The Nerd's Watch: The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Streaming in June

The Nerd's Watch: The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Streaming in June

You can get comprehensive lists of everything coming to streaming services anywhere. But half of those titles you don’t care about, and the other half are terrible. Where’s the good stuff? io9 is here to help.

Below you’ll find what we deem to be the best sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV coming to Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu in June.

Netflix
Available June 1
A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Steven Spielberg’s completion of the late Stanley Kubrick’s vision remains one of Spielberg’s most underappreciated films.

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight - Ever seen these? I heard they’re pretty good. Oddly, no Dark Knight Rises though.

Carrie - Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s first published novel is still high-school horror at its very finest.

The Space Between Us - Here’s movie that’s not as good as it should be, but isn’t half bad. It’s about a boy who was born in space then comes to Earth to meet the girl he loves.

Available June 5
Black Mirror: Season 5 - Need we say more? Check out more coverage here.

Available June 7
I Am Mother - A hit at Sundance this year that was quickly swept up by Netflix, this film is about a young girl raised by a robot after the apocalypse who finds out the robot may not be telling the truth. We haven’t seen it yet, but are looking forward to it.

Available June 11
Ralph Breaks the Internet - The Wreck-It Ralph movies are weird. They’re both so good and yet I feel like no one ever talks about them. So if you missed the sequel, which is quite entertaining, here’s your chance to Netflix it.

Available June 21
Neon Genesis Evangelion, EVANGELION: DEATH (TRUE)², and The End of Evangelion - Get in the robot! One of the most influential anime series of all time and a pair of related movies will finally be available for streaming, making them easily accessible for both diehards and newcomers.

Available June 26
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you doing? We named it our best film of 2018! It’s that good. You have to see it now and then rewatch it every day.

An American Werewolf in London - No major sci-fi movies pop up until the end of the month on Amazon, but they it have some great ones—like this legendary 1981 werewolf movie that’s overdue to be loved by a new generation.

Minority Report - Another underappreciated Steven Spielberg film comes to streaming this month. This one is not as good as A.I. in my opinion, but still a great blend of sci-fi ideas, with a nice big dose of Tom Cruise action.

Mission: Impossible III - More Cruise, this time from a disciple of Spielberg, a young filmmaker by the name of J.J. Abrams. This was his first feature film...wonder if he’s done anything since.

Open Water and Open Water 2: Adrift - I love the super small, super intense Open Water, a story about a couple stranded in the shark-infested ocean. And though I haven’t seen the sequel, I’m sure it’s kind of okay to watch after the original if you so choose.

Sleepy Hollow - If you can get over the Johnny Depp-ness of it all, this Tim Burton adaptation has some great thrills, chills, and spills. Many of which come from a certain Headless Horseman.

Spaceballs - Here’s how good Spaceballs is. It’s the movie that, in a way, helped keep Star Wars afloat. Released right in that period when Star Wars was fading, a whole generation of kids learned about a galaxy far, far, away through this hilarious, perfect Mel Brooks parody.

Species, Species III, and Species: The Awakening - But no Species II. Odd. Anyway, I can’t vouch for the third or fourth one, but the first one was a favorite growing up.

The Silence of the Lambs - In our opinion, one of the great horror films of all-time and the rare film to sweep all four major Academy Awards. Enjoy it with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

The Wraith - Every month there’s one movie I’m really excited is coming to streaming, mostly because I loved it as a young child and it has since kind of gotten lost in time. Well, this month, that movie is The Wraith, which is about a boy who comes back from the dead with a magic car. Or something like that. Anyway, I can’t wait.

Available June 1
The ’Burbs - Balancing creepy with funny is an art form and few do it better than Joe Dante, who helmed this classic 1980s film starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher.

Dante’s Peak - Remember in 1997 when two volcano movies came out? One had Tommy Lee Jones and the other had Pierce Brosnan. This is one of the two. (Don’t worry, I can totally tell them apart. Seriously.)

Dragonheart and Dragonheart: A New Beginning- You say the words “Dennis Quaid” and “dragon” and we’re there. Plus, apparently, there was a sequel that didn’t quite star Dennis Quaid or make it to theaters. But, now the original and sequel are on Hulu.

Existenz - Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in David Cronenberg’s weird mix of video games and horror and a bunch of other cool, gross shit cause it’s David Cronenberg.

Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th – Part II, Friday the 13th – Part III, Friday the 13th – Part IV: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th – Part V: A New Beginning, Friday the 13th – Part VI: Jason Lives, Friday the 13th – Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th – Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - One through eight! All classics in their own right. And now, all on Hulu.

The Gift - Sam Raimi, Cate Blanchett, why haven’t you heard of this movie before? Well, probably because it’s only so-so. But, a Sam Raimi movie about a woman who tries to solve a murder through ESP? Come on, you know you want to check it out.

Independence Day - Smart. Get this one on the streaming service before July. You know everyone is going to watch it then. I usually do.

Mission: Impossible - It’s funny to look back at this Brian De Palma film and imagine it getting like seven sequels in the years that followed. Sure it’s good, but that good? You simply never know.

The People vs. George Lucas - A solid little doc about Star Wars fandom which also, in retrospect, makes you think “Yeah, I’d walk away for $4 billion.”

The Secret of NIMH - This film has definitely made its way to some other streaming services but now, it’s Hulu. And thinking of it will always make me remember how scared it made me as a kid.

Available June 4
District 9 - Neill Blomkamp’s awesome social sci-fi action film is always worth a watch, for its effects, weapons, smart storytelling, performances, and also to see what the filmmaker is capable of under the tutelage of a killer producer like Peter Jackson. (Also on Amazon.)

Available June 5
The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 3 Premiere - For me, this is the highlight of the month. Kick some ass, June.

 

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