If one were to rank horror movies set in space, it feels like a guarantee that in almost all cases, Ridley Scott’s unparalleled 1979 classic Alien would come out on top. If not that, then James Cameron’s Aliens would undoubtedly be right up there. The point is, this franchise has a longstanding history of reigning supreme in the realm of spacebound genre storytelling.
See also: Will ALIEN: COVENANT’s Novel Change How You See These Characters?
There are, however, plenty of other horror movies that have made use of the final frontier. Those movies range from the ill-advised, such as Amityville in Space, which is actually a real movie, to comically silly Leprechaun 4: In Space. For those wanting to enjoy some horror amongst the stars, we bring good news as there are plenty of great movies within the genre that also take place in space and are not connected to the Alien franchise.
Below, we present a sampling of five selections that don’t revolve around Xenomorphs terrorizing humans, running the gamut from deadly serious to delightfully bonkers. Let’s dive in, shall we?
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Event Horizon
Event Horizon (Credit: Paramount Pictures) Paul W.S. Anderson, after turning the violent video game Mortal Kombat into a hit in the ‘90s, decided to go bigger, bolder and weirder with his next cinematic venture. It arrived in the form of 1997’s Event Horizon, a big-budget sci-fi trip to literal hell that was rushed by Paramount Pictures and heavily cut down against Anderson’s wishes. All the same, the resulting nightmare of a rescue mission became a cult favorite after missing the mark in theaters, with good reason.
The movie picks up after the highly advanced spacecraft dubbed the Event Horizon mysteriously vanished without a trace on its maiden voyage. Seven years later, in the darkness of deep space, a persistent signal reveals the ship has emerged in orbit around Neptune, prompting a rescue crew to investigate. They soon discover that the ship’s experimental gravity drive opened a gateway to a realm of pure evil. That’s right! Hell in space.
From a very memorable Sam Neill performance (let us never forget those eyes!) to some truly haunting, unflinching visuals, this movie has truly stood the test of time. So much so that IDW began publishing a prequel, Event Horizon: Dark Descent, earlier this year, which finally shows us what happened to the original crew of the ship. As far as original, non-franchise horror set among the stars goes, this is top tier stuff.
Predators
Predators (Credit: 20th Century Studios) After the Earth-set shenanigans of Predator and Predator 2 (as well as the Alien vs. Predator movies), Fox decided it was time to change things up. Enter director Nimród Antal and 2010’s aptly titled Predators. The film centers on a group of cold-blooded killers and various criminals who, without explanation, find themselves trapped on an alien planet as they’re chased down by the most deadly hunters in the galaxy.
The whole reveal of them not being on Earth is a bit of a “twist” revealed early on in the movie, but this isn’t like The Sixth Sense where if you know the twist it spoils the fun. On the contrary, though it is perhaps the least-discussed entry in the entire franchise, it’s also easily the most underrated. It wastes precisely zero time, does something new with the series and boasts a very fun, eclectic cast led by Oscar-winner Adrien Brody.
It features a delightfully twisted Topher Grace playing a bit against type after we’d come to know him on That ‘70s Show, Alice Braga absolutely kicking ass and lots of great action. The biggest thing this movie did was expand the scope of this long-running franchise, introducing Predator dogs, multiple Predators and demonstrating to audiences that we’d only scratched the surface of what the Yautja are capable of. It may not be the best Predator movie, but it’s a damn fun one and an unapologetically good time.
Sunshine
Sunshine (Credit: Searchlight Pictures) After the Earth-set shenanigans of Predator and Predator 2 (as well as the Alien vs. Predator movies), Fox decided it was time to change things up. Enter director Nimród Antal and 2010’s aptly titled Predators. The film centers on a group of cold-blooded killers and various criminals who, without explanation, find themselves trapped on an alien planet as they’re chased down by the most deadly hunters in the galaxy.
The whole reveal of them not being on Earth is a bit of a “twist” revealed early on in the movie, but this isn’t like The Sixth Sense where if you know the twist it spoils the fun. On the contrary, though it is perhaps the least-discussed entry in the entire franchise, it’s also easily the most underrated. It wastes precisely zero time, does something new with the series and boasts a very fun, eclectic cast led by Oscar-winner Adrien Brody.
It features a delightfully twisted Topher Grace playing a bit against type after we’d come to know him on That ‘70s Show, Alice Braga absolutely kicking ass and lots of great action. The biggest thing this movie did was expand the scope of this long-running franchise, introducing Predator dogs, multiple Predators and demonstrating to audiences that we’d only scratched the surface of what the Yautja are capable of. It may not be the best Predator movie, but it’s a damn fun one and an unapologetically good time.
Europa Report
Europa Report (Credit: Magnet Releasing) Found footage has been a staple of the horror genre for years, dating back to the breakout success of The Blair Witch Project in 1999. The sub-genre got another big bump when Paranormal Activity hit it big in 2007, leading to a new wave of titles making use of shaky cameras and conveniently videotaped terrifying happenings. In 2013, director Sebastián Cordero and writer Philip Gelatt took that concept to the stars for the ill-fated mission that was “Europa Report.”
In the film, unmanned probes suggest that a hidden ocean and single-celled life exists on one of Jupiter's moons, leading a group of six astronauts to embark on a doomed exploratory mission to investigate. They find more than they bargained for along the way. With a cast that includes the likes of Sharlto Copley (District 9) and Michael Nyqvist (John Wick), not to mention a soundtrack from the one and only Bear McCreary (Happy Death Day), this remains a very unique entry in both the found footage and space horror canon.
For some, the movie is a little slow and the ending leaves some feeling unsatisfied. But it’s also one of those movies that, with the benefit of time, feels like a strange little gem. “Found footage but do it in space” could have gone many ways, a lot of them bad. Instead, this movie attempts to do something interesting with the genre, revealing to humanity at large that we are not alone in the universe in the darkest of ways.
Jason X
Jason X (Credit: New Line Cinema) Any time a slasher series goes on long enough and ideas are running thin, someone is inevitably going to say, “What if we send them to space?” Sometimes that makes sense. I’ve long believed Chucky should go to space. Other times, it’s nonsense. Why would Michael Myers wind up in space? In the case of Jason Voorhees and Friday the 13th, it both made zero sense and, all the same, resulted in one of the greatest entries in the “so bad it’s good” horror canon. Jason X is the best kind of stupid movie one could ever hope for.
The film takes place in the year 2455 with humanity having left a heavily polluted Earth for a new planet they've dubbed Earth II. A crew of scientists on an expedition to Earth I discovers a research facility near Camp Crystal Lake where Jason Voorhees' body has been cryogenically frozen. Unwisely, they bring him back to their ship. Lots of murder ensues.
From seeing Kane Hodder as an absolutely hulking, delightfully ridiculous version of Jason (in space!) to some of the most inventive kills in the history of the franchise, this is a movie that delivers precisely what it promises. No more, no less. It’s knowingly absurd and, perhaps most important of all, actually tries to do something different with a franchise that had nine prior entries, most of which were centered around Camp Crystal Lake. It says a little something about its reputation that Jason X recently got the 4K treatment from Arrow Video.
It’s a movie that has its fans. Rightfully so. Who doesn’t want to see Jason smash someone’s frozen head or fight an advanced, leather-clad android? If you must make a tenth movie in a franchise, why not do something wacky? Director James Isaac and writer Todd Farmer understood the assignment.
