What Defines The Sci-Fi Horror Genre?

Summary

Sci-fi horror combines fear and exploration of scientific boundaries.
The sub-genre explores humanity's potential and arrogance.
Films like Alien and A Quiet Place bring realistic horror to sci-fi.

In the spirit of the spooky season, many people will express an interest in a particular genre of horror or scary stories. From those who enjoy blood-soaked gore-fest like Saw, to those who prefer family-friendly tales of ghosts and hijinks like Casper, there is always a favorite film or television show that speaks to the individual during this time of year. For many, however, one sub-genre of horror has withstood the test of time: the sci-fi horror genre.

Films such as The Terminator, Alien, and even the classic tale of Frankenstein all capture the power of the sci-fi horror crossover genre. A grand mixture of scientific discovery and bone-chilling terror, the genre has been a favorite among horror enthusiasts for decades. Each year sees more and more mind-bending takes on the genre. Yet what truly defines the sci-fi horror as a genre?

The Sci-Fi Horror Genre, Explained

The intersection of science fiction and horror is much more natural and well-balanced than people may realize. Horror is the genre of fear, a genre that prides itself on sneaking into a person’s mind and finding the things that haunt their dreams for years to come. Who could forget the first time that the serial-killer-turned-children’s-doll Chucky started terrorizing people? Or the moment those young filmmakers discovered the lair of the vile Blair Witch before the camera dropped? Horror can force people to confront their worst fears in haunting, and sometimes unsettlingly realistic, ways.

Science fiction, on the other hand, pushes the boundaries of human innovation and explores what happens when people aren’t afraid to face those fears. Scientists and explorers are constantly searching for answers to life’s greatest mysteries, sometimes without care or concern for what would happen if they found those answers. In fiction, characters like this push the genre forward, as do far-off ideas of what the future could look like, such as in Star Trek.

Yet these two genres together are in fact cut from the same cloth. The crossover sub-genre plays on people’s fears of the unknown and the lines that science sometimes crosses. By taking elements from both, films and shows can explore a wide range of ideas. Concepts range from mysterious biological creatures that defy human logic, to mad scientists reanimating corpses, to time-traveling machines looking to destroy humanity before it can build a rebellion. In these stories, the audience gets to see humanity’s most significant potential, along with their arrogance. They witness the horrors that await those who don’t tread carefully as they explore the unknown.

The sub-genre plays with the fears that have always come with scientific advancement. Science has always tried to use reason and discovery to illuminate the mind and help explain some of the world’s greatest mysteries, ones that have been woven into the fabric of superstition and legends of the world’s cultures for centuries. However, not everyone views science in such an idealistic way. There are legitimate fears surrounding it, and the sci-fi horror genre plays into those fears eloquently.

Best Sci-Fi Films and Television Shows

When Mary Shelley sat down to write Frankenstein more than 200 years ago, the sci-fi horror genre was born. And the moment that Boris Karloff first stepped onto the screen as Frankenstein’s Monster, the genre was solidified in film. The chilling creature was born of a mad scientist’s quest to play God, and demonstrated himself as a danger to humanity after tossing a young girl into a lake. His actions not only brought the realities of Frankenstein’s creation to light, but spoke to the arrogance of man and the lines that can be crossed if one is not careful to heed the warning of others.

Films continued to evolve in this sub-genre for years. Audiences witnessed Jeff Goldblum’s horrifying transformation into a mutated, humanoid and monstrous insect in The Fly. They watched the haunting moments inside a spaceship’s lifeboat as a lone survivor comes face to face with the xenomorph alien that ended her crew’s lives in Alien. To this day, the sci-fi horror genre continues to examine themes of creation and the pitfalls of humankind playing with ideas and concepts it has no business playing with.

Modern films have begun pushing the envelope even further, bringing the sci-fi horror genre to a level of realism that is hard to ignore. For instance, 2020s The Invisible Man remake took the idea of a serum that turned someone invisible, and updated it as a suit that rendered the villain invisible, allowing them to stalk their victim with ease. It played with the ideas of modern warfare and camouflage technology, as well as the unhealthy nature of toxic relationships. Meanwhile, A Quiet Place and the franchise it has built have begun to play on a simple yet ghastly fear: a world in which sound can be deadly. Alien invaders hunt any sound they hear, and use the simplicity of this fear to add tension, adrenaline, and true terror to their films.

These are but a view of the films and stories that bring this genre so much gravitas. Sci-fi horror blends the exploration of scientific discoveries and the boundaries of human achievement with the terror and fear of the horror genre. These stories force us to look inwards, making this sub-genre a compelling one to lose oneself in, especially during the spooky season.