Sci-fi horror films can be hit or miss, and because there have been so many misses, they are often graded on a much stricter scale than others. Because of this, many titles, even though they’re great, are quickly pushed aside for bigger, better deals.
Whether it’s a body-horror scarefest or a post-apocalyptic future, there are some amazing sci-fi horror films that push the envelope and stay entertaining from start to finish. The only tragedy is that they’ve been largely forgotten by the masses.
Slither Is One of James Gunn’s Grossest Movies
Directed by James Gunn, Slither is a classic alien invasion/creature feature movie in which a man, infected by an alien worm, begins to transform and foster an invasion of worms that turn people into zombies. It’s an absurdly dark and comedic film with impressive special effects and a genuine surprise that more people don’t know about it.
While James Gunn is most famous for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Studios, he cut his teeth on films like Slither and showed how well he could balance action, horror, and comedy across any genre. It’s short and sweet but well worth a watch for anyone who’s a sci-fi fan.
Underwater Is an Honest and Fun Alien Copycat
Similar to Alien, Underwater follows a group of scientists trying to escape a location while being stalked by monsters. But in the case of this film, there is more than one monster, and the place they are escaping is a station miles below sea level that is collapsing every second.
The parallels to Alien keep Underwater feeling familiar, but the overarching mystery, deaths, and the way the scares are framed make the movie stand out. Plus, nothing can compare to the film’s last few minutes and the feeling of doom it evokes.
Life Is More Terrifying Than it Lets On
2017’s Life follows a group of astronauts who discover life in space; they are initially intrigued and want to help and understand it. However, the entity proves to be smarter than they could’ve predicted as it escapes on the station and picks them off one by one, growing in the process.
Life feels like a movie about a big spider getting loose in an RV, and it could kill anyone it bites. Except, in this case, it’s far more dangerous than that, and the film doesn’t hide how smart and terrifying the creature is. Ultimately, Life doesn’t do much to stand out even with its big names, and that hurt it from becoming more interesting to a wider audience, even if it is really fun to watch.
Hardware Is Cyberpunk Horror at Its Finest
Hardware is set in a post-apocalyptic world; a scavenger finds the parts of a robot and tries to sell them. But what he learns is that this robot is more advanced than it seems and is designed to kill those it comes across.
Hardware is one of the more underrated cyberpunk films out there, solely because no one even knows it existed. It has a lot of style, and the effects are impressive. The kills are also very imaginative, and overall, it’s a film that should be experienced just to understand how wild it is.
Coherence Plays With Reality in Fun Ways
Coherence follows a group of friends gathering to celebrate the passing of a comet. Though there is some history between some of the guests, the tension only rises after the comet passes and reaches a fever pitch when the guests are trapped in a multiversal situation.
Coherence is a film that takes the low-key route with science fiction and tells a very suspenseful and human story to balance the fact that reality is being changed around them. What comes is a shocking sci-fi ending that feels fitting for the genre but still caught audiences off guard.