Movies like Annihilation offer sci-fi fans imaginative storytelling, creative ideas, and a sense that anything can happen in the film's world. Directed by Alex Garland (Sunshine) and based on the first book in the Southern Reach Series by sci-fi author Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation is a Lovecraftian science fiction horror movie with a mostly female cast. A team of female scientists is sent into the "Shimmer," a mysterious quarantined zone where a previous team went in to explore and never returned.

Annihilation is known for its predominantly female cast, including Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson. However, it is also known for its brilliant sci-fi ideas and the braveness of the filmmakers and storytellers to leave the mysterious alien beings and their purpose open to interpretation. Annihilation was supposed to be the first in a trilogy, but its box office failure ensured it would end up as a one-and-done, although that one movie is well worth seeking out for any sci-fi fan.

15 Ad Astra (2019)

An Astronaut Heads To Space To Find His Father

Brad Pitt leads the cast of this terrific science fiction film from 2019. He plays the son of Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), a man who went into deep space with a crew, but sadly they were never heard from again. To discover the truth about what happened to his dad, his son tries to travel to Neptune and learn the truth. On the way there, he reminisces about his past with his dad, and when he arrives, he realizes that what he finds was not what he was looking for.

Similar to movies like Annihilation, Pitt's character, Roy McBride, faces a deadly force that could threaten all of humanity. In both movies, scientists head into the unknown, seeking the truth and not knowing what lies on the other side. Both films also have the heroes finding the end of the rainbow and realizing that the truth was nothing like they had expected. While Ad Astra takes place in space, Annihilation takes place on Earth. However, both are about alien mysteries, although Ad Astra ends with more optimism than Annihilation.

14 I Am Mother (2019)

A Robot Raises A Human Child In The Apocalyptic Future

Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne, and Hilary Swank star in this Netflix original movie from 2019. The science fiction film follows a young woman known as Daughter (Clara Rugaard) who is raised by a robot named Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) who aims to repopulate the Earth. However, while the girl believes everything Mother has told her, her faith is tested when a woman arrives and lets Daughter (Hilary Swank) know the world is not extinct like the robot had claimed.

Annihilation asks what is beyond the "Shimmer," while I Am Mother asks what lies beyond the walls of the Mother and Daughter's home.

It's a science-fiction thriller like Annihilation with more of a focus on technology than the natural mutations found in the Alex Garland project. The two movies have a lot in common when it comes to the fact that both women are fronted by a mostly strong female cast, and they deal with a case of the unknown, with the films only hinting at what lies beyond. Annihilation asks what is beyond the "Shimmer," while I Am Mother asks what lies beyond the walls of the Mother and Daughter's home.

13 Starfish (2019)

A Woman In Mourning Believes She Can Save The World With Music

Starfish is set at the end of the world and anchored by a terrific performance by Virginia Gardner. She plays a character named Aubrey, pouring the loss of her friend Grace, who has died. She begins to squat in her friend's old apartment with nothing but a mixtape that says "This Mixtape Will Save The World." A mysterious signal triggers apocalyptic events, and she must use the power of music to try and prevent the end of the world.

Starfish is a very strange movie. It's similar to Annihilation in that it's somewhat cerebral and doesn't always make complete sense. It requires multiple viewings to grasp all the subtle metaphors, hints, and symbolism. The film also has a similar ending, as both Aubrey in Starfish and Lena in Annihilation believe they are heading out to save the world but end up finding an alien presence that indicates that they might have come across the start of the end of the world.

12 Paradise Hills (2019)

A Behavioral Modification Center For Women Who Have Displeased Their Families

Paradise Hills is a very interesting and somewhat odd little film that flew under the radar after its release. Not only is it a sci-fi film, but it is also a fantasy. Emma Roberts stars as Uma, a young woman who wakes up on a mysterious island called Paradise Hills, where "unruly" young women are sent to be trained into becoming their "perfect" selves. However, what Uma and her new friends on the island discover is that the center has much more ominous plans for these young women.

Just like in Annihilation, Paradise Hills is a movie that has a mostly female cast, with Milla Jovovich, Eiza González, Awkwafina, and Danielle Macdonald. The two movies are different in that Annihilation is about a mysterious alien presence, but by the end of Paradise Hills, things go off the rails and show that nothing is as it seems. The most significant difference is that Paradise Hills ends with a relatively happy (yet shocking) ending for the main protagonist.

11 Freaks (2019)

A Father Fights To Protect His Superpowered Daughter

Freaks was filmed in 2018 but wasn't released in theaters until 2019. The movie follows a haunting premise of a father (Emile Hirsch) desperate to keep his daughter safe at any cost. He locks his 7-year-old daughter, Chloe (Lexy Kolker), away inside an old house in an effort to keep her safe from a supposed threat by the "bad men." However, Chloe becomes desperate to discover what exists beyond her decrepit home and heads into great danger when she learns the government hunts down people with superhuman abilities.

The concept is the opposite of Annihilation, in which a crew descends into Area X to investigate the supernatural force behind the "Shimmer." In Freaks, Chloe is the supernatural force kept in a small house and wants to explore the world outside. The stories are similar, with people wanting to discover the secrets hidden from them, but Freaks takes it more in a superhero direction than the sci-fi horrors of Annihilation.

10 Dredd (2012)

A "Judge" In The Dystopian Future

Many people would classify Dredd more as an action movie than something in the sci-fi genre. However, there's definitely a sci-fi aspect to this adaptation of the John Wagner and Carols Ezquerra 2000 AD comic book series. Previously made as a critically slammed 1995 movie with Sylvester Stallone, Dredd brings the story to the big screen here in a much more loyal retelling of the post-apocalyptic dystopian tale of a law enforcement officer given the power of the judge, jury, and executioner.

However, it is worth checking out for fans because it is written by Alex Garland, who both wrote and directed Annihilation.

On the surface, it isn't all that similar to Annihilation. There's not much depth to the high-octane style of Dredd. However, it is worth checking out for fans because it is written by Alex Garland, who both wrote and directed Annihilation. It's another in a long line of strong screenplays written by him, which also includes the horror classic 28 Days Later. The film also has big sci-fi ideas thrown into the mix, although most are drowned out by the explosive action scenes.

9 Melancholia (2011)

The End Of The World

In the world of trippy sci-fi movies, Melancholia was released in 2011 and featured an insanely talented cast consisting of Kirsten Dunst and the father-son combo of Stellan and Alexander Skarsgård. The story centers around a pair of sisters, one of whom is about to get married, as a rogue planet is on the verge of colliding with Earth. The film was very confusing, as is expected from art-house film director Lars von Trier, who directed this as part of his Depression Trilogy, along with Antichrist and Nymphomaniac.

What puts this in line with Annihilation is the high drama that drives this movie. It outweighs the science fiction elements, but there's enough to classify it within the genre. The depressing tone may drive away some viewers, but it is worth checking out as an interesting addition to the sci-fi genre. Both movies also hint at the end of the world as we know it, but in Melancholia, it is a literal end, while Annihilation is more about a change to the status-quo.

8 Coherence (2013)

A Movie About Alternate Realities

More often than not, it's not the big-budget movies that will present unique ideas. The most interesting ideas often come from the films that have to work around their lack of funds to do something extraordinary. Coherence was made for just $50,000 by writer/director James Ward Byrkit in 2013. He did some impressive things, considering he made the entire movie in his home.

In Coherence, a group of eight friends holds a dinner party on the night of the Miller's Comet's ing. However, when this happens, a power outage occurs, and everything changes in their lives. When this happens, strange occurrences begin, and it creates multiple realities. From there, doppelgångers from the different realities cross over, and it causes a tremendous amount of chaos. The movie shares the doppelgånger idea with Annihilation but on a much smaller budget.

7 Inception (2010)

A Heist Movie Within People's Minds

One of the past decade's most famous science fiction movies is Inception. This film was filled with brilliant and captivating ideas and made an impressive $828.3 million at the box office, astronomically high for an original sci-fi idea not based on a preexisting property. In Inception, a group of thieves infiltrate the subconscious and go through various layers of dreams to implant an idea in a person's head. However, nothing about this heist is as it seems for the crew.

One thing that Annihilation shares with Inception is the gripping visual nature that sets it apart. Christopher Nolan crafted an incredible-looking world that is as trippy as it is dazzling. You could take almost any shot of both films and be completely blown away by how gorgeous it is. The two movies also make sure that nothing comes easy, and people are rewarded for paying close attention to what happens during the journey because the endings are left open-ended in both cases.

6 Sunshine (2007)

Astronauts Are Sent To Reignite The Sun

Sunshine is another sci-fi movie written by Annihilation director/writer Alex Garland. That automatically means it will at least somewhat remind viewers of his other work. Sunshine is set in 2077 in a world where the sun is dying, meaning life won't be sustainable for much longer. A group of astronauts ventures into space to try and solve the issue and possibly reignite the sun, but things go awry. This movie begins by throwing the viewer into intense, life-threatening action, never letting up.

This is a must-see spectacle with Garland as the writer and a phenomenal cast including Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, and Cillian Murphy.

There's chaos around every corner. This is a must-see spectacle with Garland as the writer and a phenomenal cast including Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, and Cillian Murphy. The two movies share much in common, as they both have scientists heading into the unknown to try to solve a problem to save the planet Earth, but in this case, the danger is much greater and the trip to the sun is a much more drastic journey than heading into the "Shimmer" in Annihilation.