Space horror

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Xenomorph from the Alien franchise

Space horror is a subgenre of horror fiction generally defined as space-based horror.[1]

While pure outer space horror films may solely include films taking place in spacecrafts, space stations or outer space, the broader blend of settings covered by the subgenre of space horror include locations on exoplanets and exomoons, within the Solar System but not on Earth, and terrestrial films set on Earth (alien invasion films).[2] Films belonging to the subgenre of space horror typically feature an alien antagonist.[2]

Variety's Jenelle Riley cited the following titles as standout space horror films: Life (2017), Dead Space: Downfall (2008), Solaris (1972), Lifeforce (1985), It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), Sunshine (2007), Pitch Black (2000), Event Horizon (1997), Alien (1979), and Aliens (1986).[3]

An innovative feature that can be found in some films blending a space setting and horror is an altered topology of time.[4]

Characteristics

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Space horror is a subgenre of horror fiction typically set in space,[5] away from human society and its constraints.[6] While it occasionally takes place on Earth, such as in the case of alien invasion films, the subgenre focuses mostly on works taking place in spacecrafts, space stations, other planets or outer space.[7]

Common elements are a small set of characters, a high body count, a military component, aliens[8] and the exploration of various themes such as isolation,[9][10] the darkness of the human mind,[11][12] existential dread,[13][14][15] or an altered topology of time.[16]

History

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While space exploration has been a point of interest for a long time, with works such as David Russen’s Iter Lunare: Or, A Voyage to the Moon (1703) imagining interplanetary voyage,[17] it was not until 1898 and H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds that alien invasion became a feature of science fiction stories,[18] introducing the idea of extraterrestrial threats. Later works such as Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon (1902) developed the idea of space as a dangerous place,[19] linking together space exploration and horror.

The Cold War led to the development of science fiction,[20] the genre providing an outlet for the fears and anxieties of the moment,[21] representing hostile aliens and mass destruction[22] as allegories for the threats of the war.[23]

Interest in space horror diminished throughout the years, until 1979, with the release of the film Alien by Ridley Scott.[24] Mixing science fiction, horror and supernatural, it popularized space horror,[25] with the story of an alien attacking the crew members of a spaceship.[26] Since then, space horror has been used in various movies, video games and novels.

Films

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Alien (1979) is considered one of the most influential movies in the space horror subgenre,[27] although there had been similar films made before, such as It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), which inspired Alien itself,[28] Planet of the Vampires (1965)[29] or Queen of Blood (1966).[30]

Alien was succeeded by its own sequel Alien franchise, as well as movies such as Event Horizon (1997), Sunshine (2007) or Life (2017).[31]

Other examples of the genre are Solaris (1972), Pitch Black (2000), Pandorum (2009), Apollo 18 (2011), Europa Report (2013) and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).[32][33][34][35]

Video games

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Various video games feature space horror themes and plots, such as Doom, Dead Space, Alien: Isolation (2014), Prey (2017), Observation (2019), Moons of Madness (2019), Signalis (2022), The Callisto Protocol (2022), Lethal Company (2023) and System Shock (2023).[36][37][38]

Literature

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Examples of space horror books are Richard Paul Russo’s Ship of Fools (2001), Brian Evenson’s Dead Space: Martyr (2010), Brett J. Talley’s The Void (2012), Iain Rob Wright’s 2389 (2015), Darcy Coates’s Parasite (2016), Stacey Kade’s Dead Silence (2022) and Ghost Station (2024) and David Wellington’s Paradise-1 (2023).[39][40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Larsen, Kristine (2024) ""Hell is only a word. The reality is much, much worse": Black Holes as Fantasy Gateways to Hell". Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature. 42 (2).
  2. ^ a b Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  3. ^ Riley, Jenelle (14 August 2020). "10 Best Space Horror Movies". Variety.
  4. ^ Schlag, Juliane (2017). "Out of Space-Out of Time. Looking at the Factors of Time in Space Horror Movies". In Brittany, Michele (ed.). Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  5. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  6. ^ Finlay Greig (20 March 2017). "Why we find films set in space so terrifying, according to a horror academic".
  7. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  8. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 3–5. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  9. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  10. ^ Brian Martinez (25 March 2024). "Infinite Terror: An Exploration of Space Horror". Archived from the original on 29 November 2025.
  11. ^ Brian Martinez (25 March 2024). "Infinite Terror: An Exploration of Space Horror". Archived from the original on 29 November 2025.
  12. ^ James Payne (11 January 2019). "Horror… In Space!".
  13. ^ Brian Martinez (25 March 2024). "Infinite Terror: An Exploration of Space Horror". Archived from the original on 29 November 2025.
  14. ^ James Payne (11 January 2019). "Horror… In Space!".
  15. ^ Emily C. Hugues (6 February 2023). "Every Space Story Is a Horror Story". Archived from the original on 30 January 2025.
  16. ^ Schlag, Juliane (2017). "Out of Space-Out of Time. Looking at the Factors of Time in Space Horror Movies". In Brittany, Michele (ed.). Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 96. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  17. ^ Marshall B. Tymn (April 1985). American Studies International (ed.). Science Fiction: A Brief History and Review of Criticism. Vol. 23. Mid-America American Studies Association. p. 43.
  18. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  19. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  20. ^ Logan Baako (4 September 2023). The Evolution of Horror Films. Vol. 2. Art and Society. p. 7.
  21. ^ Deirdre Girard (3 May 2012). "Movie Critic Robert Horton Discusses Sci-Fi Films, the Cold War and Today". Archived from the original on 21 January 2025.
  22. ^ Deirdre Girard (3 May 2012). "Movie Critic Robert Horton Discusses Sci-Fi Films, the Cold War and Today". Archived from the original on 21 January 2025.
  23. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  24. ^ Brittany, Michele, ed. (2017). "Introduction". Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4766-6405-7.
  25. ^ Logan Baako (4 September 2023). The Evolution of Horror Films. Vol. 2. Art and Society. p. 7.
  26. ^ Douglas Fowler (1981). Studies in Popular Culture (ed.). "Alien, The Thing" and the Principles of Terror. Vol. 4. Popular Culture Association in the South. p. 16.
  27. ^ "10 Best Space Horror Movies". Variety. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
  28. ^ Maçek III, J.C. "Building the Perfect Star Beast: The Antecedents of 'Alien'." Archived 2012-11-27 at the Wayback Machine PopMatters, November 21, 2012.
  29. ^ "Terror in Space: 16 Horror Movies Set In Outer Space". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Terror in Space: 16 Horror Movies Set In Outer Space". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  31. ^ "10 Best Space Horror Movies". Variety. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
  32. ^ Clarence Snell (27 October 2024). "10 Terrifying Outer Space Horror Movies". Archived from the original on 5 September 2025.
  33. ^ "10 Best Space Horror Movies". Variety. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024.
  34. ^ Brian Martinez (25 March 2024). "Infinite Terror: An Exploration of Space Horror". Archived from the original on 29 November 2025.
  35. ^ "Terror in Space: 16 Horror Movies Set In Outer Space". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  36. ^ Sam Cheeda, Calvin Townsend, Leah Isobel, William Quick and Dennis Moiseyev (6 October 2024). "The Best Space Horror Games". Archived from the original on 29 August 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Amy Cowley (28 April 2024). "Horror Games Set In Space". Archived from the original on 6 May 2024.
  38. ^ Fran Ruiz (25 October 2025). "Best space horror games". Archived from the original on 6 October 2025.
  39. ^ Brian Martinez (25 March 2024). "Infinite Terror: An Exploration of Space Horror". Archived from the original on 29 November 2025.
  40. ^ "Space Horror Books".