Top 20 Best Short Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films

Short movies may not get the deserved attention and they are kind of shadowed by the full-length films but nevertheless there are some of them worthy of your (short) time. So, if you want to see a good science fiction or fantasy movie that will make you think, but you don’t have 2-3 hours for watching, you can check one of the short films from our list. Our selection consists of the top 20 best short sci-fi and fantasy films which last from 4 up to 25 minutes. They have the potential to entertain your thoughts long after they end and the best part is that you can watch them all here in their entirety.

20. Faster Than Light

Director: Adam Stern
Stars: Ty Olsson, Karin Konoval, Aliyah O’Brien
Release date: 2017

A lone astronaut testing the first faster-than-light spacecraft travels farther than he imagined possible.

19. Oscar’s Bell

Director: Chris Cronin
Stars: Paul Bullion, Anti, Rio Walker
Release date: 2018

Duncan and his dog Oscar have gone on their weekly camping trip into the wilderness together. However, when Duncan looks out into the woods, something else looks back.

18. Rise

Director: David Karlak
Stars: Rufus Sewell, Anton Yelchin, Sarah Dumont
Release date: 2016

A dystopian future, where man’s attempt to create artificial intelligence has spun wildly out of control, leading to a war between man and machine.

17. R’ha

Director: Kaleb Lechowski
Star: David Masterson
Release date: 2013

Caught in a large-scale and endless war, the sophisticated and utterly unstoppable machines seem to be winning the battle against their adversaries: a proud alien species. As a result, a technologically perfect robot interrogates a captive alien with the intention to locate the rest of his race’s survivors, pressing on with more and more unrelenting and horrible tortures. But the alien knows that he holds his species’ last chance of survival and he won’t go down without a fight.

16. A Date in 2025

Director: Ryan Turner
Stars: Corrin Evans, Sasha Feldman, Amy Shiels
Release date: 2017

In the year 2025, a young man’s superintelligent AI system tells him that he must go on a date or face certain suicide from loneliness.

15. Let Them Die Like Lovers

Director: Jesse Atlas
Stars: Angela Lewis, Mustafa Shakir, Bradley Fisher
Release date: 2017

In this emotionally-charged sci-fi thriller, a soldier jumps from body to body, but her hardest mission is coming home.

14. Instant

Director: Alex Albrecht
Stars: Tyler Hilton, Manu Intiraymi, Phil Morris
Release date: 2018

After a desperate criminal takes a bar hostage, 6 people must face their demons – past and present – in order to survive. But one of them is keeping a secret that could change everything in an instant.

13. The Nostalgist

Director: Giacomo Cimini
Stars: Lambert Wilson, Samuel Joslin, Darrell D’Silva
Release date: 2014

Somehow, an unforeseen malfunction in a man’s spectacles blurs the frail bounds between reality and parallel reality, allowing instances of a dark and dystopian future to seep into his world.

12. Lookouts

Director: David Bousquet
Stars: Kelton Roney, Chris Cleveland, Stefanie Estes
Release date: 2016

A young woodland scout abandons his troop during a Basilisk ambush and flees into the forest where he uses the memory of his Mother and words of his mentor to find the courage that will change his fate.

11. The Adept

Director: Adam Stern
Stars: Adam Greydon Reid, Jennifer Spence
Release date: 2015

A scientist with a passion for magic gets more than he bargains for when performing a new card trick.

10. World Builder

Director: Bruce Branit
Stars: Erin McGrane, Brian Paulette
Release date: 2007

A strange man builds a holographic world for the woman he loves.

9. Best Friend

Directors: Juliana de Lucca, David Feliu, Varun Nair, Nicholas Olivieri, Yi Shen
Stars: Coline Blaise, Mathilde Loubes, Stéphane Otero
Release date: 2019

In a near future, a lonely man is addicted to a product called «Best Friend» which offers him perfect virtual friends.

8. Final Offer

Director: Mark Slutsky
Stars: Aaron Abrams, Anna Hopkins
Release date: 2018

A down-on-his-luck lawyer awakes to find he’s been enlisted to negotiate on behalf of the human race.

7. Strange Beasts

Director: Magali Barbé
Stars: Poppy Polivnick, Timothy Renouf
Release date: 2017

A new augmented reality game is developed to allow you to create and grow your own pet. But, how far are people willing to go to live in a fantasy environment of their own creation?

6. Alive in Joburg

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Braam Greyling, Godfrey Seome, Dawie Ackermann
Release date: 2005

An eerie tale of a close encounter of the third kind in Johannesburg.

5. Alternate

Director: Adrián Adamec
Stars: Eliska Jurcíková, Martina Jurcíková, Adrián Chamka
Release date: 2019

After the loss of her father, Elly devoted her life to protecting her sister in the new world of altered realities. Because of her fear of losing the last person she cares about, she is unable to enjoy beautiful moments that are life-giving to her and eventually leads her to a sad ending. But is her future truly set, or can she change who she is?

4. The Leviathan

Director: Ruairi Robinson
Release date: 2015

In the short version of The Leviathan, the story took place in a future where human slaves harvest “exotic matter” from the eggs of huge species, apparently including a giant space whale. Aside from the striking visuals and fairly novel world, the short also gives off a bit of an Alien vibe.

3. The Answers

Director: Michael Goode
Stars: Daniel Lissing, Rose McIver, Dawn Sorenson
Release date: 2015

Immediately after his death, the victim of a car crash gets answers to every question he’s ever had about his life, including the most important one of all – what did it all mean?

2. Reset

Director: Jeremy Lutter
Stars: Emily Tennant, Michael Karl Richards, Jessica Harmon
Release date: 2015

Sidney, a female android discovers she has feelings for Markus, her owner and must put her life on the line to gain a human connection. His girlfriend, Natalie gives great help.

1. Olfactory

Director: Christopher Piazza
Stars: Kieran Mulcare, Molly Camp, Alison Barton
Release date: 2016

Olfactory is a system that allows users to re-experience memories. Brian, an app programmer, hacks the system so he can alter his memories, but in doing so, he loses his grip on his current reality.