1986 absolutely ruled. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. We survived questionable fashion choices, cars that couldn’t find their way anywhere without a paper map, and television schedules that demanded you be home at exactly the right time or miss your favorite show. But it was also a simpler, freer time. Before cell phones. Before social media. Before every playground looked like it had been designed by a team of lawyers.
Of course, the good old days weren’t always good, and I’m certainly not volunteering to give up my iPhone anytime soon. (You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.) But while plenty of things from 1986 are better left in the past, one part of that year has only gotten better with age: its science fiction movies.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of these classics, we’ve ranked the 10 best sci-fi movies released in 1986.
10
Howard the Duck
Marvel’s cigar-chomping duck from another dimension accidentally lands in Cleveland after a laboratory experiment goes wrong. Alongside struggling rock singer Beverly (Lea Thompson) and scientist Phil Blumburtt (Tim Robbins), Howard must stop the alien Dark Overlord from conquering Earth.
No, Howard the Duck isn’t secretly a masterpiece. But it’s also nowhere near as irredeemable as its reputation suggests. Long remembered as one of Hollywood’s biggest flops, it has gradually been a cult classic thanks to its practical effects, offbeat humor, and willingness to embrace its own absurdity. Produced by Lucasfilm, it also marked George Lucas’s first major box-office disappointment after Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
9
Black Moon Rising
Master thief Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) agrees to help the FBI recover sensitive data from a criminal organization. After hiding the stolen information inside an experimental supercar called the Black Moon, Quint must retrieve both the vehicle and the data when a ruthless car thief steals it.
Written by John Carpenter around the same time he was making Escape from New York, Black Moon Rising blends high-tech espionage, futuristic cars, and gritty ’80s action into an entertaining cult favorite. Carpenter didn’t direct the film, but his fingerprints are all over a screenplay that feels tailor-made for fans of Knight Rider and early cyberpunk adventures.
8
Flight of the Navigator
12-year-old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) disappears in the woods near his home, only to reappear eight years later without aging a single day. David soon discovers that an intelligent alien spacecraft accidentally transported him into the future. With the ship’s wisecracking computer, voiced by Paul Reubens, as his companion, he sets out to find his way home.
Disney produced plenty of live-action family films during the 1980s, but few have aged as gracefully as Flight of the Navigator. Equal parts coming-of-age tale and sci-fi adventure, it remains funny, heartfelt, and visually impressive. The film also features Sarah Jessica Parker in one of her earliest movie roles, years before Sex and the City made her a household name.
7
Short Circuit
After being struck by lightning, an experimental military robot designated Number 5 suddenly becomes self-aware. Renaming himself Johnny 5, the curious machine escapes the laboratory where he was created and crosses paths with animal lover Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) and his creator Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg), who soon realize the military’s “malfunctioning” robot is actually alive. Naturally, the government wants its expensive creation back.
Long before artificial intelligence became part of everyday conversation, Short Circuit explored sentient machines with warmth, humor, and one of cinema’s most lovable robots. Johnny 5 became an instant pop-culture icon thanks to his childlike curiosity and endlessly quotable personality, and the film’s success led to a 1988 sequel that further cemented Johnny 5’s place in ’80s pop culture.
6
The Manhattan Project
When teenage science prodigy Paul Stephens (Christopher Collet) discovers that his mother’s boyfriend, physicist John Mathewson (John Lithgow), is secretly working with weapons-grade plutonium, he decides to expose the project’s dangers by building an atomic bomb for his school science fair. The stunt quickly spirals into a tense game of cat and mouse with the government.
Released just months after the Chernobyl disaster, The Manhattan Project tapped directly into Cold War fears about nuclear weapons and unchecked scientific ambition. The film was directed and co-written by Marshall Brickman, who won an Oscar for co-writing Annie Hall with Woody Allen. Despite strong reviews, it never found a large audience. Four decades later, it remains one of the decade’s most overlooked sci-fi thrillers.
5
Big Trouble in Little China
Truck driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) thinks he’s helping his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue his kidnapped fiancée. Instead, he stumbles into a hidden world beneath San Francisco’s Chinatown filled with ancient sorcerers, monsters, and centuries-old curses. What begins as a simple rescue mission quickly becomes one of the wildest adventures of the 1980s.
Big Trouble in Little China was a box-office disappointment, but its reputation has only grown over the last 40 years. Director John Carpenter cleverly flips the traditional action hero formula by making Jack Burton think he’s the hero when he’s often the least competent person in the room. Today, it’s one of the most beloved cult classics of the decade.
4
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
After stealing the USS Enterprise to save Spock in Star Trek III, Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew travel back to 1986 to retrieve two humpback whales, the only creatures capable of communicating with a mysterious alien probe threatening Earth. Saving the future, it turns out, requires fitting into 1980s San Francisco.
Often called the funniest Star Trek movie, The Voyage Home proved the franchise could thrive without relying on space battles or villains. It also became the highest-grossing Star Trek film ever at the time, helping ensure the series’ future on the big screen. Four decades later, it’s still one of the franchise’s most accessible adventures.
3
The Fly
Brilliant scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) believes he’s perfected teleportation. But when a housefly accidentally enters one of his experiments, their DNA merges, slowly transforming Brundle into something no longer entirely human. What follows is equal parts science fiction, horror, and heartbreaking tragedy.
David Cronenberg’s remake of the 1958 classic is widely considered one of the greatest remakes ever made. Jeff Goldblum delivers one of the best performances of his career, while Chris Walas won the Academy Award for Best Makeup for the film’s unforgettable practical effects. Even after 40 years, it’s as disturbing as ever.
2
Highlander
Scottish swordsman Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) discovers he is part of a group of immortals destined to battle each other across centuries until only one remains. Guided by his mentor Ramírez (Sean Connery), Connor must ultimately face his greatest enemy, the sadistic Kurgan (Clancy Brown), in a fight where there can be only one.
Highlander spawned sequels, a television series, novels, comics, and an upcoming reboot, but fans still consider the original the definitive chapter. The film also features an unforgettable soundtrack by Queen, who wrote several songs specifically for the movie, including “Princes of the Universe” and “Who Wants to Live Forever.”
1
Aliens
57 years after surviving her encounter with the xenomorph, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to LV-426 with a squad of Colonial Marines after contact is lost with a human colony. What begins as a rescue mission quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival against an entire hive of xenomorphs and their terrifying queen.
Few sequels surpass the films that inspired them. Aliens didn’t just accomplish that. It redefined what an action sequel could be. Sigourney Weaver earned a surprise Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, a rarity for a sci-fi action film, while James Cameron cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s premier blockbuster directors. 40 years later, Aliens remains every bit as thrilling, terrifying, and endlessly rewatchable as it was in 1986.
