10 Worst Sci-fi Movie Twists I Still Think About

Science fiction films have consistently pushed the boundaries of cinema, creating worlds and plots that are as compelling as they are surprising. However, we can all agree that not all plot twists are created equal. While some twists can elevate a fantastic story to even higher levels, others can absolutely tank what had once been a solid movie. Most viewers have at least one experience of this happening: settling in to watch a film, falling in love with it, and then having the ending ruin the entire experience. It happens, but it’s especially frustrating when it happens to sci-fi adventures, which is why we still think about these disappointing endings.

It’s good to remember that for every high there’s a low, and vice versa. Sci-fi twists have given us finales like the unforgettable surprise at the end of The Planet of the Apes or Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which never fade from memory. These 10 films below all earned their place in the sci-fi rankings, and it’s safe to say that many other films tried to do something similar, but had very different results.

10) Terminator: Genisys

Realistically, Terminator is one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises around. People love the original films, with later additions getting a larger variety of responses from fans. That brings us to Terminator: Genisys, a 2015 addition to the long-running franchise. This star-studded cast had a lot of potential, bringing together the talents of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad), J. K. Simmons (Red One), and Lee Byung-hun (KPop Demon Hunters).

Terminator: Genisys begins with time travel, as Kyle Reese rushes to the past to protect Sarah Connor and their future. However, he finds that this past is different than the one he expected, as Sarah herself was raised by a Terminator reprogrammed for this purpose.

All things said and done, that isn’t the strangest change to Terminator history, so most fans could have lived with it. However, having John Connor get infected by nanomachines and turn evil (aka turn into a T-3000 Terminator) is a twist most fans are still scratching their heads about to this day.

Terminator: Genisys is available to stream on Paramount+ and The Roku Channel.

9) Lucy

Lucy was a 2014 film based on a disproven concept, so that automatically dates this movie. The premise is based on the (false) belief that humans only use 10% of their brains. However, this idea has created some fun films and shows before, so fans can overlook bad science.

Lucy starred Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, and Choi Min-sik. It all begins when one woman, Lucy, finds herself exposed to a dangerous quantity of a synthetic drug. Instead of killing her, it unlocks the full potential of her brain.

Again, it’s not the core premise that made Lucy have a strange ending, oddly enough. Lucy does more than get more intelligent throughout the movie; she accesses superhuman abilities and eventually ascends. How Lucy went from unlocking her brain to becoming one with the universe is left unsaid, but many viewers are still thinking about the brain’s power potential.

Lucy is available to stream on Peacock.

8) Signs

This list of movie twists wouldn’t be complete without including at least one M. Night Shyamalan movie. There’s a lot that could be said about those twists, but let’s focus on Signs. Signs (2002) was a highly influential movie, especially at the time. The film starred Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin.

The story follows one family living on a farm. This puts them in the position to see some of the first crop circles appear, but it isn’t long before these circles begin appearing all over the world. You probably remember what happens next, as the aliens are quick to follow their telltale markers.

The whole premise and build-up of Signs is deeply atmospheric, somewhat creepy, and even pretty emotional. However, all of that gets thrown out the window when it’s revealed that the invading aliens are vulnerable to water. Yet they invaded a water planet. Go figure.

Signs is available to rent through Amazon Prime Video.

7) Passengers

Passengers took sci-fi and space travel and added romance, with a few twists along the way. However, it’s the final twist that left a bad taste in our mouths.

Passengers starred Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, and Andy García. The story is set on the Avalaon, a spacecraft headed across the vast universe to find a new planet to call home. Given how far they’re traveling, it makes complete sense that they would utilize hibernation to keep the inhabitants alive until the end of the voyage. Therein lies the problem, as an accident wakes one passenger up 90 years too early, and he can’t go back.

It’s not hard to see how Passengers (2016) could have been a movie about human loneliness and tragedy. However, Jim wakes up another passenger, Aurora, to keep him company. Even when she discovers the truth of what he’s done, the two still fall in love and spend the rest of their days together. In other words, Passengers romanticizes a man taking away a woman’s agency based solely upon her looks. Adding insult to injury, he’s rewarded for this with her love. Huh?

Passengers is available to rent through Amazon Prime Video.

6) A.I. Artificial Intelligence

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is a 2001 science fiction film that changed the way we see the genre. It’s a haunting film for the most part, except perhaps for the ending. A.I. Artificial Intelligence was based on Brian Aldiss’ short story, “Supertoys Last All Summer Long”. The film starred Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor, Brendan Gleeson, and William Hurt.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is set in the future, where advanced robotics has made the impossible possible, for the most part. Enter David (Osment), an advanced robotic child with heartbreaking programming (he was designed to love unconditionally). He was made for a family that would later abandon him.

Overall, A.I. Artificial Intelligence hit the mark, creating a film that left viewers thinking. It raised important questions about sentience, how we treat others, and even touched upon throwaway culture and consumerism. However, the ending left people scratching their heads, as a super-intelligent race eventually brings David back. They also bring back his human mother, but only for a day. What? How? Why? We’ll never know.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is available to stream on Paramount+ + and The Roku Channel.

5) I Am Legend

I Am Legend (2007) is a post-apocalyptic film that had so much potential. It’s based on Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name, and starred Will Smith, Alice Braga, and Dash Mihok. Even knowing how it ends, viewers know that this film is atmospheric and highlights some of Will Smith’s best acting.

Most of the film revolves solely around Neville (Will Smith), the only human found wandering through the waste of New York City. There are plenty of nocturnal mutants around, however, but they’re more of a dangerous threat than a potential companion variety.

The whole film is about Robert Neville’s desperation to find a cure for these infected humans, much like the novel. However, I Am Legend takes a sharp turn at the end, as Robert becomes discouraged, loses hope, and allows himself and his lab to be blown up. The ending was so disappointing that there’s even an alternate version available for home releases. Was that enough to save it from the backlash? No.

I Am Legend is available to rent through Amazon Prime Video.

4) Life (2017)

Life was a 2017 sci-fi horror film that took a hard look at the threat extraterrestrial life could pose to humanity. Sure, that core premise has been done before, but it’s the sort of thought process that society is far from over. Life starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya.

The story follows a group of astronauts working aboard the International Space Station. Naturally, for this story to take such a sharp turn, something goes wrong. They come across an extraterrestrial organism, dubbed “Calvin,” which evolves at a rapid pace. It’s a groundbreaking discovery, to put it mildly. It’s also the biggest threat humanity has ever known.

Life is a stunning movie, with visual effects that are out of this world. However, the twist ending is so predictable that it made for a non-ending. The crew attempts to jettison Calvin far away from Earth’s orbit, sparing humanity; instead, the pod containing Calvin is the one that makes it safely to Earth, while our surviving protagonist gets the grim fate of being lost in space. Viewers are largely left to guess the rest, but this ending is more boring than shocking.

Life is available to stream on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video.

3) Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Yes, Terminator: Salvation is the second Terminator film on this list. Terminator: Salvation is the fourth movie in the Terminator franchise, but it’s largely the least appreciated by fans. The film took a big swing, but when the original ending was leaked online, the higher-ups decided to change the ending. Notably, it’s the only Terminator film that doesn’t feature Arnold Schwarzenegger, which may have contributed to the problem.

Terminator: Salvation starred Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Michael Ironside, and Helena Bonham Carter. The story largely focuses on the present and future, highlighting John Connor’s battle at the helm of the Resistance. As such, it had the potential to be a different take on the franchise thus far.

The original plan was to kill John Connor off in the end, with a few extra dramatic twists for flourish. That didn’t go over too well, so they changed the ending. The improved ending also didn’t go over too well, as cyborg prototype Marcus offers up his human heart to save John Connor in a moment that feels surprisingly unappreciated and hollow.

Terminator: Salvation is available to stream on Hulu.

2) Hancock (2008)

Hancock promised to be a different type of superhero movie, and fans were largely excited by that premise. However, only about 75% of the film delivered on that promise, as the ending gets a bit strange, to put it mildly. Hancock starred Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, and Eddie Marsan.

The story begins with a disillusioned superhuman, Hancock (Will Smith). Sure, he had the potential to save the day, but he’s given up that part of his life, and instead tends to cause superpowered mayhem while getting drunk. Not your average superhero story, indeed. Bateman plays a corporate PR consultant married to Theron, who tries to redeem Hancock’s public image, and runs up against all the challenges of doing so.

The latter part of the film reveals that Bateman’s wife, Mary (Theron), has a past connection to Hancock and superpowers, but her proximity to the hero puts them both at risk, as their soul-bond makes them lose their powers and immortality when they’re together. It was a strange twist, leaving many viewers convinced that the creators simply didn’t know how to end the story.

Hancock is available to stream on Hulu.

1) Alien: Covenant (2017)

The Alien franchise has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Fans have loved some of the additions, while others have had a questionable impact on the lore. That brings us to Alien: Covenant, which pulled double duty. It was designed to be a sequel to both Prometheus and Alien, which is a big ask. Alien: Covenant starred Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir.

As the name, Alien: Covenant, implies, the story begins by following a crew on board the USCSS Covenant. It’s a colony ship that is responding to an unknown distress signal. That’s never a good start in the Alien universe, and things go predictably wrong.

Ultimately, Alien: Covenant’s biggest problem was that it tried to explain too much, and ironically made things more confusing in the process. Instead of explaining the origin of the Xenomorphs, the film raised more questions than answers. Finally, let’s not forget the Android identity-swap shenanigans, which were also a bit of a miss.

Alien: Covenant is available to stream on Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max.

7 Sci-Fi Shows That Changed The World