30 Best Hidden Gem Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween

The late horror legend Tobe Hooper had a mixed career, with many citing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as his only bona fide milestone and crediting his other classic, Poltergeist, more to Steven Spielberg's writer/producer credit. That’s an unfair notion, as Hooper created several unsung gems, and the surprisingly big-budget Lifeforce definitely deserves a second look. It’s his most absolutely bonkers film, and that’s from a man who directed a movie about a possessed laundry machine.

With an erratic, relentless pace, Lifeforce starts in space with a bombastically epic Henry Mancini score. Its first act plays like Alien, as a space crew discovers a derelict vessel with sinister undertones, then it shifts into a buddy-cop thriller with the excellently matched Peter Firth and Steve Railsback chasing down an E.T. on earth, before Lifeforce explodes into a full-blown apocalyptic zombie finale.

Boiled down, the whole thing could sound like a sleazy grindhouse affair - its plot centers on an always-naked space vampire, played by the stunning Mathilda May - but Hooper, working with a major budget, directs with a class and style a step above his scuzzy ’70s efforts and keeps a coherent, well-acted throughline throughout.

Lifeforce is fairly schizophrenic and moves so quickly that it's over before you can catch your breath, but it remains an absolute blast from start to finish if you like your horror movies gloriously baffling.