Cyberpunk films are often confused with generic science fiction films. While the comparison isn't baseless, doing so ignores what makes cyberpunk unique. The main difference is that cyberpunk refers tostories set indystopias dominated by technology, machines, and/or Artificial Intelligence (AI), whereas science fiction is more broad in its subject matter.The subgenre isstill a big deal today, but cyberpunk was arguably at the top of its game in the '90s.

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Back then, the subgenre was more prevalent due to the fact that new technology was rapidly emerging and changing life on an almost daily basis. There are a number of cyberpunk films that gained more popularity and others that are worth watching if never heard of. Here are the 10 best cyberpunk of the '90s, ranked by their IMDb scores.

When googling popular cyberpunk films from the era, Existenz always shows up and for good reason. Directed by David Cronenberg, the film is rightfully filed underscience fiction horror but it still holds some notable cyberpunk elements as well.

In a distant future, gaming has upgraded from electronic consoles to virtual pods. The pods are connected to the gamer's spine. Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a game designer who finds herself the target of assassins. She was meant to demonstrate her latest virtual reality game and finds herself having to enter the game in order to make sure its structure isn't compromised.

For any Sylvester Stallone fan, Demolition Man is one of his guiltiest of guilty pleasures from the '90s. The film originally starts in the year 1996 where LAPD Sergeant John Spartan (Stallone) is after his number one nemesis. After hostages are killed, Spartan and Phoenix(Wesley Snipes) are imprisoned by being cryogenically frozen.

Fastforward to 2032, Phoenixescapes his parole hearing and Spartan is the only one who can stop him. He must adjust to a new worlddominated by technology anda new social order where political correctness has been taken to a satirical extreme.

Bicentennial Man is on the cut off before entering the 2000's. Despite this, it still deserves mention among its '90s peers for its unique outlook on AI technology. While the film was a box office failure, it still gets mentioned in science fiction crircles.

The film starred Robin Williams in the main role of Andrew. In 2005, "Andrew" is a robotic AI introduced to the Martin family to perform household duties. As time passes he starts to exhibit human qualities that were not part of his original programming. The film also transports 20 years into the future of Andrew's evolution.

The Thirteenth Floor will take any viewer on a cyberpunk trip into virtual reality. The film can be titled ascyberpunk due to thefact that it plays on the concept of what's real and what's virtual. In 1999, the creator and owner of a new virtual reality system is murdered. The VR system creates Los Angeles in 1937 with simulated humans.

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Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko)becomes a suspect and heir to the company. Hall enters the virtual reality to find a message left behind by his predecessor. His world turns upside down and must distinguishreality from the simulation.

While Strange Days doesn't involve jumping between present and future, it does have advanced technology. The film follows former LAPD officer turned black marketeer Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), who specializes in the selling of recorded memories and experiences through the virtual reality device known as the SQUID.

Los Angeles has turned into a war zone as social unrest leads to riots and amidst all this chaos, a prostitute is murdered for the recording pleasure of a SQUID user. Lenny tracks down the SQUID recordings and finds himself in the middle of a vast conspiracy and cover-up.

The originalTotal Recall is a film that was a lukewarm success in its time butenjoyed a cult following after the '90s. It's also titledunder science fiction but its plot elements also sway towards cyberpunk. The film takes place in 2084 where technology reigns supremer and interspace travel is somewhat normal. Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has recurring dreams of Mars and a mysterious woman.

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He goes to Rekall a facility that specializes in implanting false memories to the clients' desires. Quaid's procedure goes wrong (or does it?) and his supposed real life isn't actually his own.

There is a common debate on whether or not The Fifth Element is more sci-fiwith cyberpunk elements or if it can be called cyberpunk at all due to its approach to certain characters, locations and themes that aremore of a space opera than cyberpunk.

However, the film does take place in a distant future in the year 2263, and some fans recall the beginning scenes of a futuristic New York City to be considered cyberpunk mainly becausethe city is a mass of high rises that live above smog. That, and thereare flying cars and restaurants fly up to apartment windows. There are also other elements such as robots taking over menial jobs like bartending. A bigger majority of the film is science fiction with elements of cyberpunk.

12 Monkeys is a science fiction film, but many regard Terry Gilliam's film as a neo-noir, dystopian and cyberpunk. The film has many elements from these aforementioned niches that can be considered part ofthe genre for its visually distinct use of time travel.

In 2035, what is left of the human race lives in a subterranean compound underneath Philadelphia. James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a prisoner who is trainedto travel back to 1996 to find the origins of the deadly virus. 12 Monkeyswas a major success and while critics considered the story to be a little jumbled, the acting and plot twist made for a great film.

The originalGhost in the Shell isn't just one of the most highly regarded examples of cyberpunk, but it's also considered to be one of the best animated features ever made. Japanese in origin, thislandmarkanime film is based on the manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow. The movie spawned a vast franchise of series and movies, though the original remains the best.

Set in 2029 Japan, a technological future allows for body parts to be replaced by cybernetic ones. Advancements in technology also created a cyber brain or "Ghost." Motoko Kusanagi(Atsuko Tanaka)is a cyborg public-security officer who tracks down a hacker. The film interweaves philosophical themes and the implications of an advanced technological world.

It's no surprisethat the most acclaimed science fiction and cyberpunk film of the '90s is The Matrix. The Matrix and its franchise are one of the top films regarding AI and simulated reality. It has amassed an immense cult following since its premiere and it continues to make people rethink reality and existence itself.

The film stars Keanu Reeves as Thomas Anderson or "Neo." Neo is a hacker who sees bizarre occurrences in the world and the appearance of the Matrix. He soon discovers the real world to only be a simulation. In reality, the world was run over by machines who entrapped humans for their bioelectric power to survive. A group of free humans hopes to fulfill the prophecy and find "the one" who will end the rule of the machines.

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Gabriela is an Entertainment writer with experience in all things, Tv, Film and pop culture. She's more than happy to stay in and binge-watch new TV shows and movies on Netflix.

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Top 10 Cyberpunk Films From The '90s, Ranked (According To IMDb) - Screen Rant