Sensual tension, seductive aliens, and futuristic fantasies come together in these titles. Whether it’s about deadly lust or comical desires: these films prove that space (and the lab) is a lot hotter than you would think.
1. Species (1995)
In the 90s, this was the sci-fi thriller everyone was talking about. Sil (Natasha Henstridge) looks like a dream woman, but is genetically designed as the ultimate predator. She escapes from a laboratory with only one goal: to mate.
The film combines the biomechanical design of H.R. Giger (the man behind Alien) with pure 90s erotica. It is a cat-and-mouse game where the men who fall for her charms literally pay for it with their lives. A warning that beauty can sometimes be deadly.
2. Species II (1998)
Where part one still tried to be a serious thriller, the sequel goes completely “over the top.” An astronaut returns to Earth but unknowingly carries alien DNA with him. The result? His urge to mate turns into a bloody pandemic.
The “gore” and the nude scenes are ramped up considerably. It is less subtle, but for fans of trashy creature-features, this is a guilty pleasure where Eve, a new clone, balances between her humanity and her deadly instincts.
3. Under the Skin (2013)
Don’t expect a standard action movie, but a stifling arthouse experience. Scarlett Johansson drives a van through a bleak Scotland and lures unsuspecting men to a house. What happens there in the black, liquid void is fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
The film is slow and hypnotizing. Johansson plays her role with a cold, detached curiosity. It is erotic in a way that unsettles you; you are watching an alien being trying to understand what it means to have a body.
4. Lifeforce (1985)
A cult classic from the legendary Cannon Studios. A space mission finds a ship with humanoid beings in stasis. They take “the girl” back to Earth, which turns out to be a massive mistake. Mathilda May walks around practically naked for the entire film as a space vampire who sucks life energy instead of blood.
It is a bizarre mix of gothic horror, disaster movie, and sci-fi pulp. London turns into a chaos of zombies and energy flashes. It makes no sense, but it is incredibly entertaining.
5. Weird Science (1985)
The ultimate teen fantasy by John Hughes. Two nerds hack a computer (with a bra on their heads, because that’s how computers worked in the 80s) and accidentally create their dream woman: Lisa.
Kelly LeBrock is iconic as the magical woman who not only teaches the boys how to kiss but also gives them self-confidence. It is a time capsule of 80s synthpop, latex, and that typical, innocent naughtiness of the era.
6. The Fifth Element (1997)
Luc Besson created a space opera bursting with color and energy. When Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls through the roof of Bruce Willis’s taxi in her now world-famous “bandage outfit,” a wild ride to save the universe begins.
The film is sexy in a playful, futuristic way. The fashion (designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier) plays a huge role. Leeloo is simultaneously vulnerable and a fighting machine, and her chemistry with the grumpy Korben Dallas is the engine of the film.
7. Ex Machina (2014)
A programmer wins a contest to spend a week at his eccentric boss’s estate, only to discover he must test the humanity of the robot Ava (Alicia Vikander). What follows is a claustrophobic psychological chess game.
Ava uses her femininity and vulnerability as a weapon to escape. The film asks uncomfortable questions: is the programmer falling in love with her soul, or is he simply programmed by her appearance? Cool, intelligent, and shivering with tension.
8. Barbarella (1968)
Jane Fonda as the queen of the Galaxy in the most impractical spacesuits ever made. The film starts with a striptease in zero gravity and only gets crazier from there.
She travels from planet to planet and ends up in situations ranging from the deadly “Excessive Machine” (which kills through pleasure) to flesh-eating dolls. It is pure camp; a psychedelic trip that doesn’t take itself seriously at all and thus became pop-culture art.
9. Earth Girls Are Easy (1989)
Three alien beings (including Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carrey in full fur) crash into the pool of a manicurist (Geena Davis). After a shave, they turn out to be incredibly handsome men who turn Los Angeles upside down.
It is a musical, a comedy, and a romance in one. Neon bikinis are everywhere. The chemistry between Davis and Goldblum (an actual couple at the time) radiates off the screen in this cheerful ode to superficiality.
10. Species III (2004)
The franchise continues with Sil’s daughter, Sara. She grows up at record speed into a perfect woman who, like her mother, struggles with her instincts. Scientists try to study her, while other aliens try to destroy her.
Although the budget was lower than its predecessors, the core remains the same: beautiful people, monstrous transformations, and the eternal struggle between science and lust. For the fans who can’t get enough of the mythology.
