That vast expanse of nothingness up in the sky: it looks quite appealing right now, doesn't it? We could start a little colony on Mercury and sunbathe in gas masks. Perhaps give a friendly wave at a passing UFO and inadvertently offend them so much they harvest our organs for Sunday lunch. We could even volunteer to pilot a satellite solo and then scream into the void when Houston identifies that there is, actually, a huge problem.

These are just a few ideas the best space movies have tackled, and the concept of the multiverse, in all its terrifying eternalness, has seen no end to the limits of creative thinking and onscreen fiction. What's more, the place out yonder remains unsolved. That makes for fertile ground for filmmakers to suspend us in absolute disbelief. We don't know what's out there. Therefore, anything could be out there.

Some of it is great. Some of it is chilling. Some of it is, well, a bit unexpected – which is to be totally expected, in the grand scheme of things. So strap yourself in cadet. Here are the best space movies ever made.

Alien (1979)

youtubeView full post on Youtube

WATCH

"In space, no one can hear you scream," read the lava lamp glow of Alien's theatrical poster – a succinctly chilling analysis of a film that switched hope and world-saving for abject horror and primal survivalism. For Sigourney Weaver's Ripley – the warrant officer aboard the doomed Nostromo – blazed trails (and oversized alien mandibles designed by Swiss surrealist H.R Giger) across this landmark picture, redefining the mould of the sci-fi protagonist and spawning multiple sequels, spin-offs and imitations in the process. The local drooling Xenomorph may not hear your screams, but the neighbours certainly will.

High Life (2018)

WATCH

You've been sentenced to death. So it's either the jolly firing squad, or a hellish ride with other reprobates on a mission to extract alternative energy from a black hole. Robert Pattinson chooses the latter in Claire Denis's repulsive journey through the cosmos, as the Green New Deal descends into a strange fertility project helmed by a sex-crazed scientist in Juliette Binoche. Expect lingering shots, a gut-wrenching score and a vile 'self-relief' onboard facility ominously named 'The Box'. Perhaps the firing squad wasn't so bad after all.

Apollo 13 (1995)

WATCH

With a blue chip billing that includes Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris, Apollo 13 is what all cosmic disaster films should look like: no nuclear bombs sent into the sun, no suspiciously bouncy pieces of polystyrene moon rock, no "if we don't stop it, we won't have a home to go back to!" Instead, Apollo 13 was hailed upon release for its faithfulness to the failed lunar mission of 1970, with director Ron Howard extensively consulting NASA's help in its production, and the ground control-to-spaceship dialogue taken almost verbatim from official transcripts and recordings.

Gravity (2013)

WATCH

Alfonso Cuarón's gripping space thriller deserved every single one of its ten nominations at the 86th Academy Awards. As first-time astronaut Sandra Bullock works opposite George Clooney to save a routine maintenance mission gone wrong, lingering shots of yawning nothingness are interspersed with moments of pure, molar-clenching peril, resulting in one of the most critically and commercially successful sci-films of all time.

Solaris (2002)

WATCH

Another day in a universe to save, another job for George Clooney! Though where Gravity goes hard on the adversity, the 2002 remake of Solaris puts the psychological among the stars as Clooney's Dr. Chris Kelvin is tasked with solving a strange phenomenon aboard a distant space station: the dead are seemingly reappearing. Which, of course, is an exciting professional quandary for an emotionally distant and brilliant psychologist. But when Dr. Kelvin's own late wife joins the crew, Solaris ramps up on the intrigue as it forces both its cast and audience to ponder upon what it truly means to be alive.

Pandorum (2009)

WATCH

You may've missed Pandorum the first time round. Many did. And while it proved divisive among critics upon release, the British-German venture found a legion of fans devoted to its unique blend of external threat (humanoid cannibalistic mutants, naturally) and internal horror (a maintenance crew, reawakened from stasis on a human ark set to colonise a new planet, are deep in the throngs of psychological trauma, naturally).

Interstellar (2014)

WATCH

Christopher Nolan's space opera is one of two halves. Up in the heavens, Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway seek out a liveable replacement for a now desolate planet Earth. And back on its post-truth, blighted surface, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine are cracking the codes linked to humanity's survival (you'll even seen a young Timothée Chalamet, too). In its entirety, however, Interstellar is one of the few films to successfully launch the intellectual complexities of space travel within a truly entertaining vessel.

Aniara (2018)


WATCH

Earth, once again, has been exploited and exhausted by humankind. A new life on Mars beckons however, with safe passage facilitated by a luxury spacecraft from which the film takes its name. Except it isn't so safe. As the Aniara veers off course into the unknown, this bleak Swedish sci-fi thriller sees its unnamed protagonist – the operator of a calming virtual reality device called the Mima – witness the descent of humanity as her workplace falls deeper into the galactic abyss. Worst shift ever.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

WATCH

Widely-considered to be Stanley Kubrick's finest film, 2001: A Space Odyssey was ahead of its time in both title and content: AIs with a God complex, unexplained monoliths that influence the course of human civilisation, another dangerous space walk to fix another endangered panel – all of which seems like standard fare for sci-fi. But it was this 1968 classic that first pioneered such tropes, and as the original article, it has rarely been outshone.

Gattaca (1997)

WATCH

A space movie that never even breaks the atmosphere: fancy that. And yet it's exactly what 1997's Gattaca achieved, as a futuristic biopunk society bases itself on a superior eugenics program that rewards the finest breeds with the gift of space travel. Ethan Hawke stars as an 'invalid' that infiltrates the impeccably polished and visually immaculate noirish world of Gattaca opposite Jude Law and Uma Thurman. No spaceships, and that's no bad thing.

Moon (2009)

WATCH

The dark side of the Moon is a good place to hide the dark side of capitalism. For Moon, an impressive and scientifically-lauded debut from director Duncan Jones, sees Sam Rockwell near the end of a solitary three-year shift mining valuable lunar energy. Though as preparations begin for early retirement back on Earth, he realises that he may not be so alone in this compelling tale of ethics, business and the meaning of self-identity.

First Man (2018)

WATCH

Adapted from James R. Hansen's biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man proved that La La Land was no flash in the pan for 35-year-old director Damien Chazelle. As we see Ryan Gosling take on the mantle of the first astronaut to set foot on the Moon, this is a film less about the victories made in space, and more about the inner drive and borderline obsessiveness required for their success – and all the sacrifices involved.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

WATCH

Oh come on, this would be no fair assessment of space movies if there was no mention of Star Wars. As one of the most influential and sprawling film franchises of all time, the most recent instalments may have ebbed in quality, but Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, is perhaps the finest of the lot, raising the emotional stakes and setting the standard for sci-fi ever since. You'll almost forget the absolute agony that was Jar Jar Binks. Almost.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more delivered straight to your inbox

SIGN UP

Need some positivity right now? Subscribe to Esquire now for a hit of style, fitness, culture and advice from the experts

SUBSCRIBE