‘Ex Machina’ (2015)

Garland wrote some great sci-fi films, like 2012’s underrated “Dredd” and the zombie revival movie “28 Days Later” but it was his 2015 directorial debut that really established Garland as a major voice in science fiction — and won him his first Oscar for writing. The strong cast certainly helped, particularly Alicia Vikander as a humanoid robot determined to assert her independence.