When it comes to the sci-fi thriller genre, there is an eclectic array of classics from which to choose. Some lean into horror elements, like Ridley Scott's Alien, or even time travel, as James Cameron delivered in The Terminator. There are bold, original ideas capable of monumental blockbuster box-office returns, as Christopher Nolan has demonstrated with movies such as Interstellar and Inception. Still, for every classic like Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and John Carpenter's The Thing, numerous hidden gems remain unrecognized.