The Mad Science Movie Awards: 58 Films, So Many Bad Ideas

After 58 films and over a century of cinema, we’re closing the book on our Mad Science series the only way that feels right: with our very own Mad Science Film Awards.

Because if there’s one thing this subgenre has taught us, it’s that science rarely goes to plan… and someone probably shouldn’t have tried it in the first place.

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What makes a mad scientist?

Across the series, we’ve asked the same question again and again:

Is it ego?

Grief?

Curiosity?

Loneliness?

Capitalism?

From early gothic horror to modern sci-fi, mad scientists always believe they’re doing the right thing. They push boundaries, challenge limits, and try to change the world. They just tend to ignore the consequences.

From Frankenstein to Poor Things

Mad science didn’t start in a lab. It started as a warning.

Early films like Frankenstein (1910, 1931) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912, 1931) frame science as something dangerous, almost supernatural, a way of playing God.

By the atomic age, that fear shifts. Science becomes tied to industry, radiation and modernity, leading to films like The Fly (1958) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), where the horror is no longer punishment, but consequence.

Then things get messier.

The 1980s turn mad science into something commercial, chaotic and often funny — from Re-Animator (1985) to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). By the 90s, it’s corporate, with Jurassic Park (1993) turning scientific ambition into blockbuster spectacle.

And in more recent films like Get Out (2017) and Poor Things (2023), the genre becomes something else entirely, less about creating monsters, and more about control, identity, consent and ownership of the body.

The Mad Science Film Awards

To wrap up the series, we’re handing out awards across the genre — celebrating the best, the worst, and the most ethically questionable decisions in sci-fi history.

Categories include:

• Best Mad Scientist

• Biggest Ego in a Lab Coat

• Best Intentions, Worst Outcome

• Most Unethical Experiment

• Best Monster / Creation

• Best Lab / Set

• Best “Creation Birth” Scene

• Hidden Gem

• Best Mad Science Movie

  
  

From Herbert West’s reanimation experiments to the genetic ambition of Jurassic Park, and the body horror of The Fly, these films show just how far science can go, and how badly it can go wrong.

The thesis of mad science

If this series has one takeaway, it’s this:

Mad science stories begin with the fear that humans might steal the power of God.

But over time, they become something more unsettling.

They become about control.

Who controls the body?Who controls identity?Who decides what’s ethical?And what responsibility do we have to the life we create?

The 3 Rules of Mad Science

After 58 films, we’ve learned there are a few simple rules:

1. Don’t do it alone

2. Don’t rush it

3. Don’t ignore the consequences

They sound obvious.

They never are.

Listen now

This is our Mad Science finale - a full breakdown of the genre, the films that defined it, and the ideas that keep coming back.

If you’ve been following the series, this is the payoff.

If you’re new, then why not go back and listen to the series from the start.

🎧 Listen to The Mad Science Awards now on Journey Through Sci-Fi

What’s next?

We’re not done.

Next up: Aliens (friendly ones)

Because after everything we’ve learned about creating life…it’s time to look at what happens when it finds us.

We come in peace!