Modern science fiction owes its origins to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), but the core elements of this genre have been around for hundreds of years. The oldest work of sci-fi — A True Story by Lucian of Samosata — contains references to extraterrestrial beings and interplanetary conflict.
Science fiction explores concepts far beyond the current scientific perspective, offering a whole range of speculative avenues. Sci-fi narratives, whether literary or cinematic, are often structured around the Hero’s Journey template. As such, many of these stories are powered by the dynamic between underdog protagonists and overpowered antagonists. Not all sci-fi villains are scary, but there are a few who would be more at home in the horror genre.
This article discusses violence and sexual assault.
10 Mrs. Carmody Sacrifices Innocent People To Satiate The Monsters — The Mist (2007)
Based on a Stephen King novel, The Mist raises several important questions about morality and agency. By the film’s ending, protagonist David Drayton „euthanizes“ his son to protect him from a worse fate, only to realize that he didn’t need to do anything.
The story is largely held together by a riveting performance from actress Marcia Gay Harden, whose Mrs. Carmody is a human being in theory. She transforms into a fiendish cult leader over the course of the film, sacrificing innocent people to satiate the monsters lurking in the titular Mist. That said, Mrs. Carmody’s apocalyptic rants would have been amusing in any other situation.
9 The Yautja’s Entire Culture Is Based On The Hunt — Predator (1987)
Popularly known as the Predators, the Yautja are one of the most vicious extraterrestrial species in existence. Their technological intelligence doesn’t prevent them from scouring the galaxy for ideal prey and hunting them down without mercy. The Yautja’s appearance is deeply disconcerting, with scaly skin, hollowed eyes, and an iconic set of canine mandibles.
Their entire culture is based on the Hunt, explaining why they doggedly stalk and pursue their prey before eventually massacring them. A single member of this species is capable of routing an entire battalion of trained soldiers, including the Green Berets. The Yautja remain as eerie today as they were in the original 1987 movie.
8 Ava’s Thought Process Remains Unnervingly Encrypted — Ex Machina (2015)
Artificial Intelligence villains have been around for a long time, a cinematic tradition that can be traced back to HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Alex Garland’s Ex Machina takes a radically different approach to this trope. Ava is unquestionably the final villain, but the story also paints Caleb and Nathan in an unpleasant light.
Although Ava’s ultimate goal is crystal clear, her thought process remains unnervingly encrypted until the movie’s conclusion. It’s practically impossible to characterize her behavior using human language — emotion-laden terms like „cold-hearted“ and „malevolent“ simply don’t apply to superintelligent AI.
7 The Mutant Bear Mimics The Dying Screams Of Its Most Recent Victim — Annihilation (2018)
Annihilation is one of the most perplexing sci-fi narratives in recent memory. Rolling Stone magazine called it „a bracing brainteaser with the courage of its own ambiguity,“ but the film’s hallucinatory concept and unpredictable twists make it an intimidating watch.
Annihilation’s so-called Shimmer zone contains a whole new ecosystem with biological rules that defy scientific analysis. Cassie is devoured by a mutant bear midway through the movie’s second arc, leaving her friends distraught and dismayed. This ghastly creature inexplicably acquires the ability to mimic Cassie’s dying screams, which sound more like recorded playback than something natural.
6 Emperor Palpatine Terrorizes The Entire Galaxy Under His Tyrannical Thumb — Star Wars
Sheev Palpatine earns the trust of the Galactic Senate by portraying himself as a mild-mannered Senator from Naboo, but he eventually drops the charade and declares his true allegiance. The Sith Lord’s previously benign face undergoes a profoundly unnatural metamorphosis, giving him withered skin, neon-yellow eyes, and an abnormally furrowed brow.
Palpatine looks extra undead in the sequel trilogy, which is saying something. That said, Palpatine’s overwhelming strength, unscrupulous methods, and sadistic tendencies are far more terrifying than his ghoulish appearance. Even Darth Vader cowers in front of Palpatine, a testament to the Emperor’s formidable power.
5 The T-1000 Is Significantly More Malicious Than His Predecessor — Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Played by Robert Patrick to macabre perfection, the T-1000 is significantly more malicious than his predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800. T-1000 coldly obeys his programming without any major deviations, no matter how many people are killed during his quest to murder John Connor.
At the same time, he displays a perverse sense of pleasure, torturing his intended targets rather than completing his assigned tasks. T-1000 models are constructed using a „mimetic polyalloy,“ a chrome-tinted liquid metal that is completely immune to physical attacks. The T-1000 in Terminator 2 survives a point-blank shotgun blast to the face, even after it rips his head in half.
4 The Thing Can Theoretically Infect The Entire Planet — The Thing (1982)
The Thing has no known biological system. It hijacks its targets‘ genetic code, imitating their outward characteristics and behavior patterns with absolute precision. MacReady’s blood test is the only non-invasive protocol that can confirm the presence of this elusive creature.
However, the Thing mounts a violent defense whenever its identity is exposed, transforming its victims‘ bodies into nightmarish clumps of flesh, blood, bone, teeth, slime, and gore. If allowed to leave its Antarctic prison, the Thing will proceed to infect the entire planet, resulting in an irreversible global extinction event.
3 Xenomorphs Are Horrifying At Every Stage Of Their Life Cycle — Alien
A near-flawless synthesis of the sci-fi and horror genres, Ridley Scott’s Alien is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece. The film invokes a deep-seated feeling of dread in its viewers even before the eponymous villain enters the picture, but the Xenomorph takes the story to a whole new level.
Xenomorphs are larger, faster, tougher, stronger, and occasionally smarter than the average human being, not to mention their notoriously corrosive acid blood. Although these creatures are horrifying at every stage of their life cycle, the Chestburster form deserves a special mention.
2 The T-Rex Is An Unstoppable Biological Machine — Jurassic Park (1993)
The T. Rex is the official symbol of Jurassic Park. This ancient dinosaur is resurrected via cloning, placed in an unfamiliar habitat, and sold to the public as a sideshow attraction, all because some rich people want to get richer. The T. Rex escapes its electrified paddock when Nedry thoughtlessly deactivates the park’s security system, following which it goes on a carnivorous rampage.
Tim, Lex, Alan, and Ellie manage to survive the dinosaur’s attacks with a combination of strategy, timing, and pure luck. On the other hand, the T. Rex becomes a hero after it kills the Velociraptor trio, inadvertently saving the protagonists.
1 Dren’s Animal Features And Human Skintone Make It Extremely Unnerving — Splice (2009)
Splice adroitly explores the ethical limits of scientific experimentation. Researchers Clive and Elsa successfully develop their first animal-human hybrid, a seemingly docile creature called Dren. The couple tries interacting with their creation, but its strange appearance and habits bother Clive on an unexplainable level.
Although Dren’s scorpion-like tail, all-black eyes, deformed feet, and moth wings are each scary in their own way, its decidedly human skintone makes it all the more unnerving. Despite his misgivings, Clive ends up having sex with Dren, who later goes on to rape and impregnate Elsa.