With the multitude of sci-fi releases this year, it’s hard to pick the best, there have been afro-futurist musicals, legacy sequels to long-running franchises, and frantic action adventures about taxes. With that being said, let’s take a look back at 2022’s best sci-fi films according to Rotten Tomatoes.
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Something In The Dirt - 90%
The latest mind-bending offering from the directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless, Moon Knight) sees neighbors in an LA apartment block attempting to document strange paranormal phenomena they have both been experiencing in an effort to find fame and fortune. The duo star as well as write and direct in this dark and DIY-feeling oddity that sees the pair following the phenomena out into the city as they spread and grow.
A sad tale of frayed friendship set against the backdrop of paranormal phenomenon, Benson and Moorhead continue their trend of creating stark and strange stories to bewilder. The pair have fun with the genre while also playing to archetypes yet somehow still never settling comfortably into one box.
Slash/Back - 92%
Marking the feature debut of director/co-writer Nyla Innuksuk, Slash/Back bought a new angle to the typical alien invasion story. Set in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a small village in the mountains that experiences 24 hours of daylight in the summer, Slash/Back follows a group of Inuit teenagers on a typical day that quickly becomes atypical when they discover an approaching alien invasion. It’s bad enough that there’s no night, now they have to take on slimy alien invaders in broad daylight.
With several critics touting the film as a kind of spiritual successor to The Thing, it was praised for its representation of Indigenous people and the new talent unearthed in the film’s unknown cast. While many had issues with the pacing, overall the film was an impressive debut that married slimy, gross alien invaders with the issues facing small Indigenous communities and being a teenager in that environment.
Prey - 93%
In another astonishing triumph, Prey also brought Indigenous representation to the screen paired with horror. This legacy sequel/prequel to Predator is set 300 years in the past in the Comanche Nation where Naru (Amber Midthunder) longs to be respected for being a warrior but has yet to pass her trials successfully. In a cruel twist of fate, a Predator has arrived on their land and promptly goes about shredding anything living it can find. Naru realizes the invasive creature’s presence before the rest of her people and struggles to convince them of its existence and find its weakness.
The unprecedented success of Prey has been down to a refreshing transposition of the Predator into the past coupled with cultural representation not often seen on screen. The film launched a renewed interest in the dying Comanche language and brought the culture to a wider audience. Along with that, the film is tight and adrenaline filled, focusing on Naru’s strength and wit as she faces the alien threat head-on.
Everything Everywhere All At Once - 95%
2022’s true cinematic phenomenon Everything Everywhere All At Once seemingly came out of nowhere. Directed by the duo The Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) and with an impressive cast including Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong, and the welcome return of Ke Huy Quan, the insanity of the film wowed audiences and critics alike. Chinese-American immigrant Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is being audited by the IRS and less importantly discovers that she is at the center of a multiversal crisis that could destroy everything.
A whirlwind journey through different universes, different versions of herself and her family filled with chaos, Everything Everywhere All At Once bought googly eyes and hot dog fingers to the forefront of pop culture consciousness. A frenetic, hilarious, and at times touching film about family and taxes, Everything Everywhere All At Once wowed the world with its earnest insanity.
Neptune Frost - 96%
While Neptune Frost hit the festival circuit in 2021, the film didn’t receive an actual release until 2022. The film takes place in a village in Burundi made of computer parts while a hacker collective attempts to overthrow the regime that is exploiting and depleting the natural resources of the land. Against this backdrop, intersex Neptune (played by both Elvis Ngabo and Cheryl Isheja) falls in love with an escaped miner Matalusa who is part of the hacker collective. Their union creates a glitch in the world and seeds a revolution.
A strange and dreamlike but also punk and visually stunning fusion of genres, Neptune Frost sees cyberpunk as love and revolution. Described as both raw and slow and also as indescribable, those that experienced Neptune Frost were left dazzled by its visuals and genre-defying components.
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