Badass Sci Fi Horror! Halloween’s Best of: Awesome, Awful, and Absurd

Looking for something to pop in the VCR as the dark half of the year consumes us? Horror movies are always better on VHS. Whether you want to scream your head off or laugh your ass off, we’ve got the perfect movie for you.

We’ve compiled the top twenty greatest, ten most underrated, and ten funniest (intentionally or unintentionally) sci fi horror movies of all time. Each movie will appear on only one list so you get forty awesome recommendations.

Preemptive backtracking. I consider the following borderline genre films more thriller/action/adventure than horror; Aliens, Predator, The Terminator, and Prometheus. If you disagree, pop them in wherever you want.

Top 20 sci fi horror movies.

1. The Thing (1982)- John Carpenter crafted the perfect sci fi horror movie, especially on cold, snowy nights.
2. Alien (1979)- Ridley Scott set the standard with this masterpiece.
3. Re-Animator (1985)- Jeffrey Combs’ performance alone is worth multiple viewings.
4. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)- The ultimate blend of horror, humor, and punk rock.
5. The Fly (1986)- Jeff Golblum and Chris Walas designed effects made this David Cronenberg’s magnum opus.
6. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)- Genius take on the trope by Josh Whedon and a great performance by Bradley Whitford.
7. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)- Donald Sutherland screaming still gives me nightmares.
8. Event Horizon (1997)- Sam Neil drove this deceptively terrifying and lingering classic.
9. They Live (1988)- I’m all out of bubblegum.
10. Lifeforce (1985)- The craziest British naked alien, psychic vampire movie of all time, just ask Patrick Stewart.
11. Phantasm (1979)- Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man; a supernatural alien who invades Earth disguised as an undertaker to shrink and enslave humans.
12. Attack the Block (2011)- Awesome British street thugs versus aliens film. John Boyega’s first movie, and Nick Frost joins the fun.
13. Leviathan (1989)- Could go in underrated, but Peter Weller and great effects put it here.
14. Pitch Black (2000)- Truly terrifying Vin Diesel vehicle that gave rise to the Riddick series.
15. From Beyond (1986)- Jeffrey Combs and Stuart Gordon made a great team (Re-Animator).
16. Scanners (1981)- Michael Ironside, David Cronenberg and exploding heads. Who could ask for more?
17. Overlord (2018)- Not the first Nazi zombie/undead super-soldier movie (Dead Snow, Dead Snow 2: Dead vs. Red, Frankenstein’s Army), but the best.
18. Videodrome (1983)- More Cronenberg, James Woods, and Deborah Harry. Perfect viewing for some late night weirdness.
19. The Faculty (1998)- Robert Patrick as the maniacal, alien football coach kills it in this Robert Rodriguez film. But Josh Hartnett’s hair?
20. A Quiet Place (2018)- Who woulda guessed Jim Halpert could direct a science fiction horror masterpiece?

Top 10 underrated sci fi horror movies.

1. Alien 3 (1992)- This David Fincher directed sequel, taken on it’s own, is excellent. Great performances by Charles S. Dutton and Charles Dance.
2. Deep Rising (1989)- So much fun it’ll make you wanna jet-ski out of an exploding cruise ship.
3. Doom (2005)- Karl Urban made this movie. Highly underrated.
4. Jason X (2001)- Guilty pleasure. Scratch that. I don’t feel guilty. I love this movie and I don’t care who knows it. Just think; cryo face smash.
5. Ghosts of Mars (2001)- Underrated John Carpenter movie with Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, and Jason Statham.
6. Life (2017)- Extremely creepy trapped in space with a rapidly evolving, evil alien movie. Ryan Reynolds gives an appropriately snide, though brief, performance.
7. Outland (1981)- More of a thriller starring Sean Connery, though it has just enough gore and terror to land it here.
8. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)- My favorite Resident Evil movie. Love Nemesis.
9. The Blob (1988)- Above average effects and an…interesting performance by Kevin Dillon (Matt’s brother) make this worth a watch.
10. Galaxy of Terror (1981)- Okay, just put this on the top of your list. Why? Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Sid Haig (Captain Spalding), Ray Walston (Mr. Hand), Erin Moran (Joanie), and produced by Roger Corman.

Just for yuks (and yucks).

1. Bad Taste (1987)- Peter Jackson’s first live action movie. So cheesily disgusting, you’ll be barfing green cottage cheese fruit salad and eating it again.
2. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)- The name says it all. Amazingly well executed.
3. Slither (2006)- Michael Rooker’s best role since Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, and before The Walking Dead.
4. Tremors (1990)- One word; graboids.
5. Critters (1986)- Should have been rated R. This and Critters 2 are a lot of fun. Warning: Critters Attack! Sucks!
6. Night of the Creeps (1986)- Great mid-eighties camp. Written and directed by Fred Dekker (House, The Monster Squad)
7. Maximum Overdrive (1986)- AC/DC, Emilio Estevez and killer trucks. Only Stephen King.
8. Saturn 3 (1980)- A killer robot and a love triangle involving Kirk Douglass, Farrah Fawcett, and Harvey Keitel.
9. Terrorvision (1986)- One of the best of the so bad it’s good. Check it out for Jon Gries (Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite)
10. Sphere (1998), Virus (1999), and Supernova (2000)- This my triumvirate of utterly shitty, yet oddly watchable trash from the turn of the century. Just look at the movie posters and you’ll see why I lumped them together and often confuse them for one another.

Until next time, happy Halloween!