10 Painfully Underrated Sci-Fi Horror Movies
In one of cinema's most thrilling genres, these overlooked films are well worth your attention.
Take the deep, imaginative concepts of science fiction and pair it with the primal terror of the horror genre and you have a match made in heaven.
Both pair together beautifully to gift us mere mortals with some of the most unique, thought-provoking and horrifying experiences cinema has to offer.
It's given us masterpieces such as Alien, The Fly and The Terminator. Even classic films like The Thing fall under the unique brand of horror mashed up with the genre conventions you'd find in Star Trek.
The list of critically praised films that have become ingrained in our popular culture is long, but more interesting are those that somehow didn't get the praise they deserved. Those which flew under the radar and are relegated to the whispers amongst cinephiles and genre enthusiasts.
It can be a poor critical reception or low box-office takings that can lead to a movie going unnoticed, but this also means many people miss out on many one of a kind movie experiences.
10. Cube (1997)
Cube is a low-budget gem that received fairly average reviews and a cult following, but the sheer commitment to its secrecy is what makes it such a worthwhile viewing experience.
5 strangers wake up in the titular cube, a maze of seemingly endless identical square rooms. Unfortunately, the rooms are also littered with a wide assortment of booby traps that are rigged to deal out death in a viscous variety of gruesome ways.
All the characters want to do is survive the weird predicament they find themselves in, but they all have personalities seemingly designed to cause disruption as they clash constantly with cabin fever quickly setting in.
The whole film is one big mystery that unfolds at a great pace as you learn more about the cube itself and its newest residents. It's also a smart film to test your wits against, as the characters intelligently deduce the numerous tests despite the mass of confusion surrounding them.
The film really benefits from holding back explanations in its unique plot and a muted, claustrophobic atmosphere keeps the tension constantly high as you never feel truly safe.
This is a movie well worth your time, where the horror comes from the fear of the unknown. That and the crazy booby traps of course.