5 '80s Sci-Fi Horror Movies That Still Terrify Us

They sure don't make them like they used to, but in the case of 1980s science fiction horror, perhaps it's better that they didn't. That's not because they were bad, of course. On the contrary, in this exceptional era, when filmmakers were reaching legendary status, big, bold, and groundbreaking movies were hitting screens, changing the industry forever. One sub-genre that thrived from these storytellers was science fiction horror, where dangers from space, superpowered beings, or science colliding with faith have led to some absolute classics that still carry a level of dread that never seems to fade.

Factoring in this corner of science fiction, we've compiled a top-level collection of horrible watches that still get the heart racing, or at their worst, leave us wincing at what's on display. From alien hunters to intergalactic pests and a good old-fashioned head explosion or two, this list has something for everyone and, more importantly, features iconic, long-lasting moments still seared into the minds of film fans decades later. So much so that a majority of them have led to multiple movies that try to recapture what gave us the willies the first time around. Take a look and see if any of your favorites made the cut; if they didn't, chuck them on your watchlist if you're feeling brave enough.

Ridley Scott might've introduced us to the Xenomorph in 1979, but James Cameron's getting us reacquainted with the perfect lifeform that haunts us just as much as the original film did. If the first "Alien" was constructed like a haunted house, Cameron's highly charged nail-biter moves like a ghost train that somehow brings a different kind of terror. It's not just the fact that there are more of them this time. It's that Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is being forced to revisit the nightmare she thought she'd escaped decades before. As a result, the trip back to LV-426 is one that we're nerve-wracklingly in the back seat for. We know all the tricks and the traps waiting in the shadows by this point, which made things even more unsettling when we start to see holes in the floors, or seemingly unconscious colonists waking up begging for death.

From there, it's a pulse-pounding rollercoaster that hasn't lost a step, and where every scare hits as hard as the firepower that's accompanying it. Throw in the near-silent standoff with Ripley and the Alien Queen, and even with all the action that's crammed into the second and immensely adored sequel, there's still something to be terrified of with "Aliens." Just as Ridley Scott tried to replicate his tussle with the extraterrestrial terror (and struggled), so too have other filmmakers tried to tap into Cameron's chapter. While some might have managed here and there, there's no question that our '80s encounter with the xenomorphs remains unmatched.

For young moviegoers who were perhaps a little too old to be terrified by "Gremlins," director Stephen Herek unleashed a different kind of ankle-bitting beastie that was far meaner and even more lethal than Joe Dante's Christmas-wrecking creatures. "Critters" followed a traditional happy family whose farm and home get torn to pieces by alien beings that have crash-landed on Earth, trying to escape prison time. These aren't your simple chaos-fuelled creatures bred from the back of a Mogwai, though. Instead, the Critters were demonic-looking alien vermin with glowing red eyes and teeth that could tear through anything or anyone, including screen legend Billy Zane.

Somewhere between "Gremlins" and "Night of the Living Dead," Critters scuttles along the floor in a movie that is similar to but (depending on who you ask) not a "Gremlins" knock-off. Boyfriends end up being partly devoured, and a dangerous trip down the basement leads to the father of the family almost losing his shoulder blade. It's because of this mild level of peril, well-executed bits of terror, and poor Billy Zane getting his stomach devoured that "Critters" is a cult classic of the '80s that might still give children of that era the willies even now.

In another timeline, Arnold Schwarzenegger's rare venture into science fiction horror would've seen him facing off against what looked like Jean-Claude Van Damme in a "Power Rangers" level monster suit in "Predator." Thankfully, director John McTiernan went another way, and special effects genius Stan Winston gave us one of the most terrifying movie aliens in history. Part "Commando," part "Alien," "Predator" was a supercharged monster movie that marked a rare occurrence for Arnie.

While the first act might've seen him up to his usual henchman-disposing heroics, the further into the jungle and the higher the bodies piled up, the more the Austrian Oak appeared to be in real peril, unlike never before. Understandably so, as well. While Winston's amazing monster magic eventually made an appearance, McTiernan dials up the tension by taking his time in revealing just what it is that's hunting these well-armed macho men. 

By the time the Predator reveals himself, the film becomes a tale of hunter and hunted, with Arnie going back to basics to defeat his opponent. It's this entertaining nugget that we'd see replicated particularly well by director Dan Trachtenberg when he revived the franchise with "Prey," as well as with portions of the animated anthology "Predator: Killer of Killers." Just like so many other movies on this list that sparked franchises, though, this 1987 masterpiece remains the greatest of the bunch.

If you're dreading the upcoming remake of John Carpenter's horror classic "The Thing," there is an overlooked '80s scarefest by the legendary filmmaker that offers a different kind of dread, and it doesn't get the attention it deserves. "Prince of Darkness" follows a group of quantum physics students studying a mysterious cylinder that contains Satan in liquid form. The discovery, which takes place in a monastery, sees the students and the priest, played by Donald Pleasance, trying to fight back against the unholy evil that has contaminated one of the students, while a band of homeless people (led by Alice Cooper) surround the building.

While there's no doubt that "The Thing" remains a staple of '80s cinema, Carpenter's follow-up film is so much more unnerving than a shapeshifting dog or the havoc that follows. The depiction of this supernatural force fighting these young investigators feels so much more real because of the various forms it takes. Bodies degrade, people become possessed, and there's that unsettling vision of a figure in the monastery shot through a handheld camera. Carpenter covers all bases and rounds it all off with a nightmare that sends a jolt lasting long after the credits.

In what still feels like an "X-Men" movie before the mutants first made it to the big screen, "Scanners" introduced us to a world of "telepathic curiosities," wonderfully fleshed out by director David Cronenberg, in what would become a cult classic. The powerful Cameron Vale is brought into an institution that studies scanners, humans with unique telepathic abilities, after Michael Ironside's powerful villain, Darryl Revok, goes on a mission of head-exploding chaos. Pitting the two against each other is Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Paul Ruth, the scientist who knows more than he's letting on, at the center of this battle of highly intense brains.

Demonstrating what kind of universe Cronenberg could create given the chance, "Scanners" features a dense world of people who use their minds over matter, and it's still a great watch. However, what adds to the terror is watching either Vale or his nemesis, Darryl Revok, really think hard about their problems, which leads people to squint their way through scenes until someone either explodes or bursts into flame. Sure, watching people fake seizures might look a bit hokey now, but given how many super-powered beings we've seen display their telepathic prowess over the last two decades, "Scanners" was a movie that really showed us how it was done.