6. Nightbeast (1982)
An alien crash lands in a small Maryland town and goes on a rampage, killing everyone in sight. It’s up to the sheriff to stop this murderous alien from continuing its rampage.
Nightbeast is a 1982 remake of The Alien Factor, both of which were written and directed by Don Dohler. This movie is crazy, and that largely has to do with the alien in this movie being horribly violent and angry. You can almost tell that all this alien wants to do is kill everyone in this small town, and actually racks up a pretty high body count- the first time you see the alien it kills about eleven people in one night alone! Whether it’s by ripping people apart or shooting them with his ray gun this alien is just crazy, and is probably the most entertaining part about this film.
However, the parts where the alien isn’t on screen, and is filled with the town’s people, are pretty boring. The acting and dialogue are just terrible, and nobody does a halfway decent job- although it does make for a hilarious time watching these actors attempt to act. This film was distrusted by legendary B movie studio Troma Entertainment, and also features a cheesy sci-fi score by a then unknown J.J. Abrams.
Nightbeast is a pretty inept, but largely entertaining, B movie. The alien is memorable and makes for a hilarious time watching it massacre everything in sight. For a bad movie night this movie would provide more than enough entertainment.
7. Rabid (1977)
After getting into a motorcycle crash a woman has an experimental surgery performed on her in order to save her life. However, this woman soon develops vaginal-like syringes on her arms, and starts to turn into a rabid zombie. This woman soon infects other people in the area, and before long Montreal goes into a state of emergency.
Rabid is another David Cronenberg film and is one of his earlier films- as well as being one of his most underrated films. Rabid is often overlooked when compared to his previous film Shivers. However, unlike Shivers this movie has a grittier feel to it, which is this movies best aspect. The atmosphere in this movie is very creepy, and has a great end of the world feel to it.
This is a must watch for fans of the body horror genre, and especially for long time fans of David Cronenberg.
8. Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
A scientist and his wife are looking for an element known as Atmospherium before another scientist does. Meanwhile, an alien and his wife- both disguised as humans- are also looking for the Atmospherium in order to fuel their spaceship. Meanwhile, while all of this is happening, a monster is on the loose in the area and a sarcastic talking skeleton accompanies the other scientist.
This movie is a great spoof of sci-fi horror films from the 50s. Since its release back in 2001 this movie has been completely destined for cult status, and by this point it has pretty much reached that status. The acting and special effects are intentionally bad, and the humor is very subtle; bordering on being dry.
For fans of 50s sci-fi horror films this movie is certainly worth checking out. Writer and director Larry Blamire, who also stars in this film, creates a loving tribute to sci-fi films of the 50s that’s funny and completely smart.
9. Fiend Without a Face (1958)
A handful of mysterious deaths are plaguing a small town outside of an air force base. These invisible “Mental Vampires” are actually brains that are sucking out other people’s brains in order to increase their numbers.
Much like other movies from this time Fiend Without a Face plays out like a cold war drama, and reflects the era it was released; in fact, the brains themselves are birthed out of radiation. However, this movie tends to be a bit more underrated when compared to other 50s monster movies. The brains themselves are actually pretty interesting looking because they’re filmed in stop motion and move in a weird unearthly fashion.
The climax at the end is surprisingly gory for a film that was made in 1958; you’ll be pretty hard-pressed to find another movie from that era that had as much gore as this one does.
10. Patrick (1978)
A young comatose patient named Patrick is unable to move, communicate and can barely feel. His nurse Kathy believes that Patrick is psychic and is using his powers to harass and potential kill those around him.
This movie might lean a bit more on the horror elements than the sci-fi, but Patrick is definitely both of these genres- as well as being one of the strongest examples of the telekinetic subgenre. This subgenre is definitely an underused horror genre- mainly because movies that feature psychic characters tend to be a bit cliché; or just Stephen King adaptations. While Patrick might be a bit cliché it’s still a pretty good film because of how it does something different with this subgenre.
The film features Robert Thompson as Patrick, and while he might not say a word in this entire film, his dead eyes are prominently featured, and are actually pretty creepy. Meanwhile, all of the other cast members do a decent enough job, although nothing truly noteworthy. Patrick is a pretty noteworthy Australian sci-fi horror movie that is a standout of a pretty cliché subgenre.
Author Bio: Antony Copsey is an up and coming writer, who is studying communications at Rowan University at Glassboro, New Jersey. He is a huge fan of watching movies and writing about them, as well as writing his own material