Paramount+ is easily one of the best streaming services around for sci-fi fans. In the years since its launch, the streamer has curated an expansive catalog of science fiction titles that ranges from TV shows like The Twilight Zone and old and new Star Trek shows to beloved movies like Interstellar and War of the Worlds. Subscribers doing a deep dive into the platform’s catalog will even find a few hidden gems, including a criminally underrated 2024 sci-fi movie that just joined Paramount+.
If you’re looking for a great sci-fi movie that you probably haven’t seen, then it’s worth signing up for a Paramount+ subscription this February. The streamer added Jeffrey St. Jules’s underrated sci-fi thriller The Silent Planet to its content catalog on February 1st. The movie is set in a distant future where Earth has become partially occupied by an extraterrestrial species, and humans convicted of serious crimes are sent to uninhabited planets, among them Theodore. Serving a life sentence alone on the distant and uninhabited Solitary Penal Planet #384, he is forced to confront his past and remember his life on Earth when a new prisoner arrives.
The Silent Planet Is a Dreamy, Slow-Burn Experience
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If you’re looking for grand world-building or CGI spectacles, then The Silent Planet is not what you’re looking for. The movie plays out more like a deep, character-driven psychological study about two characters, played by Elias Koteas and Briana Middleton, navigating memory and paranoia, making it a great streaming option for fans of movies like Solaris and The Lighthouse. The Silent Planet is the type of film that challenges the viewer’s interpretation of reality and forces the audience to engage with an at times ambiguous narrative through shifting perspectives that create a communication disruption mirroring the characters’ own isolation and distrust. It is an incredibly intimate two-hander that explores themes of guilt, memory, and the human condition.
Unfortunately, The Silent Planet falls into the category of severely underrated sci-fi films. The Silent Planet is so overlooked that it hasn’t even generated enough critic or audience reviews to garner Rotten Tomatoes scores, but the few that do exist have all been positive. Critics and audiences alike have lauded the movie as a moody, reflective, and thought-provoking feature that replaces typical action with psychological depth. Cinema Crazed’s Emilie Black even called it “a solid science fiction character piece that deserves to be seen,” with everything from the acting to the eerie, isolated, and otherworldly atmosphere achieved without the use of heavy CGI landscapes earning high praise.
What’s New on Paramount+?
Paramount+ is boasting plenty of great fresh arrivals, both in the realm of sci-fi and outside of it, following the roster of new arrivals on February 1st. Those looking for more sci-fi movies can now also stream Cloverfield. Fans of other genres can press play on Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Save the Last Dance, The Godfather movies, Us, and more.
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