10 Weird Sci-Fi Horror Movies Of The 80s

10. Spontaneous Combustion

For a long period, humanity was fascinated by the theory that people could implode with no rhyme or reason. The unexplained phenomena has been mentioned in Charles Dickens' novels, Red Dwarf, This Is Spinal Tap, and many other stories. As a result, it was inevitable a horror focusing on this pseudoscientific concept would see the light of day.

Which brings us to Tobe Hooper's Spontaneous Combustion. The 1989 body-horror revolves around an unstable man called Sam (Brad Dourif) who learns his parents were exposed to atomic energy, causing them to spontaneously combust shortly after he was born. Due to his irradiated genes, Sam develops superpowers as an adult, allowing him to summon electric fire when he's angry. When Sam discovers his powers are destroying his body from within, he realises he's running on borrowed time.

Spontaneous Combustion may be Grade-A camp, but it has some great ideas. Rather than depicting Sam as a generic villain, Dourif plays him as a victim coming to grips with an impossible situation. Even when he doesn't want to harm anyone, a single outburst can prove fatal to anyone nearby.

Spontaneous Combustion could've turned out better, but it's worth watching for the breath-taking fire stunts and Dourif's commanding performance.