2014 Hit Ranked the 'Greatest Sci-Fi Thriller of the Last 15 Years'

It can be argued that some of the most memorable and popular thrillers feature science fiction elements. The publication Collider recently highlighted some of the top movies from the sci-fi thriller genre released after 2011. Collider's ranking of the "10 greatest sci-fi thrillers of the last 15 years" included films like 2013'sSnowpiercer, Gravity from 2013, 2025's Bugonia, and Nope, released in 2022.

Collider named Alex Garland's 2014 film Ex Machina, which explores the concept of artificial intelligence, the best sci-fi thriller since 2011. The publication complimented the film's curveballs and anxiety-inducing moments.

Ex Machina holds a score of 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 78 on Metacritic.

Alex Garland Shared How He Came up With the Premise of 'Ex Machina'

In a 2025 interview withGQ, Garland, who wrote and directed the film, shared how he came up with the premise of Ex Machina. He explained that he had been in a "very long running" argument with a friend over machine learning, artificial intelligence, and human consciousness.

"In a way, the argument was, are we understating the potential of AI or are we overstating what human consciousness actually is? Just talking around it and around it and around it and around it for literally years, and Ex Machina kind of floated out of that," said the Annihilation director in the 2025 interview.

While speaking to GQ, Garland complimented the cast of Ex Machina, which includes Oscar Isaac as Nathan, Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb, Alicia Vikander as Ava, and Sonoya Mizuno as Kyoko. He suggested that the actors' presence elevated the film.

"Alicia, Domhnall, Oscar, and Sonoya, all of them clearly could act and just felt right. They all really understood what their roles were. They all really understood the film. They were also enthusiastic about the project. You know, they weren't being strong-armed into it or bought into it. So that meant it was a good attitude on set. It felt completely right," said Garland during the 2025 interview.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 10:05 AM.