10 Horror Movies That Changed The Industry Forever

7. Alien (1979)

After Hollywood failed to recapture the tone and success of Star Wars in the late 1970's, Ridley Scott turned a complete 180, creating a film that directly counteracted the lightness of George Lucas's franchise with a darker, pessimistic version of the future and space travel. Dan O'Bannon's script for Alien drew on his previous experience with the movie Dark Star, but developed the themes further, providing Scott with the blueprints for a new interpretation of science fiction that would go on to influence countless films. By seamlessly combining key elements of both horror and science fiction, Scott created a new aesthetic that had a long-term impact on both genres, one which he would develop further in the film Blade Runner. Alien proved that realism and science fiction didn't have to be mutually exclusive concepts and now, the majority of sci-fi films shown in cinemas today strive to create worlds that remain believable, despite their fantastical content. Glossy science fiction movies will never disappear completely and they shouldn't either, but the poor critical reaction to CGI-heavy movies like the Star Wars prequels shows that audiences generally crave realism of a sort, even in unrealistic genres like horror and sci-fi.