10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (2024)

Dredd has proven to be one of the most underrated comic book films of the 21st century, making it all the more upsetting that many viewers avoided it entirely. It’s possible that Dredd had to face an uphill battle to win over audiences due to how disappointing the 1995 film Judge Dredd was; the Sylvester Stallone star vehicle was a dull, uncomplicated “shoot ‘em up” action thriller that contained none of the political intrigue, ethical drama, and strong characterization of the original source material. Thankfully, Dredd delivered on this promise in a way that superseded even the highest expectations.

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While it sadly looks like it will not have a direct sequel anytime soon from screenwriter Alex Garland, Dredd should hopefully inspire audiences to search for other high concept science fiction films that are aimed at adult viewers. Here are ten underrated sci-fi movies to watch if you love Dredd.

10 ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’ (2012)

Directed by John Hyams

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (1)

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is a wildly inventive sequel that completely transforms the tone of Roland Emmerich’s 1992 blockbuster. While the original Universal Soldier was a fairly straightforward military action film, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is a deeply disturbing psychological thriller that has more in common with the work of David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma, David Lynch, and Michael Haneke than with anything that Emmerich has been involved in.

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Similar to Dredd, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning has more on its mind than just action, as both were loaded with political commentary that offered surprising insight. While Dredd examined how corrupt institutions were incapable of putting an end to the drug war in the near future, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning analyzed how conspiracy theories and far-right fringe groups paved the way for a new form of violent toxic masculinity.

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (2)

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

R

Action

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Release Date
October 4, 2012
Director
John Hyams
Cast
Jean-Claude Van Damme , Dolph Lundgren , Scott Adkins , Kristopher Van Varenberg , James Rawlings , Mariah Bonner

Runtime
93
Main Genre
Action
Writers
John Hyams , Doug Magnuson , Jon Greenhalgh , Moshe Diamant , Richard Rothstein , Christopher Leitch

Tagline
Under their own command.

Watch on The Roku Channel

9 ‘Prey’ (2022)

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (3)

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Prey was another example of a franchise redeeming itself in wake of a disappointing follow up. In the same way that Dredd had to fight to earn legitimacy after how disastrous Judge Dredd proved to be, Prey had to prove that its franchise was worth revisiting after Shane Black’s standalone The Predator film received highly negative reviews from critics and audiences in 2018.

Prey returned to the roots of the Predator franchise and wasn’t afraid to get completely gnarly and disturbing; like Dredd, it’s a science fiction film that contains some very realistic violence. While it sadly was released directly on Hulu without any theatrical distribution, the reviews for Prey were strong enough that the next Predator film directed by Dan Trachtenberg is set to be released in theaters, and has already been assembling an impressive cast of new actors.

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10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (4)
Prey

Naru, a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation, fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth.

Release Date
August 5, 2022

Director
Dan Trachtenberg
Cast
Amber Midthunder , Dane DiLiegro , Harlan Blayne Kytwayhat , Dakota Beavers

Runtime
99 minutes

Main Genre
Sci-Fi

Writers
Patrick Aison

Watch on Hulu

8 ‘Criminal’ (2016)

Directed by Ariel Vromen

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (5)

Criminal is a high concept science fiction action thriller that didn’t get a fair shake from critics when it was initially released in 2016. Kevin Costner stars as a career criminal who receives the memories of a dead secret agent (Ryan Reynolds) after a high-ranking scientist (Gary Oldman) determines that he may be able to help take out a dangerous terrorist splinter group.

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Like Dredd, Criminal is utterly nihilistic in its violence, and examines the levels of depravity and corruption that exist on an institutional level. There is certainly a sci-fi element, but for the most part, Criminal is rather grounded. While the film does draw on some cliches that are common within action cinema, the terrific setpieces and unusually grim performance from Costner make it a more than worthy watch for those that are desperately waiting for news about a sequel to Dredd.

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (6)

Criminal

R

Action

Crime

Documentary

Drama

Mystery

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Release Date
April 7, 2016

Director
Ariel Vromen
Cast
Ryan Reynolds , Michael Pitt , Natalie Burn , Gal Gadot , Alice Eve , Amaury Nolasco , Gary Oldman , Scott Adkins , Antje Traue , Kevin Costner , Tommy Lee Jones , Robert Davi

Runtime
113minutes

Writers
Douglas Cook , David Weisberg

Studio

Tagline

Website

Watch on Max

7 ‘The Boys From Brazil’ (1978)

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffer

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (7)

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The Boys From Brazil is a very unusual espionage thriller that looked at the nightmare scenario of an alternate history in the aftermath of World War II.Laurence Olivier stars as a legendary Nazi hunter who is called out of retirement when a revived German leader (Gregory Peck) begins an unusual scheme to revitalize the third reich.

Like Dredd, The Boys From Brazil takes a very silly concept and treats it seriously, examining what the actual consequences of a situation like this would be. While Olivier is obviously one of the all-time great actors, it was interesting to see him step away from his work adapting the plays of William Shakespeare and make a nasty, propulsive genre thriller. Peck, who has often been seen as the epitome of wholesomeness and heroism, is cleverly cast against type for his most terrifying performance ever.

Watch on Prime Video

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6 ‘Chain Reaction’ (1996)

Directed by Andrew Davis

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (8)

Chain Reaction is an underrated conspiracy thriller that is only tangentially related to the science fiction genre; while these sort of mystery thrillers seemingly went out of fashion in the aftermath of the “New Hollywood” era of the 1970s, director Andrew Davis created a propulsive chase adventure that examined how dangerous it would be if emerging technology fell into the wrong hands.

Similar to Dredd, Chain Reaction has very strong anti-authoritarian themes, as it remains very skeptical about the consolidation of power. Keanu Reeves is often not given enough credit for the depths that he can reach as an actor, and Chain Reaction features what is certainly one of his most committed (and surprisingly emotional) performances that he gave during his run of action hits in the 1990s. Strong work from Rachel Weisz and Morgan Freeman also elevate the film.

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Watch on Max

5 ‘Repo Man’ (1984)

Directed by Alex Cox

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (9)

Repo Man is the definition of a cult classic, as Alex Cox’s strange science fiction black comedy has been steadily amassing an audience of niche fans ever since it was unceremoniously dumped in theaters in 1984. While Dredd is a film that became an object of cult fascination because it failed to attract audiences upon its initial run, Repo Man is so intentionally off putting that it was never feasibly going to earn any mainstream attention.

Repo Man and Dredd were standouts because of their innovative use of special effects, as they both made the most of their rather restrained budgets. Repo Man doesn’t necessarily have as much action as what is in Dredd, but retains a charming bit of science fiction worldbuilding that makes it worthy of repeated viewings from genre buffs. It’s easily the most essential film of Cox’s career.

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10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (10)

Repo Man

R

Comedy

Crime

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Release Date
February 20, 1984

Director
Alex Cox
Cast
Harry Dean Stanton , Emilio Estevez , Tracey Walter , Olivia Barash , Sy Richardson , Susan Barnes

Runtime
92

Main Genre
Comedy

Writers
Alex Cox

Tagline
A repo man is always intense... but only a fool gets killed for a car.

Rent on Amazon

4 ‘Paycheck’ (2003)

Directed by John Woo

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (11)

Paycheck is one of the most underrated films directed by John Woo, a legend of the action genre behind such all-time classics as Face/Off, The Killer, Hard Boiled, and Hard Target . While it's generally believed that Woo’s American films are not as strong as those that he made in his home country, Paycheck was an interesting work of speculative science fiction that drew inspiration from a short story by Phillip K. Dick, an author who also wrote the source material for Blade Runner and Total Recall.

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Similar to Dredd, Paycheck is a lot smarter than it is given credit for, as it develops some surprisingly interesting themes about the inherently predatory nature of capitalism. Paycheck was released at a time in which Ben Affleck was receiving a significant amount of backlash, but it once again showed that he is a truly great actor that never deserved the criticism that was so often leveled at him.

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (12)

Paycheck

PG-13

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

Mystery

Thriller

Release Date
December 25, 2003
Director
John Woo
Cast
Ben Affleck , Aaron Eckhart , Uma Thurman , Paul Giamatti , Colm Feore , Joe Morton

Runtime
120

Main Genre
Sci-Fi

Writers
Philip K. Dick , Dean Georgaris

Tagline
REMEMBER THE FUTURE

Watch on Max

3 ‘Transit’ (2018)

Directed by Christian Petzold

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (13)

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Transit is a highly unusual sci-fi thriller, as it brings to life a historical period using the iconography and aesthetics of today. Franz Rogowski stars as a German refugee that flees persecution during the height of the Nazi reign during World War II, yet begins to suffer a crisis of confidence when he realizes that a young family could be in danger.

Similar to Dredd, Transit is able to evoke suspense by examining the specificity of a metropolitan area, and even dips into the neo-noir genre at some points. While the manner in which the film is framed using modern visuals may seem like a gimmick upon an initial glance, Transit uses its aesthetic deviations to bridge a more emotional connection with the viewers, and reminds them how important it is to remember history so that it is not repeated.

Watch on Prime Video

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2 ‘The Final Cut’ (2004)

Directed by Omar Naim

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (14)

The Final Cut is a highly disturbing examination of the near future, as like Dredd it is only somewhat removed from current reality. Robin Williams is known for starring in some of the funniest movies ever made, but he completely disappeared into the role of a very lonely and obsessive man who is tasked with assembling people’s memories.

The Final Cut and Dredd examine the irreparable harm that overreliance on technology would spawn, as they both imagine worlds in which even the most menial of human tasks are being performed by digital outlets that have no capacity for emotion. While the speculations that The Final Cut made about the future may have felt somewhat implausible in 2004, today that feel even more relevant due to the rise of artificial intelligence and the consolidation of major media, technology, and infrastructural units.

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1 ‘A Scanner Darkly’ (2006)

Directed by Richard Linklater

10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (15)

A Scanner Darkly is an animated masterpiece from Richard Linklater that examines the nuances of the drug war in a similar way to Dredd. Keanu Reeves stars as an undercover agent who is tasked with infiltrating a ring of drug suppliers, and must use experimental technology to completely transform his physical being.

Dredd pushed the boundaries of 3D technology by making it far more immersive, but A Scanner Darkly was able to use the untraditional “rotoscoping” technology to create a chilling atmosphere that didn’t look like any other animated movie. In addition to capturing the haze that comes with being under the influence of illegal substances, the strange animation style helped A Scanner Darkly address themes about identity and individuality within crime fiction. It’s not only one of the most pointed and political of Linklater’s films, but one of his most thrilling.

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10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (16)

A Scanner Darkly

R

Animation

Crime

Drama

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Release Date
July 28, 2006

Director
Richard Linklater
Cast
Rory Cochrane , Robert Downey Jr. , Mitch Baker , Keanu Reeves , Sean Allen , Cliff Haby

Runtime
100 minutes
Main Genre
Animation

Writers
Philip K. Dick , Richard Linklater

Tagline

Website

Rent on Amazon

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10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies To Watch if You Love 'Dredd' (2024)
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