While pure outer space horror films may solely include films taking place in spacecrafts, space stations or outer space, the broader blend of settings covered by the subgenre of space horror include locations on exoplanets and exomoons, within the Solar System but not on Earth, and terrestrial films set on Earth (alien invasion films).[2] Films belonging to the subgenre of space horror typically feature an alien antagonist.[2]
An innovative feature that can be found in some films blending a space setting and horror is an altered topology of time.[4]
Characteristics
Space horror is a subgenre of horror fiction typically set in space[5], away from human society and its constraints[6]. While it occasionally takes place on Earth, such as in the case of alien invasion films, the subgenre focuses mostly on works taking place in spacecrafts, space stations, other planets or outer space[7].
Common elements are a small set of characters, a high body count, a military component, aliens[8] and the exploration of various themes such as isolation[9][10], the darkness of the human mind[11][12], existential dread[13][14][15] or an altered topology of time.[16]
History
While space exploration has been a point of interest for a long time, with works such as David Russen’s Iter Lunare: Or, A Voyage to the Moon (1703) imagining interplanetary voyage[17], it was not until 1898 and H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds that alien invasion became a feature of science fiction stories[18], introducing the idea of extraterrestrial threats. Later works such as Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon (1902) developed the idea of space as a dangerous place[19], linking together space exploration and horror.
The Cold War led to the development of science fiction[20], the genre providing an outlet for the fears and anxieties of the moment[21], representing hostile aliens and mass destruction[22] as allegories for the threats of the war[23].
Interest in space horror diminished throughout the years, until 1979, with the release of the film Alien by Ridley Scott[24]. Mixing science fiction, horror and supernatural, it popularized space horror[25], with the story of an alien attacking the crew members of a spaceship[26]. Since then, space horror has been used in various movies, video games and novels.
↑Sam Cheeda, Calvin Townsend, Leah Isobel, William Quick and Dennis Moiseyev (6 October 2024). "The Best Space Horror Games". Archived from the original on 29 August 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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