Movies Like My Science Project: 80s Sci-Fi Chaos 2026

"The holy grail of 'teens messing with forces beyond their comprehension.' John Hughes lets two nerds Frankenstein a literal woman into existence using a Barbie doll and a home computer, and the movie never once apologizes for how unhinged it gets. This is the same chaotic energy as My Science Project, just with more pink and a better soundtrack."

"If My Science Project's 'we'll figure it out as we go' energy appeals to you, Buckaroo Banzai is your spirit animal. A neurosurgeon/race car driver/rock star battles aliens from the 8th dimension, and the movie just assumes you'll keep up. It's dense, weird, and absolutely refuses to hold your hand u2014 a cult classic that earned every bit of that title."

"Two Valley Girl sisters survive a comet that turns everyone else to dust, then casually loot Los Angeles while fighting mutants. It's got that same low-budget 'we filmed this in a mall parking lot and it rules' charm as My Science Project, but with a feminist streak that was way ahead of its time. The shopping montage alone is worth the price of admission."

"Val Kilmer at peak chaos energy, playing a genius college student who realizes the laser he's building might be a military weapon. It's smarter than My Science Project but shares that core anxiety: what if the science project you thought was cool is actually dangerous? Plus, the popcorn finale is one of the greatest visual gags in 80s cinema."

"Three kids build a spaceship out of a tilt-a-whirl car and an Apple IIc, and the movie just... lets that happen. Joe Dante brings his signature warped-sweetness to a story that starts as a backyard adventure and escalates into genuine cosmic weirdness. The third act polarizes people, but that's what makes it a true video store gem u2014 it takes risks."

"A man treks into a post-apocalyptic wasteland just to find a replacement body for his sex robot. That's the entire premise, and Cherry 2000 commits to it with zero irony and maximum grit. It's the kind of movie that would be buried in the sci-fi section between two Chuck Norris films, waiting for someone brave enough to rent it. That someone should be you."

"Emilio Estevez repossesses cars in a Los Angeles where aliens, government agents, and generic grocery products all coexist in a state of permanent weirdness. Repo Man is punk rock cinema u2014 angry, funny, and utterly unconcerned with making conventional sense. If My Science Project's 'anything goes' philosophy spoke to you, this is its older, weirder sibling."

"Dan Aykroyd's eccentric scientist accidentally summons an alien (Kim Basinger) who's sent to Earth on a mission she doesn't fully understand. It's got that exact My Science Project formula: science goes wrong, chaos ensues, nobody stops to ask sensible questions. Basinger's performance as an alien discovering human customs is gloriously unhinged."

"A teen gains telekinetic powers from a lab accident and immediately uses them to unbutton women's blouses u2014 it's 1982, what did you expect? But beneath the Porky's-era crudeness, there's genuine screwball charm and a science-experiment-gone-wrong premise that directly mirrors My Science Project. Scott Baio at his most supernaturally unhinged is something you didn't know you needed."