12 Nightmarish Sci-Fi Movie Scenes That Freaked You Out
4. Locked In With A Facehugger - Aliens
James Cameron's Aliens did the seemingly impossible in 1986, building on its predecessor to deliver an epic action film, interspersed with horror moments. Like other entries on this list, there's lots of moments from the film that could be picked (the Xenomorph ambush and the Alien Queen spring to mind), but this particular sequence takes the crown as the ultimate scare moment.
Midway through the film, Ripley and Newt fall asleep in the medical laboratory, and wake to find themselves locked in with two facehuggers. It's full-on sci-fi horror - there's nowhere to go for these two characters and they have to use what they've got at their disposal to fight off the deadly creatures. It's almost claustrophobic, and Cameron does an incredible job of keeping the creatures practically out of sight until they strike, before closing up on the hugger as it tries to wrap itself around Ripley's face.
The practical effects are also brilliant - it's ironic that the CGI of the newer films just doesn't have the same effect.