The 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of 1986, Ranked
Year 1986 was an absolute cultural powerhouse. Admittedly, it wasn’t flawless. We somehow managed to endure baffling fashion choices, automobiles that required physical paper road maps to navigate, and television schedules that forced you to be physically present in your living room or risk missing your favorite program entirely. Yet, it possessed an unmistakable charm—a freer, less complicated era existing entirely before the ubiquity of smartphones, the endless scroll of social media, and an era where public playgrounds weren’t sanitized by committees of risk-management attorneys.
<p>Granted, romanticizing bygone eras has its limits, and I certainly have no intention of abandoning my modern smartphone anytime soon (you would practically have to pry it from my cold, deceased hands). But while plenty of anomalies from <a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=1986" target="_blank">1986</a> are better left consigned to history, one defining cultural export from that exact twelve-month window has only appreciated in brilliance over time: its visionary <a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=sci+fi+movies" target="_blank">science fiction cinema</a>.</p>
<p>To properly honor the 40th milestone anniversary of these cinematic touchstones, we have meticulously ranked the 10 greatest sci-fi motion pictures unleashed in 1986.</p>
<h2 id="howard-the-duck">
<span class="item-num">10 </span>
<span>
Howard the Duck<img alt="howard the duck and lea thompson in howard the duck" data-image-id="208438" height="688" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19982880/5392088_lea3.jpg" width="1280">
</span>
</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=marvel" target="_blank">Marvel's</a> notorious cigar-chomping waterfowl from an alternate dimension unexpectedly crash-lands in Cleveland following a catastrophic laboratory miscalculation. Alongside an aspiring rock vocalist named Beverly (portrayed by Lea Thompson) and an earnest researcher named Phil Blumburtt (played by Tim Robbins), Howard must thwart a malevolent extraterrestrial entity known as the Dark Overlord from subjugating Earth.</p>
<p>To be clear, <em>Howard the Duck</em> is hardly an unrecognized high-art masterpiece. However, it is also vastly less irredeemable than its long-standing reputation implies. Historically branded as one of <a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=hollywood" target="_blank">Hollywood's</a> most monumental financial failures, the feature has steadily cultivated an enthusiastic cult following, largely owing to its tactile practical effects, eccentric humor, and unbridled commitment to its own sheer absurdity. Backed by Lucasfilm, the production unfortunately served as George Lucas's maiden major box-office stumble following the astronomical triumphs of <a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=star+wars" target="_blank">Star Wars</a> and <a href="https://www.polygon.com/search/?q=indiana+jones" target="_blank">Indiana Jones</a>.</p>
<h2 id="black-moon-rising">
<span class="item-num">9 </span>
<span>
Black Moon Rising<img alt="BlackMoonRising" data-image-id="562226" height="812" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/blackmoonrising.jpeg" width="1200">
</span>
</h2>
<p>Elite operative and master thief Quint (embodied by Tommy Lee Jones) is recruited by the FBI to retrieve classified digital assets from a heavily fortified criminal syndicate. After cleverly concealing the compromised data inside a top-secret, highly experimental prototype automobile dubbed the Black Moon, Quint is forced to execute a daring recovery mission when a ruthless grand-theft ring swiped the revolutionary vehicle.</p>
<p>Penned by iconic filmmaker John Carpenter during the precise period he was conceptualizing <em>Escape from New York</em>, <em>Black Moon Rising</em> fuses high-stakes technological espionage, futuristic vehicular design, and gritty eighties noir into an immensely entertaining genre-bender. Although Carpenter did not sit in the director's chair, his unmistakable creative DNA permeates a screenplay that feels custom-tailored for aficionados of high-octane vehicular thrillers.</p>
<h2 id="flight-of-the-navigator">
<span class="item-num">8 </span>
<span>
Flight of the Navigator
</span>
</h2>
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<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:56.319811875367%" data-img-url="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/flight.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption='"Image: Disney"'>
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<img width="1650" height="930" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="flight" data-img-url="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/flight.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/flight.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" class="img-brightness-opt-out">
</picture><small class="body-img-caption">Image: Disney</small></figure>
</div>
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<p>Twelve-year-old David Freeman (played by Joey Cramer) vanishes mysteriously within the wooded expanse near his suburban home, only to rematerialize eight years later without having aged a single day. David soon discovers that a sentient, highly advanced extraterrestrial vessel inadvertently pulled him across the timeline. Teaming up with the starship's sarcastic onboard artificial intelligence—voiced memorably by Paul Reubens—he embarks on an arduous quest to unravel his past and return to his family.</p>
<p>Disney churned out numerous live-action family features throughout the eighties, yet remarkably few have endured with the same graceful charm as <em>Flight of the Navigator</em>. Blending coming-of-age emotional depth with cosmic wonder, the picture remains humorous, deeply sincere, and visually astonishing. Notably, the project also spotlights Sarah Jessica Parker in one of her earliest cinematic turns, long before the phenomenon of <em>Sex and the City</em> transformed her into a household name.</p>
<h2 id="short-circuit">
<span class="item-num">7 </span>
<span>
Short Circuit
</span>
</h2>
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<p>Following a sudden, severe lightning strike, a military prototype combat automaton designated Number 5 unexpectedly develops complete self-awareness. Rechristening himself Johnny 5, the inquisitive mechanical entity escapes the high-security laboratory of his birth, eventually crossing paths with animal advocate Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) and his principal designer Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg). Together, they realize the military's supposed "malfunction" is actually proof of true sentient life—prompting the government to launch an aggressive operation to repossess its expensive asset.</p>
<p>Long before artificial intelligence saturated contemporary discourse, <em>Short Circuit</em> explored machine consciousness with profound warmth, wit, and one of cinema's most endearing robotic creations. Johnny 5 blossomed into an instant pop-culture sensation fueled by his insatiable childlike wonder and endlessly quotable disposition, paving the way for a 1988 sequel that further solidified his legacy.</p>
<h2 id="the-manhattan-project">
<span class="item-num">6 </span>
<span>
The Manhattan Project<img alt="Manhattan2" data-image-id="562213" height="730" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/manhattan2.jpeg" width="1296">
</span>
</h2>
<p>When teenage physics prodigy Paul Stephens (played by Christopher Collet) discovers that his mother's romantic partner, prominent physicist John Mathewson (John Lithgow), is clandestinely illicitly handling weapons-grade plutonium, he takes it upon himself to expose the inherent dangers of the initiative. His method? Constructing a functional atomic device for his local high school science exhibition. The audacious stunt swiftly deteriorates into a high-stakes, paranoid game of cat-and-mouse against federal authorities.</p>
<p>Premiering mere months after the tragic Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, <em>The Manhattan Project</em> capitalized directly on prevailing Cold War anxieties regarding atomic weaponry and hubristic scientific overreach. Directed and co-authored by Marshall Brickman—who earned an Academy Award for co-writing <em>Annie Hall</em> alongside Woody Allen—the film unfortunately failed to secure a massive commercial audience during its theatrical run. Four decades later, it stands proudly as one of the era's most unjustly overlooked suspense thrillers.</p>
<h2 id="big-trouble-in-little-china">
<span class="item-num">5 </span>
<span>
Big Trouble in Little China<img alt="Kurt Russell holds a submachine gun in Big Trouble in Little China." data-image-id="248313" height="437" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23938801/53__137_.jpg" width="1022">
</span>
</h2>
<p>Hard-drinking trucker Jack Burton (portrayed by Kurt Russell) operates under the comforting delusion that he is simply assisting his close companion Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) in retrieving his abducted fiancée. Instead, he plunges headfirst into a subterranean labyrinth hidden beneath San Francisco's Chinatown, swarming with ancient sorcerers, monstrous entities, and centuries-old curses. What starts as a straightforward rescue operation quickly transforms into one of the most eccentric, chaotic expeditions of the 1980s.</p>
<p>While <em>Big Trouble in Little China</em> stumbled at the box office upon release, its reputation has expanded exponentially across the last forty years. Director John Carpenter brilliantly subverts conventional action hero archetypes by designing Jack Burton as a man who *thinks* he is the central savior, while routinely proving to be the least competent individual in any given room. Today, it ranks securely among the most cherished cult masterworks of the decade.</p>
<h2 id="star-trek-iv-the-voyage-home">
<span class="item-num">4 </span>
<span>
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
</span>
</h2>
<div class="body-img landscape">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:56.293706293706%" data-img-url="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/startrek4.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption='"Image: Paramount"'>
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<img width="825" height="464" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="startrek4" data-img-url="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/startrek4.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/startrek4.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1" class="img-brightness-opt-out">
</picture><small class="body-img-caption">Image: Paramount</small></figure>
</div>
</div>
<p>Following their daring commandeering of the USS Enterprise to resurrect Spock in the previous installment, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his loyal crew navigate time back to 1986 Earth to secure a pair of humpback whales—the sole biological specimens capable of responding to a mysterious cosmic probe threatening global annihilation. Safeguarding the distant future, as it turns out, requires mastering the baffling social intricacies of 1980s San Francisco.</p>
<p>Frequently hailed as the funniest entry in the cinematic franchise, <em>The Voyage Home</em> demonstrated conclusively that the series could flourish without relying heavily on interstellar warfare or conventional antagonists. It subsequently became the highest-grossing Star Trek film up to that point, securing the longevity of the intellectual property on the silver screen. Four decades later, it remains wonderfully accessible to casual viewers and devoted Trekkies alike.</p>
<h2 id="the-fly">
<span class="item-num">3 </span>
<span>
The Fly<img alt="Jeff Goldblum broods naked inside his teleporter in The Fly" data-image-id="519057" height="1989" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/msdflyy_fe025_h.JPG" width="3000">
</span>
</h2>
<p>Visionary researcher Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is convinced he has successfully cracked the physics of matter teleportation. However, when an ordinary housefly inadvertently slips into the transmission pod during a private test, their cellular structures meld together, triggering a horrific, irreversible genetic mutation that transforms Brundle into a hybrid entity no longer entirely human. The ensuing narrative serves as an exquisite, deeply unsettling blend of science fiction, body horror, and poignant tragedy.</p>
<p>David Cronenberg's re-imagining of the 1958 original is universally lauded as one of the greatest cinematic remakes ever executed. Jeff Goldblum delivers a career-defining tour de force, while Chris Walas captured a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Makeup due to the picture's visceral, ground-breaking practical effects. Even forty years down the line, it retains every ounce of its chilling power.</p>
<h2 id="highlander">
<span class="item-num">2 </span>
<span>
Highlander<img alt="sean connery and christopher lambert in highlander" data-image-id="211593" height="1023" src="https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20087129/Highlander_1_Full.jpg" width="1920">
</span>
</h2>
<p>Rugged Scottish swordsman Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) discovers to his astonishment that he belongs to an ancient faction of immortals destined to duel across the centuries until only one individual remains standing. Under the tutelage of his charismatic mentor Ramírez (Sean Connery), Connor must ultimately confront his most dangerous adversary, the merciless Kurgan (Clancy Brown), in a fatal showdown governed by a single absolute rule: there can be only one.</p>
<p>Although <em>Highlander</em> spawned a sprawling multimedia franchise spanning sequels, television adaptations, novels, and forthcoming reboots, loyalists continue to view the original motion picture as the definitive pinnacle. The feature is further elevated by an iconic, thunderous soundtrack crafted entirely by Queen, featuring timeless anthems like "Princes of the Universe" and "Who Wants to Live Forever."</p>
<h2 id="aliens">
<span class="item-num">1 </span>
<span>
Aliens
</span>
</h2>
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<p>Fifty-seven years after narrowly escaping her horrific encounter with the predatory xenomorph, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) agrees to journey back to LV-426 alongside an elite squad of Colonial Marines once radio communication with a terraforming colony abruptly ceases. What initially presents as a rescue operation rapidly degenerates into a claustrophobic, desperate war for survival against an entire subterranean hive and their towering, terrifying matriarch.</p>
<p>Rarely does a sequel eclipse the artistic heights of its progenitor. <em>Aliens</em> did not merely achieve that rare feat; it fundamentally redefined the parameters of what an action sequel could accomplish. Sigourney Weaver secured a historic, groundbreaking Academy Award nomination for Best Actress—an extraordinary milestone for a sci-fi action feature—while director James Cameron cemented his status as Hollywood's premier blockbuster auteur. Four decades later, <em>Aliens</em> stands unmatched as a pulse-pounding, terrifying, and endlessly rewatchable masterpiece.</p>Source: Polygon
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