Even though the science fiction genre can be just as cheerful as the best comedies, it often aims to create an intense, terror-filled atmosphere. The viewers like such movies because they allow them to experience terror in the safety of their homes or movie theaters. For every excellent sci-fi horror movie, it's possible to find one that missed the mark.
The good news is that the best movies belonging to this genre offered some of the scariest, most iconic scenes of all time. Usually, such scenes see the characters fighting for their lives...and victory isn't ensured. Other times, the scenes are terrifying simply because they help the viewers realize something bad will follow after they end.
5 The Fake Friend
In most science fiction movies, an alien invasion doesn't work out well for the invading side. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of the few excellent onscreen invasions in which the aliens won. They did so not by attacking people but by replacing them with emotionless clones once people fall asleep. And since everybody needs to sleep, sooner or later, there's no way to stop the invasion.
Not only does the movie star familiar faces, such as Donald Sutherland in the leading role, Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy and Veronica Cartwright, who also appeared in The Alien, but it offers many scary scenes as well. The atmosphere graduates, and it leads to a horrifying finale in which Cartwright's Nancy encounters Sutherland's Matthew, and she addresses him, thinking that he's the real person.
Instead, Matthew inhumanly opens his mouth and lets out a shriek that lets both the audience and Nancy know that he's also been replaced and that there's no real hope for the few surviving humans. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an excellent example that a science fiction horror movie doesn't need tons of fake blood to be scary.
4 The Alien Hatches
The Alien movie series has many frightening moments. That's especially true for the first movie that has a claustrophobic feeling to it. But even before the murder and mayhem start, the alien prepares an unwelcome surprise for the crew members of the spaceship Nostromo. During a shared dinner, Kane, played by the late legendary British actor John Hurt, begins not feeling so well...
And it ends with the alien bursting out of his body while the horrified crew members look on, unable to help him. The scene has become so well-known that it even got a parody in Spaceballs (1987), and it once again featured John Hurt. However, for those unfamiliar with what's about to happen, the scene works just as well today as it did in 1979.
3 The Scientist Transforms
The scariest moments in science fiction horror movies often arise from situations in which the main characters have no control over what's happening. The Fly (1986) is a good example of that. After a scientific experiment goes wrong, Seth Brundle's (Jeff Goldblum) DNA merges with that of a fly, and he starts changing into a scary monster.
Seth is unable to stop his transformation and neither is his partner Veronica, played by Geena Davis. It all heads towards an inevitable and scary finale in which Seth's transformation reaches its peak and thanks to the actors' performances as well as the make-up and special effects, it creates the stuff of nightmares for the viewers.
2 A Dinosaur Over A Car
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Today's visual effects allow creating movie magic that would have been impossible thirty years ago. Despite the fact that the first Jurassic Park premiered in 1993, its effects have aged well and continue to impress and scare to this day. The movie about dinosaurs on the loose contains multiple scary scenes, such as dinosaurs in the kitchen going after the heroes.
But the scariest moment happens when the heroes encounter a dinosaur while they're in a car. It's the first such a major encounter and the characters and the viewers alike don't yet know what to expect. When the dinosaur appears on the scene and starts wreaking havoc, it's enough to make hearts beat faster. One of the reasons for this is that he looks like the real deal thanks to the movie's visual effects that won an Oscar for their quality!
1 The Invisible Man Strikes
How to fight somebody who's invisible? Cecilia, the main heroine of the recent horror science fiction movie The Invisible Man (2020), finds out that it's very difficult...but not impossible. As her ex-boyfriend, the scientist Adrian pursues her, he catches her unaware in many situations that soon turn from peaceful to horrifying.
One such scene happens when Cecilia meets her sister in a restaurant...and while they're talking, the Invisible Man slashes her sister's throat and makes it look like Cecilia is the murderer. The scene is shocking and scary for both the audience and Cecilia since it clearly proves that the Invisible Man is powerful, and he won't stop at anything to get Cecilia back.