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Some people look at the night sky and imagine the wonders that are out there among the stars. They dream of visiting other planets, exploring other worlds. I, on the other hand, find the idea of leaving our comfortable little planet to visit the dark and airless vacuum beyond our atmosphere very frightening and misguided. There is inherent danger in stuffing humans into small, confined spaces in a hostile environment. Recent news of the astronauts that were stuck in space, opens a new window felt a little like witnessing a real-life nightmare to me.
It is hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that anyone has gone into space at all, much less walked on the moon. The first space flight and all the competition leading up to it ignited imaginations and inspired many films. I would argue that ANY movie set in outer space is a horror movie, but early intentional entries into the space horror genre have ranged from low budget efforts like The Blob, opens a new window to The Day the Earth Stood Still, opens a new window, and the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers. We have been fascinated not just by the idea of what will happen when humans visit outer space, but also, what happens if something from space visits us.
If these movies are to be believed, I should be scared! This is not a list of heartwarming alien friendships like the kind seen in Star Trek, opens a new window and in E.T, opens a new window. Keep reading if you’re fascinated and enjoy being frightened by remote settings, isolation, and encounters with the unknown. Also, be on the lookout for an upcoming HCPL podcast about space horror!, opens a new window
Alien series described as a serial killer movie. The crew gets picked off one by one in a remote corner of space after responding to a distress signal. Come for the alien menace, stay to watch Sigourney Weaver rule. The second film in the Alien series is very appropriately named Aliens, as it features many of the creatures that we call Xenomorphs, and it is much more of an action movie.
, opens a new window talking about the multiverse, there was Event Horizon. Humanity venturing beyond the veil into places that we shouldn’t go, places where we don’t belong.
Friday the 13th movies into outer space is, of course, a terrible idea.
is in the honorable mentions section because it is not set in outer space, it is set on planet Earth, but it has many of the same great ideas. Isolation, cabin fever, a hostile environment, an alien threat. This movie had the misfortune of being released the same summer as our favorite extraterrestrial, E.T. which probably had a hand in it being critically panned at the time. It has since gotten the reputation it deserves. The Thing is greatly enhanced by grotesque (read AMAZING) special effects and an excellent soundtrack by director John Carpenter, opens a new window.
Donald Sutherland who leads a group of friends as they struggle against alien invaders that are killing humans and taking their likenesses as their own. One of the all-time greatest endings in horror film history in my opinion. This is a remake of an older film by the same name, opens a new window.
Jordan Peele, NOPE is an excellent entry into Peele’s horror movie filmography. A mystery film as much as it is a horror film, NOPE follows two siblings as they try to figure out who, or what, is stealing horses from their ranch.