in the movie that makes us question reality.

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