Two genres that are particularly suited to each other when done well are Science Fiction and Horror. Of course a lot more people take a shot at it than succeed, but in some ways that just makes the great ones even more satisfying.
The biggest problem with a list like this isn’t finding great movies to fill it with, but rather deciding which pics qualify. A flick like ROBOCOP is super tempting to include, but doesn’t really have a true horror vibe to it, even though it’s awesome, violent, mayhem.
So let’s get to the list and see which movie The Arrow himself promised me a world of hurt if I left it off. And as usual, if you disagree with my reasoning, or just want to throw out some contenders that aren’t present, spit those bullets with authority!
READ PART 1 OF THIS LIST HERE WARNING – GENRE MIXING BELOW! 5. EVENT HORIZON I’m still not sure I completely understand what the hell is going on in this flick, yet I love it. The pure gory mindf*ckery of it all left me seriously twisted up after I saw it, and the damn thing still creeps the shite out me whenever I revisit it. The cast is amazing, the look literally out of this world, and on a purely visceral level, this sucker gets under your skin like few movies ever manage.
4. THE HIDDEN Not sure that you could really call this underrated, because just about any genre fan worth their opinions knows this is an awesome flick, but I will call it underseen because it hasn’t found the crossover love that it deserves. It’s got rock, explosions, hot chicks, car chases and as much mayhem as you’re gonna find outside of CRANK or GRAND THEFT AUTO. Good times.
3. THE FLY Cronenberg in the 80’s pretty much owned this particular sub-genre. And the best of the best is his remake of the Vincent Price classic. Once again the man shows himself to be a visionary, bringing us a tale that holds up strongly today with stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning, and the like being serious scientific, moral and ethical issues currently.
2. THE THING It’s not hard to argue that John Carpenter gave us the greatest remake ever with his claustrophobic treatise on paranoia and fear. Any time you can make your audience drop a load in their pants with screaming blood you know you’re doing something right. This is one of my favorite genre pics period, sci-fi or no.
1. ALIEN/S When I compile these lists I usually shoot an email to the AITH crew to see what movies they would nominate before I make my final determinations. The Arrow told me ALIENS would be his #1. I responded that it always seems like more of an action/sci-fi movie to me, at which point, in the nicest way possible, he pointed out that I would be a colossal douchebag if I left it off the list. And if it’s on then it’s gotta be at the top. But so does the first. So there ya go. In truth, I’m still pretty much a douchebag, just one that’ll get a bit less hate mail this week.
READ PART 1 OF THIS LIST HERE Got a Top 10 idea? Hit me up at mattwithers@joblo.com