We all know the cliché: any horror franchise that runs long enough inevitably goes off into space. Critters, Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Dracula… they’ve all traveled to the stars.
The trope, fair or not, has often been overshadowed by the fact that science fiction and horror are perfect companions, with the total isolation, small quarters and oppressive vastness of outer space being a perfect fit for the horror genre. Space-based horror films have produced classics of both genres that have endured across generations and spawned entire franchises in their own right.
Why, then, in the midst of a horror film renaissance, has the genre abandoned outer space? what has happened space horror movieAnd why has Hollywood either stopped making them altogether or, perhaps more accurately, failed to make some of them any good?
Space: Horror Frontier
To be clear, science fiction and horror haven’t diverged that much overall; It’s just that when the two styles meet, they have no interest in leaving planet Earth.
Instead, the combination either brings an alien threat to the planet’s edge, à la “The Quiet Place”, “Nope”, or “No One Will Save You”, or a terror coming from man’s own hand like “Ex Machina” or “M3GAN”. Either way, the result is that Horror No Longer Lives in Space, the only major space-horror film released this decade that is admittedly excellent.Alien: Romulus“, with some smaller projects like “Europa Report” and “Life”.
I was sure there must be more – some hidden classics that I missed – but while researching for this article, I was shocked to see how few space horror movies we’ve had in the last few decades. It’s like everyone agrees”event horizonHe was at his peak and left to make horror movies in space.
Space horror has never been a major sub-genre, but it was once big enough to be considered an entire trope. So it seems especially strange that in the midst of a horror renaissance, as the genre continues to dominate the box office, it has been completely left behind. Horror has moved out of the B-grade shadows and into the Oscar race with films like “Get Out,” “Midsommar” and “It Follows,” and the box office returns are staggering.
Respected directors are diving into this genre and creating masterpieces, but none of them are interested in outer space. We’ve been in a horror renaissance for almost a decade, in which almost every kind of horror has been unpacked, recreated, and turned into artifacts, and yet space horrors have lain almost entirely dormant. So what does it give?
No one can hear you in space
Then why is this happening? Where’s the arthouse unpacking of “Jason X”? Why didn’t Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine” kick off the horror renaissance a decade earlier? Whatever “Prometheus” was before finally returning to its roots, why it became the “Alien” franchise (and then Coming to Earth immediately!)? Where is our English remake of Aniyara from an emerging indie director?
There are many reasons why this may not happen, but the most likely reason is that terror is more grassroots than before. While we still get slashers and jump scares, the renaissance that A24 ushered in has not only brought scares out of the shadows, but also provided a redefined genre that doesn’t mesh with spaceships and alien creatures.
That doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but this new generation of horror isn’t interested in going off-planet to tell their slow-burn tales of grief and trauma, filled with thin metaphors for real-life issues. “Earth and present times are scary enough” seems to be the argument.
Of course, there is another reason for this as well. The reason for everything: money.
The other new branch of horror that emerged from this renaissance came from studios like Blumhouse, who made low-budget horror films and turned huge profits. And it’s no less than budget horror movies, some of which are truly amazing.
But while space horror can be made on the cheap, it’s certainly not that easy to do. It requires more investment, design, and often sets and special effects than a traditional horror film. It’s cheap and easy to make Earth-based science-fiction horror, and many of them have become massive hits, so why bother going to space?
pull me into space
Given both science-fiction and horror’s history of social commentary and cultural expansion, arthouse horror not venturing into space – budget restrictions aside – seems like a huge miss, especially when the aspects it explores are perfectly built for the isolation, alienation, and dread that space evokes.
In addition to horror, excellent space movies like “Moon” and “Martian“These themes are explored, but we’re missing that scary, scary edge.
And look, I’m not even saying that space horror has to be artistic. The trope of horror franchises eventually going to space is actually one I want to see more of. Why not jump the shark a little more with a horror franchise? a science fiction version of saw Sounds like a lot more fun than Chris Rock’s terrible spin-off. Science fiction space “purge” on a colony ship? Yes, and please. The horror anthology style of “Evil Dead” is practically begging to take a trip to space. There’s a lot of room in space, and these franchises can totally travel there.
However, there is one bright spot for space-loving horror enthusiasts. Video games seem to have taken over.
From AAA classics like “Dead Space” to “Iron Lung” (Which itself turned into a space horror movie!). The sub-genre has been going strong for decades, even after the film left it. Hell, for almost a decade, “Alien” was the franchise’s best output.”Alien: Isolation“, one of the scariest games ever.
While the movies may no longer be taking place in the wider universe, at least our video games are taking us there and then scaring us with our space boots.
