Last week, I ticked seven psychological horror movies off my Halloween 2024 watch list. This week, it was sci-fi horror movies. In contrast to last week’s roundup, and my time spent with slasher movies in the first week of my Halloween 2024 countdown, my familiarity with sci-fi wasn’t up to par, so I was intrigued to get into it.
My closest friends would never pin me as a sci-fi fan, so this was the catalyst that made me opt for a sci-fi horror themed week. As per my last two roundups, I relied on the best streaming services, mainly Prime Video and Hulu, to help keep my momentum going strong. And, once again, a successful week of streaming was the result.
Day 15: The Cabin in the Woods
Director: Drew Goddard
Running time: 95 minutes
Where to stream: Peacock (US), Prime Video (UK), Netflix (AU)
A movie that I’ve been meaning to watch for years, and have only now got round to ticking off my watchlist. It has a fun blend of supernatural and sci-fi horror tropes, and its black comedy elements land very well, but it doesn’t translate as a comedy.
While I’ve enjoyed comedy horrors like Ready or Not (2019), that movie felt more wired to be a comedy whereas The Cabin in the Woods is packed with thrilling jump scares and gore that mask its comedy. When the story’s actual premise was revealed, I felt myself watching a more sinister rendition of The Truman Show – rounded off with an unexpected cameo from Sigourney Weaver.
Day 16: Alien
Director: Ridley Scott
Running time: 117 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK and AU)
Speaking of Sigourney Weaver, I’ve become president of the Lt. Ellen Ripley fan club after watching Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror Alien. It’s safe to say that this classic was at the top of my list of movies I had to watch for this week.
I had a lot of questions during my time watching Alien, the first one was: why are you smoking on a spacecraft? That’s very 1970s. This was followed by: why are all these men telling Ripley what to do? That was by far one of the most irritating parts of the movie. But given their untimely fates at the hands of extra-terrestrials, I can only put it down to karma.
What I couldn’t help but notice throughout Alien was the lack of soundtrack in parts I felt could’ve helped add texture to some scenes. I didn’t dwell on this too much, and it got better quickly. But it’s Ripley’s vengeance scene at the end that had me jumping out of my seat and clapping. That finale was for women in STEM everywhere.
Day 17: The Fly
Director: David Cronenberg
Running time: 96 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK and AU)
If Beauty and the Beast was a sci-fi horror, this is what it would look like. I remember seeing a few scenes of The Fly while growing up, but had never watched it from start to finish – therefore, I had no idea the direction it was going to take.
The ‘mad scientist’ archetype on screen is always fun and, rather camp to watch. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching someone with an odd hyper-fixation that leads them to spiralling into something that’s not human (this is quite literal in the case of The Fly).
The movie’s minimal casting was a wise (and inexpensive) choice, so it didn’t feel saturated with unnecessary characters and instead allowed Jeff Goldblum’s metamorphosis to shine as the focus – and the movie’s matter-of-fact ending was the perfect seal.
Day 18: No One Will Save You
Director: Brian Duffield
Running time: 93 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK and AU)
A more recent sci-fi horror that, unlike Alien, the extra-terrestrial drama takes place on earth. In his writing, Duffield does the impossible; he creates a narrative that is unfolded entirely through stage directions with a total of five words of dialogue over the movie’s 93-minute run.
It’s a successful example of how to show, and not tell. I’d go as far to say that it’s a quasi character study, not in an overt sense quite like horrors such as Pearl (2022), but your sense of Kaitlyn Dever’s character and the people around her that shun her out develops profoundly as the events of the movie happen.
One of the reasons why I was engaged with this movie was because its premise wasn’t entirely dystopian, and its elements of real-life settings upheld the movie’s sense of reality. In comparison to my thoughts on the premise of It’s What’s Inside (2024), I’m thankful that Black Mirror didn’t take this idea and run with it first.
Day 19: Signs
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 106 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu, Max (US), Disney Plus (UK and AU)
Five minutes into Signs and I said to myself: this movie feels mighty familiar. And then it hit me, this is one of the movies that was spoofed for Scary Movie 3 (2003), and it was all I could think about for the movie’s entire duration.
That aside, it was a very M. Night Shyamalan production even if I didn’t realize it until the very end. But compared to Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense (1999), which I watched during psychological horror week, Signs wasn’t as strong. A lot of the time I thought that the movie lacked drive was a just outright not scary, and it felt as though it was trying too hard to be suspenseful which failed to land for me.
However, I still try to find the best aspects about the movies that don’t necessarily appeal to me and in the case of Signs, it has some great mise en scène examples, which was its saving grace.
Day 20: The Mist
Director: Frank Darabont
Running time: 125 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US), Prime Video (UK), Netflix (AU)
The Mist was my chance to take a break from all of the extra-terrestrial content I consumed this week, and it was a satisfactory experience that was a big improvement from Signs. When it comes to movies with an attack/ invasion storyline, it gets under my skin when characters don’t fight back – this is something I didn’t have to worry about when watching The Mist.
Watching the carnage unravel in this adaptation of the Stephen King novella was the most entertaining part, particularly when its themes of religious fundamentalism grew stronger and the characters divided into two conflicting groups. And just when I thought the carnage had stopped there, enter the incredibly barbaric ending, which is a huge slap in the face for the main protagonist.
In a similar light, the element of mystery surrounding the creatures that lurked in the mist kept the movie’s momentum alive. I don’t want to give away too much but I will warn, you may not want to watch if you have arachnophobia.
Day 21: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Director: Jim Sharman
Running time: 95 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK and AU)
It’s not even remotely horror, and it’s science-fiction element is borderline fantasy – but wow, what a cult classic. Towards the end of the week, I wanted to take a rest from the hard-hitting, action-packed sci-fi horrors that I was used to and watch something a bit more, or in this a lot more, unserious.
I’ve seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show countless times and will never be bored of its unapologetic campiness and ridiculous premise. But what really sells it as a brilliant musical is its 70s rock-heavy soundtrack with clear influences from Meat Loaf – who has a starring cameo – and its glam rock inspired costumes which fit perfectly for any Halloween party. In the case of Rocky Horror, if you get it, you get it. And if you don’t, I send my condolences.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
