7 Sci-Fi Movies So Bad They’re Actually Good

Science fiction is a hugely popular movie genre, but not every sci-fi film is a hit. Like any type of movie, some sci-fi films flop, some are just mediocre, and others become cult classics years later. Then there are the truly awful movies – the ones with nonsensical plots, bad acting, and terrible special effects. Surprisingly, these films can be strangely fun to watch and even become beloved guilty pleasures, and sci-fi is full of them.

There’s no lack of delightfully bad sci-fi movies – we owe a lot of those to the cheesy B-movies of the 1950s and early 60s! But some stand out as particularly awful… yet strangely enjoyable. Here are seven of them, and honestly, a few are better than we remember.

7) Starship Troopers

When people talk about sci-fi movies that are enjoyably terrible, two titles often come up first. One of them is Starship Troopers. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, who also made the classic RoboCop, this 1997 film is based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It’s meant to be a satirical take on war, telling the story of Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) and his friends as they fight an alien race called the Arachnids in the army of a global government. However, when it came out, Starship Troopers was a commercial and critical failure. Many critics accused it of promoting fascist ideas, and it was also criticized for its acting and excessive violence.

Revisiting Starship Troopers today offers a different perspective. While the film remains flawed – the acting isn’t great and it’s quite violent – its message is now understood as a clever satire of fascism, and it’s considered a stronger story than many originally thought. Surprisingly, despite initially underperforming, Starship Troopers spawned a franchise that includes four sequels, a cartoon series, comics, and video games.

6) Jupiter Ascending

While the Wachowskis created the acclaimed film The Matrix, their 2015 movie, Jupiter Ascending, didn’t reach the same heights. The film centers on Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), an ordinary cleaning woman who discovers she’s destined for something much bigger than life on Earth. After being targeted by assassins, she learns from Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a warrior from another planet, that she shares the same genetic makeup as a deceased alien queen and is actually the rightful owner of Earth. That’s just a basic outline of the plot.

While Jupiter Ascending boasts a visually stunning and intriguing world, its story is overly complicated. It would have worked much better as a TV series. If you can overlook some plot holes, it’s surprisingly engaging, with fun, over-the-top action and makes for a solid, enjoyable watch.

5) The Core

Disaster movies are a fun type of sci-fi. There’s something captivating about stories involving huge catastrophes—especially the unbelievable ones—and the wildly creative ways characters try to fix them, like in the movie Armageddon. These films often fall into the ‘so bad they’re good’ category, but 2003’s The Core stands out. If you can simply overlook the completely unrealistic science, it’s actually a really enjoyable movie.

The movie’s basic idea is that the Earth’s core stops spinning, which is a huge problem. Without a rotating core, the planet’s magnetic field will weaken, leaving us vulnerable to dangerous radiation from the sun. The solution? The government decides to drill all the way to the Earth’s center and use nuclear explosions to restart it – a ridiculously flawed plan! While the science is completely unbelievable, the acting is surprisingly strong. The film features a talented cast including Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, and Stanley Tucci, but it’s ultimately held back by its poor scientific accuracy.

4) Battlefield Earth

When people think of hilariously bad sci-fi movies, Battlefield Earth is often one of the first that comes to mind. It’s become famous not only for its poor quality but also for the difficult journey it took to get made. Released in 2000 and directed by Roger Christian, the film is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Starring John Travolta, Battlefield Earth is set in the year 3000 and tells the story of a human uprising against the Psychlos, aliens who have dominated Earth for a millennium.

This movie is famously bad, but that’s part of its appeal – it’s a ‘guilty pleasure.’ However, appreciating it requires understanding the long and troubled production process. L. Ron Hubbard first tried to get the film made before he died in 1986, and John Travolta became involved after the success of Pulp Fiction in 1994. By 1998, an independent company took on the project, and Travolta invested a significant amount of his own money. Production began in 1999, but the resulting film – which only covers the first half of Hubbard’s novel and was intended to be the first of two parts – suffered from poor writing, acting, and special effects. Travolta distanced himself from it after its opening weekend. While it’s objectively a bad movie, it’s almost enjoyable because of how bad it is – the sheer spectacle of its failings is strangely captivating.

3) Mac and Me

For many who grew up in the 80s, Mac and Me is a nostalgic favorite, despite being a clear imitation of E.T. the Extraterrestrial. The film follows a friendly alien, MAC, who escapes from the authorities and teams up with a boy named Eric to find his family. While the story itself is simple, the movie’s unintentional humor is what makes it memorable. The acting is famously poor, the plot is a bit dull, but the terrible effects and constant product placement – especially for Coca-Cola and McDonald’s – are hilariously bad, creating a uniquely entertaining experience.

One of the most memorably awful parts of Mac and Me – and a big reason people enjoy it ironically – is the bizarre finale. It involves a shootout, Eric in a wheelchair, and somehow results in Mac’s family becoming American citizens. Seriously! If you haven’t seen this truly terrible movie, you need to fix that right away.

2) Robo Vampire

You probably haven’t heard of this one, but that’s what this list is for – to introduce you to delightfully bad sci-fi movies worth checking out. This time, it’s Robo Vampire. If the title sounds like a RoboCop knockoff, you’re right! It’s a prequel to 1987’s Devil’s Dynamite, making it the second film in a trilogy (yes, a trilogy!). This 1988 Hong Kong sci-fi film follows narcotics agent Tom Wilde, who is killed in the line of duty but brought back to life as an Android Robot through a futuristic experiment. As a robot, he’s sent on dangerous missions, including one to rescue an undercover agent captured by a drug lord with a monstrous creation of his own: the Vampire Beast.

Okay, so picture this: what if RoboCop hunted vampires? That’s pretty much the starting point for this movie, and honestly, it’s as wild as it sounds. But here’s the thing – it actually works. The vampires themselves look fantastic, and what I really loved was how the filmmakers brought in elements of Chinese folklore to explain their powers and behavior. It’s a really unique spin on the classic vampire myth. It’s definitely a bit of a RoboCop imitation, and a strange one at that, but Robo Vampire is surprisingly fun to watch. I went in expecting a mess, but I ended up really enjoying it.

1) Anaconda (1997)

While the 2025 Anaconda reboot might eventually join this list, we’re focusing on the original 1997 film that started it all. It’s another example of a poorly-made sci-fi movie that somehow spawned a franchise and gained a devoted following. Anaconda centers on a documentary team in the Amazon rainforest, searching for a lost tribe. Their expedition is guided by a man who secretly hunts snakes, specifically the legendary green anaconda. As you can probably guess, they find more than they bargained for – be careful what you wish for!

Okay, let me tell you, Anaconda gets a bad rap, but it’s not bad. It’s wonderfully cheesy! Honestly, looking back, that’s what makes it so fun. It’s totally a ’90s action movie – the effects are hilariously bad, especially the snake itself, and some of the acting isn’t exactly award-winning, even with stars like Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, and Danny Trejo. But that’s part of the charm! It feels like an old-school creature feature, and if you just embrace the campiness and enjoy it for what it is, it’s a surprisingly fun and slightly scary movie. Seriously, everyone should watch it at least once!

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2026-02-14 01:14