5 Sci-Fi Movies That Are (Shockingly) Based On True Stories

The fun of science fiction is usually the out-of-this-world civilizations and stories. "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" take us to fictionalized worlds, while others like "Back to the Future" utilize a contemporary setting with sci-fi technology we could only dream of. You aren't typically watching and waiting with a suppressed groan at the ready for the "Based On a True Story" text to appear before the opening sequence. 

However, even if that title card is absent, there is still a chance that the flick is inspired by something in our reality. In science fiction, it's not always as obvious, since it often features futuristic technology and places, but the inspiration is there. Real scientists' work, actual UFO sightings, and even documented government operations have all been inspirations in the genre.

You may have heard about some of these, but the sci-fi movies on this list probably don't initially come to mind, unless you know quite a bit about the history of neuroscience or are familiar with magazine ads from the 1990s. While the inspirations may differ, they're all science fiction films with a basis in a true story, even if it takes a minute to realize it. 

The surrealist sci-fi horror "Altered States" follows Harvard scientist and professor Edward Jessup (William Hurt) and his work with consciousness. With his personal life in shambles, he heads to Mexico to learn more about a hallucinogenic plant used by indigenous peoples, believing it could help with his research. However, his work takes a turn as he proceeds to keep using the substance, making himself his primary test subject. 

The underlying ideas of the story, and the Paddy Chayefsky book it's based on, are rooted in the work of neuroscientist John C. Lilly. While he's remembered for his work in studying brain activity, and is credited to be the first to create maps of pleasure and pain pathways, he dabbled in other fields as well, looking into dolphin communication and sensory deprivation.

"Altered States" takes inspiration from Lilly's work with the latter, specifically the flotation tank he invented and the use of mind-altering substances, notably ketamine and LSD. In the movie, Jessup both uses sensory deprivation tanks while studying states of consciousness and experiments with various hallucinogens. However, there are no accounts of individuals reverting into a previous species of human in Lilly's work, making that part of the film fictional.

Ann (Katia Winter) investigates the disappearance of friend and fellow journalist James (Michael McMillian) in "Banshee Chapter." He was researching Project MK-Ultra when he vanished, and Ann picks up where he left off, trying to follow his notes to figure out what happened to him.

While the sci-fi horror flick certainly takes some creative liberties, Project MK-Ultra was a real CIA operation. It was built on concerns that American prisoners overseas were being mind-controlled, so the CIA decided to do its own experiments on the topic. Over the span of two decades, the CIA researched electroshock therapy and mind-altering substances. Many participants were unaware that they were a part of a study. A project called Operation Midnight Climax used sex workers to gather individuals and give them LSD without their knowledge, creating an ethical issue regarding informed consent.

There are also conspiracy theories regarding the CIA's involvement in scientist Frank Olson's death in 1953. This was at the start of MK-Ultra, and Olson was given a cocktail containing LSD without his knowledge at a work retreat. He then died several days later. His death was originally ruled a suicide due to the circumstances. However, during the congressional investigation, it was found that his death was related to the experiment. Conspiracy theorists believe that the CIA planned his death to keep him quiet, similar to how James goes missing after using one of the substances they're testing.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, a large spaceship brings aliens seeking refuge in the sci-fi action flick "District 9." While dynamics start off well, with the government giving the otherworldly creatures their own space, humans don't like them, and this results in rising tensions. In an effort to quell them, hired contractors come in to forcibly move the aliens elsewhere.

"District 9" is clearly inspired by the apartheid in South Africa. The name of the film itself is a reference to District Six, an area of Cape Town that experienced racial segregation during apartheid when it was declared that only white individuals could live in the municipality in 1966. This caused the forced relocation of the people of color living there. In Neill Blomkamp's movie, District 9 is where the aliens are initially sectioned off, but locals demand the relocation of aliens to a camp far from the city.

Blomkamp was raised in Johannesburg, and for him, the setting of the project was never a question. "In my opinion, the film doesn't exist without Jo'burg," The Guardian documents the director sharing with journalists in 2009. "It's not like I had a story, and then I was trying to pick a city. It's totally the other way around."

"Phoenix Forgotten" follows a woman looking into her older brother's disappearance. He initially saw some strange lights in the sky during her sixth birthday party, and later went missing while searching for a UFO, which he believed to be the source of the lights. As an adult, she's now trying to better understand what he learned, eventually finding his tapes in a recovered school camera.

The found footage horror film is based on a 1997 incident that happened across Nevada and Arizona. Now referred to as the Phoenix Lights, on March 13, 1997, there were reports of a triangle-like light formation visible in the sky. These sightings began around 8:30pm and were reported for several hours. Based on the location of these sightings as they moved across the state, the source was moving quickly, with Phoenix New Times journalist Tony Ortega arguing that it could have been traveling as fast as "400 miles per hour."

The source has never been officially identified, with some suggesting it was a military training exercise from an air force base in Tucson, Arizona to the usual UFO theories that arise with incidents of this nature. "Phoenix Forgotten" leans into the latter, presenting the lights as evidence of alien activity in the southwest.

Aubrey Plaza's Darius Britt researches the individual behind an ad about time travel in "Safety Not Guaranteed." The man is serious, wanting to go back to 2001 to stop the death of someone he cares about. Darius gets close to him by pretending to be genuinely interested in going on the mission, but the situation continues to grow more confusing as she figures out he's probably lying about what happened in 2001.

This science fiction comedy is inspired by a real ad that appeared in a magazine in 1997. In the classified section of Backwoods Home Magazine, writer John Silveira included an ad asking for someone to time travel with. Written as a joke to fill in space in the section, Silveira discussed how the ad came to be in an article for Backwoods Home Magazine in 2010.

"In the early days of Backwoods Home Magazine, the publisher, Dave Duffy, used fillers when the classified ad pages came up short," he wrote. "He'd ask me to come up with jokes or riddles. I often did." The time travel ad was one of two Silveira wrote that appeared in the 1997 issue — the other was a girlfriend search. People across the world continue to respond to the former as it makes the rounds online. "Sometimes, the flow into my P.O. box is a mere trickle," the writer continued. "Other times, the box is stuffed."