It’s entirely by accident that the vast majority of choices in this selection of five short sci-fi movies were made in 2013. Judging by this list, you would have thought it had been a bumper year for the genre, but outside of one or two notable exceptions (Gravity and Her being solid examples), full-length sci-fi features were seriously lacking. Get these five sci-fi shorts in you if you haven’t already – but be warned – we’re not necessarily saying they’re all any good.

R’Ha (2013)

Produced by promising German filmmaker Kaleb Lechowski for his university course in Berlin, R’Ha attracted some significant interest upon its release, most notably from Star Wars producer Rick McCallum. McCallum optioned the rights to the 6-minute short with the view to releasing a full-length feature, but at the time of writing, the project still hasn’t left the ground. Set in the far future (or a long time ago) the film centers on an imprisoned, unknown alien species being interrogated and tortured for information by a machine. We’re given the backstory of this suppressed arthropod and his people, fighting a Terminator-style war with robotic lifeforms. The film’s stunted and predictable dialogue isn’t helped by the fact that the Irish brogue of the actor playing both characters can still be heard even through heavy voice-altering effects. However, the premise is impressive and the visuals will ensure you will forget that this is a student film. Whether it becomes more than a short remains to be seen, in spite of a decent backing on Kickstarter.

Darth Maul: Apprentice (2016)

Star Wars shorts and fan films are ten-a-penny these days, with unfortunately more misses than hits, and some you’ll struggle to watch longer than 60 seconds before turning off at the utter cringe-fest. Not so this 2016 effort from T7 Productions and writer/director Shawn Bu, which is, interestingly enough, another German-made student flick. It’s a bold focus on the training of Darth Maul, the tragically underused villain (and best thing about) the Phantom Menace (1999). We follow the Sith’s trials as he takes on a band of Jedi knights, who, in spite of their numbers and good intentions, are hopelessly outmatched. It took two years to put it all together and was shot in 18 days, but the stunningly choreographed fight scenes put most of the actual canon to shame. Ben Schamma excels as “the apprentice,” looking every bit as close to Ray Park without actually casting Ray Park; while turning this fan favorite into the clinical and devastating force we should have been treated to over the course of several movies. George Lucas take note.

Dr. Easy (2013)

Backed by the indie-loving Film4 channel and boasting the acting talents of Tom Hollander, Alex Macqueen, and Geraldine James – who voices the robot, this short is a classic example of science fiction as a precursor to science fact. Opening in the middle of an emergency situation with ambulance crews and armed police, the story is set in a not too distant future in the UK. We follow the activation and deployment of a medical droid into a siege situation, where a desperate man (Hollander) is holed up with a shotgun, unable to talk having been hit in the mouth by a police sniper. The robot must at once provide medical care while serving as an empathetic, crisis negotiator. It’s a strong and polished set up for something that could work well as part of a larger project, but it doesn’t quite deliver with flakey character motivation and a poorly conceived anti-climax. A shame considering its obvious production value and potential.

Room 8 (2013)

Winning the BAFTA for best short film is this thought-provoking puzzler written and directed by James W. Griffiths that was developed from an idea and script outline by Oscar-winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious). A prisoner (Tom Cullen) is escorted to his cell through a bleak facility at a nondescript location and time – although the guards are talking in Russian. There he meets his clandestine cellmate (Michael Gould) who is harboring two unusual boxes, one a mysterious, dancing matchbox and the other a larger, red container with a hinged lid that sits on his bed. Not heeding his cellmate’s warning, the prisoner opens the red box and he is presented with a mind-bending construct that will leave your head spinning and raising more questions than it will answers. Genius in its simplicity and deliciously executed, it’s six twisted and sadistic minutes of the struggle between incarceration and the longing for freedom. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

Amp (2013)

It’s clear within a few moments of watching this appallingly acted, robo-buddy, dystopian attempt that Adam Marisett should stick to his significant visual effects talents, rather than trying on the writer/director hat. The premise is as old as time – wannabe Han Solo type (Matthew MacCaull) and his robot sidekick are dealing in illegal merch during some future war that his father has apparently had a hand in creating. When a less-that-believable old acquaintance turns up (Elysia Rotaru) smuggling something they have to get somewhere (you won’t give a rat’s ass) all hell doesn’t break loose and it feels like a poorly scripted pilot for a trashy 1970’s Dr. Who spin-off. The effects are decent (as you would expect from someone more adept at animating the likes of the Marvel franchise) but the story goes nowhere given the precious minutes a short is bestowed. If monkeys were given typewriters you’d have the script in a week, the ending is truly woeful and everyone is out-acted by a cleavage. That’s probably why we watched it in the first place.