12 Scariest Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time
5. 1984
Did someone say “Kafkaesque” (repeatedly)?
By now, the
relatively far-fetched horrors of alien orifice invasions are probably starting
to look comparatively comforting, since at least the Xenomorph won’t kill you
over a percentage. But we’ll raise Kafka-esque by one and offer up 1984’s film adaptation
of, er, 1984, a movie which deserves the mantle of “Orwellian”.
For anyone unfamiliar, British author George Orwell’s novel of the same name satirized totalitarian governments and their unstoppable propaganda machines in his unsparing story of an innocent man vilified for objecting to government overreach and civilian surveillance, with the tale leading toward a bleak, hopeless ending for both our hero and his resistance movement at large.
This John Hurt starring adaptation is faithful to the book’s grim vision for the future, ramping up the cruelty of our protagonist’s fate and erasing any glimpse of hope from the film’s horrifying conclusion.