Completely no surprise here but I love sci-fi horror. Taking cool futuristic concepts and using them to create an atmosphere for horror. I love being fascinated with technology while simultaneously terrified of it. The best example I can think of this, and coincidentally my favorite horror movie?
Event Horizon.
In the not terribly distant future, Humanity creates an FTL drive which is installed aboard a spaceship called the Event Horizon. On her maiden voyage she vanishes. Some 7 years later, a distress call is picked up in a decaying orbit around Neptune from that very ship. A Search and Rescue vessel called the Lewis and Clarke is dispatched, along with the ships creator, to check out the signal and find what went wrong. What they do find is far more than they bargained for as the ship itself seems to be itching to return wherever it originally disappeared to.
Came out in the 1997 with an AMAZING cast. Pre-Matrix Lawrence Fishburne, Sam Neill from Jurassic Park, Pre-Harry Potter/Star Trek/Everything Jason Isaacs, and the stellar Kathleen Quinlan.
There’s also a fantastic fan theory that Event Horizon takes place in the Warhammer 40k Universe but far in humanities early history. It’s one that I actually buy into. Makes a shocking amount of sense.
I loved Event Horizon
That’s a good one, but I think “annihilation” is a better sci-fi horror. That movie was fucking amazing
Agree to disagree. Everytime I’ve tried to watch it I end up falling asleep. I have… opinions about Natalie Portman and her acting ability.
Perfectly okay, media will always be subject to taste and no one is the same. I wish, however, that there was an extended version of event horizon and that the extra scenes weren’t destroyed. Sad, that movie is top 5 sci-fi horrors though. What do you think of “Color out of Space”?
Absolutely! I’m glad that you didn’t take offense to that. I was a little worried because, well, it’s the internet.
Yeah those scenes being lost to time are really disheartening. Although considering the original ‘Hell Scene’ was considerably longer maybe we didn’t miss that much.
Color out of Space I’ve never actually heard of. I’m going to have to look into that one.
What about Sunshine? I think 2009 movie. Staring Cillian Murphy.
Oh fuck, lmao. I’m actually so happy you mentioned that movie, I’ve never heard of it and I truly believe sci-fi horror to be vastly under-explored and underrated sub genre. So when I find out there’s another one out there I get super happy, so thanks man lol. We both have another movie on our list 🤣
Of course! I saw Sunshine many years ago and it haunted me in the best way possible. It’s really beautifully done with amazing cinematography, acting and a chilling score.
Looks like I’ve got a movie to watch tonight too!
Color Out of Space looks promising.
I haven’t seen Annihilation. I’ll have to add it to my list. Thanks!
There’s also a fantastic fan theory that Event Horizon takes place in the Warhammer 40k Universe but far in humanities early history. It’s one that I actually buy into. Makes a shocking amount of sense.
Yeah, first warp travel. Way before Geller fields were invented. The whole depiction of what the crew went through and what happens during the film is very much what you expect from 40k Warp
Exactly. I completely buy into it. Intentional or not it just happens to fit fucking perfectly. Even the gothic design of the ship.
I would love to hear what the creators of the movie would say about that theory :D
Edit: found this: https://mobile.twitter.com/phubar/status/860129292151214082
Well that would definitely explain a LOT
Psychological horror. It Follows is a great example. The entire movie is designed to make you feel uncomfortable and threatened.
It follows was a wild ride, I think the only other thing that can make me that uncomfortable is 6 episodes back to back the office UK :-D
Just watched, thanks!
I literally had a nightmare that was basically the plot of it follows last night.
I agree. Smile and hereditary are some of my personal favorites
I see that in every thread like this and I never understand it. It just never was scary to me, maybe inconvenient.
I like creature features and body horror, especially when put in the backdrop of space or if the creature is extraterrestrial.
Color Out of Space was a cool bit of both. But I also like stuff like Alien/Aliens, Event Horizon, The Thing, and Ghosts of Mars. These are the best examples. Most of the movies that fit this pretty narrow scope are cheesy and more funny than terrifying. Horror is already pretty campy, as is sci-fi. You mix the two and it’s just a mess. Although without it, you wouldn’t get goofy shit like Jason X. lol
I just watched Slither for the first time recently, and it fits this perfectly. It was a great fun campy movie. Highly recommend if you haven’t seen it.
Have you seen tusk . I really liked that movie found it more funny than scary but still a great watch
I prefer the horror comedy slasher that don’t take themselves too seriously.
One example that I enjoy is Stiches (2012).
That looks hilarious, defintely going to check it out!
I was always partial to Tucker and Dale vs Evil for horror comedy
Tucker and Dale vs Evil is fantastic!
On this theme the Evil Dead series after the first movie.
I love horror comedies [Killer Klowns from Outer Space
](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) is a classic and a must see.
Fun fact: the Chiodo brothers did the creature effects for both KKfOS and [Ernest Scared Stupid
](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0101821/) They even refused some of the costumes in Ernest: Killer Klowns into trolls! Such a good movie.
My final rant will be about Sir Peter Jackson’s earlier work. Dead Alive (aka Braindead) is a movie from 1992 that absolutely blew me away. It is also streaming free on YouTube! It has some of the most fun/disgusting practical effects I have ever seen. What a wild ride. Would recommend to anyone who can find body horror amusing. 10/10
Sir Peter Jackson’s earlier work
Have you seen Bad Taste? Disgusting. (And hilarious.)
I just watched Totally Killer and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t think it hits any means of “greatness” but it’s a just a fun horror comedy that’s a mix of Back to the Future and 80s slasher films. Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Legend of Korra) is hilarious in it and Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Happy Gilmore) does fight choreography – it’s a great addition for anyone looking to add something new to their horror comedy watchlist.
Beyond the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a good example.
I love the 2 Babysitter movies. So much fun.
Most horror enthusiasts agree that “Hereditary” is arguably the best modern horror movie. For older horror movies most won’t shut up about “The thing”. Check both out, they’re both very good
What subgenre would you consider Hereditary? Occult, I suppose.
The Thing is an absolute classic. Alien Creature Horror
Yeah I would go with occult, if anyone hasn’t seen it go into Hereditary completely blind. Will make it that much more impactful
Hereditary is a must-see if you haven’t already! It’s one of the big ones in the “elevated horror” subgenre that strays from traditional horror and leans into arthouse type stuff. Midsommar, The Lighthouse, The VVitch, It Follows, etc., cross into this subgenre. In that way it’s sort of defined like film noir where it’s almost more of a style instead of a subgenre, but can be considered both. It’s not for everyone but I really like the unsettling, creepiness of elevated horror as a nice contrast to the fun, in-your-face tropes of more traditional horror.
I prefer Gothic horror movies (usually with vampires) and some of the very best examples would be Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu by Werner Herzog, Sleepy Hollow, and Hammer Studios’ Dracula.
I’d also like to give a shout out to the most recent hidden gems from this genre that I enjoyed tremendously, The Haunted Palace (Based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft) and The Family of Vourdalak (The second segment from the Black Sabbath movie, based on a story from Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy).
The Haunted Palace
I’m gonna look for that one. I love that novella.
Slasher-horror. The A Nightmare on Elm Street movies are an obvious must-watch.
Not exactly sure what I’d put this under, but The Descent. One of the only horror films to really give me a good shiver and make me feel uneasy. Maybe that’s down to the claustrophobic nature of the film.
Stephen King adaptations, plus Kubrick
The Shining
That’s a narrow genre
Quite a few adaptations, but Kubrick made the best one imo
Mine would probably be gore horror, which isn’t really a formal subgenre.
My favorite examples would be The Evil Dead, which is supernatural horror, and Braindead, which is a zombie horror comedy.
Is “gorror” a term? It should be
Japan kinda has this in “guro” (aka “grotesque”) media. Lots of gore, though there are some extra connotations.
Evil dead is awesome and the newest one was really good too !
Spoof horror and the best is Scary Movie 2. Honorable mention to Saturday the 14th The Fishman will get you.
- The Hunger
- Cat People
- Edward Scissorhands
I have to stick to stuff in the Svengoolie league, I get too scared lol. I can handle comedic gore like Shaun of the Dead. I can handle Twilight Zone if I’m not alone.
Cosmic Horror - Mandy
Folk Horror - The Witch
I love gothic horror. Woman In Black and Crimson Peak are favorite examples.
