10 Great Horrors with TERRIBLE Premises

10. Lifeforce

Tobe Hooper's underrated B-movie opens with astronauts discovering vampiric extra-terrestrials inside a spaceship. After awakening them, the energy-sucking aliens prepare to conquer Earth.

Now, the idea of space vampires is obviously out-there. In fact, the original title was The Space Vampires, but the director was smart enough to change it to something less ridiculous.

But after watching Lifeforce for a few minutes, it's clear that each person involved in the production poured their heart and soul into it. Every elaborate set, puppet, prosthetic, animatronic, visual effect, and stop-motion effect has been designed so well, it's criminal this film doesn't get enough credit. Although certain monsters and special effects only appear for a second or two, there's no question the crew put as much care into them as the primary visuals.

The plot is all over the place but it's not really a hindrance, since Lifeforce is never derivative or predictable. One minute, everything is normal, the next, blood is draining from Patrick Stewart's face to form an exploding succubus. (Great scene, by the way.)

Poltergeist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre may be Tobe Hooper's best work, but Lifeforce still deserves a bit of love.