Here are some almost perfect sci-fi horror movies that don’t have Alien or The Thing in their titles. While sci-fi and horror used to be regarded as B-movie trash in Hollywood before the 1970s, the arrival of a certain Ridley Scott movie titled Alien changed all that. The original entry was produced simply because Star Wars had become a giant success, and 20th Century Fox wanted to greenlight movies set in space.

In an alternate world, it’s easy to imagine Alien becoming a cheapie Roger Corman horror flick – in fact, this almost became its fate after most studios rejected the original screenplay. Instead, Scott’s painterly eye and the incredible creature design made it a genre landmark, leading to the Alien movie franchise and more “B-movies” made with A-list talent.

This includes the beloved John Carpenter sci-fi horror movie The Thing, which was somehow treated with critical disdain back in 1982. Nowadays, both it and Alien regularly top any list of the greatest sci-fi genre movies, but there are plenty of other gems out there for fans to explore.

7

Event Horizon (1997)

Event Horizon was a bomb upon release but thanks to being rediscovered on VHS or home viewings, it wormed its way into pop culture. This Paul W.S. Anderson film is almost the dictionary definition of imperfect; the pacing is janky – the result of the film being edited in a rush to meet a release date – and the dialogue can be quite clunky.

What Event Horizon does have in its corner is an incredible, suffocating atmosphere. From the instant Laurence Fishburne’s rescue crew enters the titular ship, a sense of dread hangs over the entire story. It also boasts beautiful, gothic production design, and when the gore hits, it hits REAL hard.

The film has been described as Hellraiser meets Alien, which is apt. In fact, Event Horizon’s original cut was so bloody it caused walkouts during test screenings, leading to sequences being heavily cut down. Despite this, this sci-fi chiller is one of the genre’s must-see efforts.

6

Prince of Darkness (1987)

The Thing is part of a stealth John Carpenter trilogy, also consisting of 1995’s In the Mouth of Madness and Prince of Darkness. Carpenter dubbed this trio his “Apocalypse Trilogy,” with each dealing with the end of the world in a different way. The Thing is about the death of identity, In the Mouth of Madness is the end of reality, while Prince of Darkness tackles the death of God.

This 1987 gem blends science with religion, as a team of science students examines a mysterious canister said to contain the son of Satan. Pretty soon, the evil residing inside awakens, and the students are in for the night from Hell – quite literally. Following several bad experiences with big movie studios, Carpenter went back to his low-budget roots with Prince of Darkness.

Produced for only $3 million, Carpenter largely confines the action to one locale and builds a sense of impending doom. He also layers on deeply eerie sequences, such as the haunting dream most of the main characters share. This is one of Carpenter’s lesser-praised works, but it’s quietly one of his scariest too.

5

Annihilation (2018)

Former author Alex Garland has made quite the name for himself as the writer/director of thoughtful sci-fi or horror outings like Ex Machina. With Annihilation, he pays homage to both Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker and Carpenter’s The Thing, where an all-female team of scientists enters a strange alien zone dubbed “The Shimmer,” which radically alters the DNA of all living things inside.

Garland uses Annihilation’s lofty sci-fi hook as a way to explore how even seemingly intelligent people self-destruct or self-sabotage themselves, whether through addictions or cheating on their partners. That’s the subtext running throughout, but Garland stages some memorable setpieces too, including the nightmarish screaming bear attack.

For a filmmaker who has yet to helm a dud, Annihilation might be his best work to date. It blends thoughtful sci-fi, cosmic horror, and even has a complex love story.

4

The Fly (1986)

Cronenberg is deemed the king of body horror, and he could have earned that crown with The Fly alone. At first, Goldblum’s Seth is reinvigorated by his successful experiment – until sores develop all over his body and his teeth start falling out. Cronenberg reimagines the concept as a tragic love story, where Seth’s journalist lover Veronica (Geena Davis) has to watch the man she loves fall apart and become a new lifeform.

The Fly ultimately looks at the tragedy of somebody dying before their time, and Seth’s mutation is coded as a terminal illness. In between the harrowing drama, Cronenberg makes audiences squirm with gross-out effects, ranging from Seth yanking out his fingernails to using his acid vomit on human flesh.

3

Quatermass And The Pit (1967)