The dark science fiction genre straddles the line between horror and true science fiction. Like horror movies, dark sci-fi can scare audiences or make them sick with gory effects. Movies in this genre may feature grotesque monsters, morbid imagery, or a sense of horror, but still have the futuristic androids and spaceships typical of science fiction. Dark sci-fi movies feature isolated, delusional characters. Technologies that help them either fail or become a threat.
Starting with Ridley Scott’s breakthrough alienIn 1979, alien The franchise encapsulates the unique characteristics of dark science fiction. Introducing HR Giger’s nightmare design, alien The film introduced Xenomorphs, natural killing machines that roam hostile landscapes. Fans wanting more of this moody and terrifying aesthetic can find many other dark sci-fi films of his to enjoy.
10/10 Cube isolates characters with technical traps
1997s Cubeis directed by Vincenzo Natali and focuses on themes of isolation and paranoia. A diverse cast wakes up in a confusing, cold and alien environment. Someone trapped them in a giant puzzle of cubes.
Alien creatures aren’t hunting your characters, but their surroundings are a threat. It adds a sense of urgency. The imagery is cold and industrial, and the story’s ending is ambiguous, as is typical of dark sci-fi.
9/10 Saturn 3 mixes futuristic love triangles with killer robots
Similar to James Cameron alien, Saturn 3 (1980) takes place in a remote outpost and features characters isolated from civilization. Farrah Fawcett (one of the originals) charlie’s angels) and Kirk Douglas portray a scientist and his lover stationed on one of Saturn’s moons. Benson (Harvey Keitel) soon arrives at the outpost and interferes with their happy life.
Scientists Alex and Adam have no idea that Benson is the killer. Benson has brought a giant robot imprinted with heinous tendencies. Controlled by a mass of human brain cells, the robot also takes over Benson’s romantic interest in Alex, leading to a deadly confrontation.
8/10 Sunshine records a solar mission to save the world
Like most dark sci-fi, Danny Boyle’s sunlight (2007) involves a series of rescue missions.resembles the plot of alien, the film features a diverse crew who decide to respond to a mysterious distress call.the crew of Icarus II The Sun is becoming dangerously weak and dim, threatening life on Earth.
The project was overseen by physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy of Boyle’s). 28 days later), detonating nuclear bombs to restore the power of the sun. Like similar movies like event horizon When 2010: the year we make contact, the hero’s ship encounters another spaceship. A complication arises and the crew must improvise in order to survive.
7/10 Mutated insect stalks human prey with mimicry
alien It featured giant creatures hunting human prey in the dark corridors of a spaceship. mimic (1997), directed by Guillermo del Toro (cabinet of curiosity, shape of water), some grotesque and hostile creatures, but their lair is New York City’s subway system.
mimic Mira Sorvino (Mira Sorvino)Mighty Aphrodite) as scientists genetically engineering hybrid bugs to kill disease-carrying cockroaches. Unfortunately, new insects mutate rapidly. After several years of breeding, the mutated bugs have grown to human size and are preying on New York’s population. Shadow service tunnels and subway tracks provide the perfect dark sci-fi environment for killer creatures .
6/10 Inseminoid Features Alien Pregnancy and Fateful Expedition
After the release of alien, Insemenoid (1981) was one of the films that patterned closest to the Ridley Scott original. Insemenoid It had a much smaller budget, but was able to emulate most of Alien’s characterizations. In both stories, malevolent aliens attack the crew and impregnate them, with horrific consequences.
Insemenoid Fast-paced, many-body, Judy Geeson (Rob Zombie’s 31, Lord of Salem). Her dedication to the role of Sandy, a scientist carrying an alien brood, makes her transformation even more chilling.
5/10 Pitch black pit survivor against nocturnal creatures
pitch black Similar to James Cameron alien By having hordes of killer creatures chasing diverse teams. However, his David Twohy film from 2000 has a twist. The aliens were sensitive to light and emerged during long solar eclipses to hunt and feed.
the action of pitch black it’s simple. Survivors of a spaceship crash must traverse desolate landscapes while staving off hungry monsters in complete darkness. Aiding them on their perilous journey is escaped inmate Riddick, played by Vin Diesel. The cast of genre veterans includes Radha Mitchell (silent hill), Keith David (case), and Claudia Black (Farscape).
4/10 Solaris explores psychology and loss in the distant universe
Andrei Tarkovsky, 30 years before the George Clooney remake Solaris It won the Cannes Jury Prize in 1972 and made its debut to high acclaim. Solaris It’s grim and disturbing, dealing with its characters’ depression and grief.With its set design and mood, the film alien A franchise with a dark sci-fi setting of an isolated space facility that has fallen into disrepair.
Rather than drawing killer aliens, Solaris Explore the possibilities of life without a physical body. The liquid surface of the planet Solaris is conscious and appears to be able to physically represent painful memories of its visitors. The space station is invaded not by Xenomorphs, but by the lost love and family of the orbiting crew.
3/10 A vampire planet inspired futuristic sci-fi
Many modern sci-fi movies aliens impact, vampire planet (1965) was an early inspiration for Ridley Scott’s films. rice field. Images of shipwrecks with bodies of previous visitors also appear in Scott’s 1979 classic.
Italian maestro directed by Mario Bavablack sundae), vampire planet Much like Xenomorph impregnation, it drew fear from the notion of aliens ruling and controlling people. Fear of losing control and physical aggression are common to both. vampire planet When alien and echo Insemenoid and it works later.
2/10 Thing finds an alien threat on Earth
John Carpenter case shows that dark sci-fi heroes don’t have to travel to the farthest reaches of space to fight an alien threat. Sometimes danger is here on Earth. His 1982 production of Carpenter updated the 1951 Howard Hawks film, something from another world. of caseKurt Russell is part of a polar expedition that encounters aliens who can take human and animal form.
alike alien movies, characters case Cut off from the outside world, you must avoid a terrifying threat. Audiences at the time hated the film’s dark tone for its uncertain ending and strangely practical effects, but The Thing is now seen as one of his milestones in genre cinema.
1/10 Event Horizon Sends Rescue Missions to the Edge of Hell
Perhaps the most comparable to this movie is alien The fear and loneliness of movies event horizonPaul WS Anderson’s work follows the dark sci-fi template of sending a rescue team on an uncertain mission. In this case, Lawrence Fishburne’s character leads the crew to the edge of the solar system to investigate a derelict ship. event horizonThe team doesn’t know that event horizon Traveled to another dimension and regained something from hell.
Like alien, event horizon It has a horrible, twisted aesthetic. Anderson wanted to include more gore and graphic torture, but studio reps objected. Still, the finished film has the darkest sci-fi weight.