12 Scariest Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time

12. Alien

We’re starting this list with the inevitable prerequisites, the ones we couldn’t forget or leave off the countdown no matter how much we may want to go against the grain.

Everyone wants to uncover a new hidden gem, but there’s denying that Ridley Scott’s incredibly effective “haunted house in space” chiller is one of the finest sci-fi horrors ever created, and as much as dystopias and more realistic space disasters may get our pulses pounding and our adrenal glands pumping, there’s nothing quite like the bloody first appearance of the eponymous xenomorph to perfectly embody sci-fi’s potential for creating utterly inescapable terror.

This Sigourney Weaver vehicle was originally released to critical applause in 1979 with the now-iconic tagline “in space, no one can hear you scream”, and despite a steady stream of inconsistent sequels and a needlessly messy franchise mythos, the film itself is still as brutally bracing as that chilling one-liner was way back then.