12 Space Horror Movies That Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You

Space is something that can be terrifying as well as fascinating.But when you see horror movies set in space it terrifies the “space” out of you. Though there was a lack of technology and special effects in the 20th century, it produced some terrifying works in this hybrid genre and the ones made in this century make it seem so real that the even the thought of void space is sure to give you chills.

These movies make us seem like specks of dust in this vast universe and the powerful aliens that these movies portray are surely greatly more intelligent and advanced than us. And these thoughts will surely turn your fascination of space to a terrifying thought. With that said, here is list of top space horror movies ever. You can watch some of these best space horror movies movies on Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu.

12. Lifeforce (1985)

When contact is lost with a space shuttle investigating the Halley’s Comet, a rescue mission is sent only to find charred remains of the crew, a missing escape pod and three aliens sleeping suspended inside odd crystal-like chambers. The aliens are brought back to London and then things start to get eerie when one of them wakes up sucks the blood out of the nearest doctor leaving him like a desiccated husk. This leads to an attack on earth by alien vampires who try to suck the life out of every human. This may not be the best movie on the list but it is a must watch for every horror fan. Though it is not entirely based in space, a part of the movie takes place in space and is as terrifying as it gets.

Read More: Best Horror Movies of the 1970s

11. Planet of the Vampires (1965)

You may think what an Italian movie made in the 60s is doing on this list but this was the movie which paved the way for Ridley Scott’s Alien. After landing on a planet, the unseen spore-like creatures infest the bodies of the deceased and try to get off their world and go to Earth. It may not be a very scary movie but its storytelling and cosmic scares are way ahead of their time.

10. Sunshine (2007)

An offering from the acclaimed Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle, ‘Sunshine’ revolves around an attempt to reignite the sun which is dying and causing the Earth to freeze. The spaceship, ‘Icarus ll’, which draws its name from the Greek story about a man who flew too close to the sun, is the setting for the film. As the ship moves towards the Sun to deliver the bomb that will trigger the re-ignition, the lives of the crew members and their beliefs intersect and set off a series of events that almost doom the mission. With a talented ensemble cast consisting of several international actors, the film manages to captivate the viewers despite several scientific inaccuracies. The ending of the film seems preordained from the start and sees the crew of the ship sacrificing their lives to fulfill the mission, thereby guaranteeing the survival of people on earth.

9. Life (2017)

It is the best movie of this genre in this century till now.It tells the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station that is on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history, the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As the crew begins to conduct research, their methods end up having unintended consequences and the life form proves more intelligent than anyone ever expected. Then soon things start to go south for the crew which leads to a chilling climax which will terrify you to your core.

Read More: Best Needle Drops in Movies

8. Event Horizon (1997)

In 2047, the lost starship Event Horizon suddenly reappears seven years after it was sent on an exploratory mission to investigate the outer limits of the solar system. The experimental craft was designed to generate an artificial black hole to bridge two points in space-time, but when a rescue crew is dispatched to investigate the spaceship’s mysterious disappearance, they soon discover that it has something or someone on board that is toying with them. The movie has so amazingly terrifying visuals that they will stay in your mind for a long time.It also has a very tortuous plot that will have you jumping at every twist and turn.

7. Creature (1985)

This is one of the better Alien rip-off made in the 80s as there were a lot of rip-offs of Alien made at that time. Set on Saturn’s moon Titan where an alien goes on a rampage against the expeditions of the Germans and Americans. It is not a great movie but it has many good moments which make it a fun watch but don’t expect anything new or extraordinary from this movie.

6. Solaris (2002)

Psychiatrist Dr. Kris Kelvin is sent to investigate a series of unusual occurrences taking place on a remote research station orbiting a bizarre ocean world called Solaris. After he arrives, he soon discovers that most of the crew have either died or vanished and before long other bizarre events start to occur. Directed intelligently by Steven Soderbergh with his custom assurance, it is a very ambiguous and sophisticated movie which is not made for everyone. It will give you many intriguing issues to ponder upon, mainly “What makes us human?”

5. Pitch Black (2000)

Starring Vin Diesel in the lead role, ‘Pitch Black’ tells the story of a group of passengers who, led by a convict named Richard B Riddick, need to face several frightening creatures in their own den. Riddick, an alien, starts off as a prisoner in the film and he is regarded as the most dangerous among the crew that crash-landed on an alien planet. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that among the human survivors, bounty hunter William J. Johns (Cole Hauser) only cares about feeding his addiction of morphine and saving his skin. While the planet is experiencing an eclipse, the alien creatures that live underground become the biggest threat, and the crew and Riddick are forced to work together in order to survive and leave the planet.

Read More: Best Gory Movies of All Time

4. Prometheus (2012)

In 2089, an ancient star map found inside a cave in Scotland leads a team of explorers to undertake a mission to a distant planet onboard the scientific vessel Prometheus in a quest to discover humanity’s origin on Earth. Once conclusive evidence is unearthed, the crew are then forced to fight a terrifying battle with mankind’s very survival at stake. It is the quasi-prequel to Alien and is directed by Ridley Scott.It is not a very logical movie but is a fun and scary watch and is a must watch for all the Alien fans.

3. Moon (2009)

In the late 21st Century, Sam Bell has just three weeks left to complete his three-year-long stint working on a lunar station for Lunar Industries. Communication with earth has not been possible for a while due to a malfunction, and as the sole employee of the base with just his AI computer GERTY for the company, until an accident makes him realize he is not alone.
It is a Quiet, Intelligent and Haunting movie starring Sam Rockwell who does an amazing job as Sam Bell. It is a very unnerving depiction of horrors of being alone in space and the ending will leave you thinking about the movie for a long time.

2. Aliens (1986)

Sequel to the 1979 movie Alien, this movie was directed by James Cameron and has Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley, the last surviving crew member of a corporate spaceship destroyed after an attack by a vicious, virtually unbeatable alien life form. It lived up to the mark of the first one and was probably the last good movie of the franchise that is still continuing to grow. Fifty-seven years after the original alien encounter, a salvage ship discovers Ellen Ripley in cryogenic stasis inside the Nostromo’s escape vessel. On her return to Earth, she is told the previously unexplored planet is now a human colony, but contact with its inhabitants has recently been lost. Ripley then joins a team of space marines on a mission back to the planet to find out what exactly happened to the colonists.

1. Alien (1979)

“In space, no one can hear you scream” is probably the scariest tagline a movie can have and it perfectly fits this masterpiece made by Ridley Scott. This is the second movie by him on this list and is probably one of his best movies. It follows the crew of the Nostromo, who come across the universe’s deadliest predator, Xenomorph which leads to a very violent imagery. The predator is described in the movie as the “Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is only matched by its hostility.” It is a very well directed movie which is sure to leave you frightened.

12 Best Space Horror Movies of All Time