9 Sci-Fi Horror Movies That Went Too Far

Exploring those times the world of sci-fi horror massively overstepped the line.

Hollow Man Rhona Mitra
Columbia Pictures

Whatever medium it's being featured in, the wider genre of science fiction allows for a literal endless amount of possibilities.

Sci-fi allows creative minds to head to the stars, to dive to the depths of the ocean, to explore androids, to serve up science lab shenanigans, and anything and everything else in between. And when sci-fi meshes together with horror, that throws up some truly terrifying propositions that, as shown over the decades, can be the stuff of brilliant, twisted nightmares.

The genres of sci-fi and horror dovetail into each other beautifully when done well, and cinema has proven that so many times. Still, there have been those feature films where the world of sci-fi horror has gone a little too far for some audiences.

It's on those moments that the spotlight is on here, as this list is all about the times that sci-fi horror was too crude, too grizzly or simply too outright offensive in what it brought to the silver screen.

With that in mind, then, here are nine such examples of those times when the sci-fi horror corner of film has massively overstepped the line for the tastes of many a moviegoer.

9. Species

Hollow Man Rhona Mitra
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Interspecies erotica, hey? And for those of you who haven't seen Clerks II, interspecies erotica is exactly what you're thinking.

While 1995's Species didn't feature a donkey and its would-be human suitor, what the film did have was a terrifying sex scene between Alfred Molina's Dr. Stephen Arden and Natasha Henstridge's Sil. Of course, there is far more to Sil than simply the visage of former model Henstridge - for she is actually an alien/human hybrid.

Audiences had half-expected such a 'unique' sex scene to take place, for a good chunk of the movie revolves around Sil's desperate need to mate. When she finally finds somebody to bump uglies with, it's Molina's Arden who ends up being Sil's mate of choice.

Pulling a black widow move, Sil soon kills Arden after the deed is done.

This isn't the only chilling, skin-crawling moments of Species, mind. Earlier in the film, we'd see some prick try to rape Sil after she'd decided not to have sex with him once she'd realised he was diabetic. We'd later see Henstridge's character also pretend to be a victim of domestic violence in order to win the sympathy of a woman she'd quickly kidnap and assume the identity of.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.