Science fiction and horror have always been able to complement each other greatly in the world of film, even in the earliest days of the medium's inception. From all-time classics like Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Alien to 21st-century hits like Nope, A Quiet Place, and Signs, there will always be an inherent value in combining the infinite possibilities of science with their inherent horror potential. However, for every groundbreaking and genre-defining sci-fi horror film out there, there manage to be a select few that achieve unbelievably infamous status thanks to their lack of quality.
Whether it be low-budget misfires that simply couldn't fulfill the vast and creative vision due to monetary limitations or high-budget disasters that couldn't connect with audiences or critics, there are many ways that a sci-fi horror film can be deemed a failure. Especially for a genre that has been so consistent and topical for decades upon decades, there is a vast history of infamous sci-fi horror flops to choose from when it comes to the absolute worst that the genre has to offer.
10 'The Creeping Terror' (1964)
Directed by Vic Savage
Image via Crown International Pictures
One of the most notable sci-fi movie flops of the 1960s, The Creeping Terror attempted to tell its own classic creature feature story, only to be outdone and outmatched by the majority of other films that came before it. The film follows a small town that finds itself the target of a terrifying alien creature, who after landing from his spaceship, begins going through the town on a journey of eating anyone and everyone it encounters. It becomes up to a newlywed sheriff in able to put a stop to the creature's reign of terror.
Creature design played a much larger impact during the older, black-and-white era of sci-fi horror filmmaking, as a film's entire appeal and memorability could be tied to the impact and legacy of the core monster. However, this element is where The Creeping Terror finds its biggest failure, as the strange, snail's pace-moving monster at the center of it all manages to conjure up more feelings of laughter than genuine terror. It transforms the entire film into an unintentional comedy, as well as being something that is endlessly rewatchable for all the wrong reasons.
Release Date November 20, 1964
Director Vic Savage
Cast Vic Savage , Shannon O'Neil , John Caresio , William Thourlby , Brendon Boone , Larry Burrell , Jack King , Pierre Kopp , Byrd Holland , Ken Savage , Mark Field , Les La Marr , Mary Price , Louise Lawson , Buddy Mize , Lewis Lawson , Robin James , Ray Wickman , Connie Valoie , Rita Tubin , Kelly Adams , Al Lewis , Karl Goldenberg
Stephen King has been one of the premiere horror authors for decades, especially with the countless film adaptations breathing new life and soul into his work for millions to enjoy on the silver screen. While many of these adaptations have been widely regarded and beloved over the years, Cell is one of the standout films that could very easily be one of the worst adaptations of King's stories. The film sees a strange signal that begins emitting through the cell phone networks worldwide, transforming people into murderous bloodthirsty creatures and leaving a small group of survivors to fight for their lives in what remains of society.
Stories about the inherent danger of technology have been a staple of sci-fi horror ever since its inception, with King himself even having some effective takes on the concept, yet Cell completely flounders in telling anything remotely original or nuanced. The film has very little to say about humanity's relationship with technology aside from "phones are bad", and instead feels like an attempt to riff on the success of World War Z without any of the budget or half-decent action.
Release Date July 6, 2016
Director Tod Williams
Runtime 98 minutes
8 'The Beast of Yucca Flats' (1961)
Directed by Coleman Francis
Image via Cinema Associates
The B-movie is a phenomenon of low-budget filmmaking that has been a defining trend throughout both science fiction and horror filmmaking, and while some B-movies manage to rise above their status, many fully amplify the chaos and absurdity of their low budgetary constraints. The Beast of Yucca Flats is one of the most infamous terrible B-movies of the 60s, following the story of a society scientist who attempts to isolate himself in the desert, yet is discovered and attacked by a pair of KGB assassins. In his attempts to flee his assassins, he ends up wandering into an American nuclear test site and transformed into a mindless killing machine.
While Yucca Flats's unique approach of minimal dialogue and omnipotent narration could be tools of great narrative strength in the right hands, this serves to only make the actual film an unintentionally hilarious time. The film is blatantly non-subtle about its anti-nuclear messaging, yet doesn't have the strength to make the overall experience anything more than a chaotic, near-incomprehensible mess. It was largely panned by critics upon its release, but would eventually grow into a so-bad-it's-good cult classic after its inclusion in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Release Date June 2, 1961
Director Coleman Francis
Cast Tor Johnson , Bing Stafford , Larry Aten , Douglas Mellor , Barbara Francis , Alan Francis , Ronald Francis , Coleman Francis , Anthony Cardoza , John Morrison , Jim Miles , Jim Oliphant , Linda Bielema , George Principe , Marcia Knight , Graham Stafford , Eric Tomlin , Bob Labansat , Conrad Brooks
Long before the character would find unexpected success when appearing in the MCU's Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing would be the star of his own titular sci-fi horror film, yet it only managed to aggravate long-time fans of the character. The film sees the titular earth-defending monster slowly taking out the agents of an oil tycoon, with a local sheriff forced to investigate the disappearances before uncovering that the swampy legend is real and out for vengeance.
While Man-Thing in the comics is one of the most dynamic and well-respected characters in all of Marvel's repertoire, the film doesn't give him the dignity or respect that the character deserves, treating him like a generic horror movie monster. Between going out of its way to misrepresent important aspects of the character and telling a story that is largely littered with clichés and generic plot threads that leave no impact, Man-Thing is one of many rough spots before Marvel would finally find their footing with the MCU.
6 'Monster a Go-Go!' (1965)
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and Bill Rebane
Image via B.I. & L Releasing Corp.
One of the most seemingly obvious rules of a monster movie is to give the central monster time to shine on screen, especially during the 60s when iconic monster design played a bigger part in a film's success and notoriety. Despite this rule being so obvious, Monster a Go-Go! is one of the rare examples that completely failed this simple rule, with its central monster only having a pitiful 3 minutes of screentime in the entire film. The majority of the film follows a team of scientists and military men searching for and attempting to capture the monster, one that landed on Earth in place of a respected astronaut.
It's rare for a film to make so many choices that feel designed to make the final product as underwhelming and lacking in entertainment as possible. The film has one of the slowest and most monotonous paces possible, a wholly uninterested narrator who speaks with the enthusiasm of a jaded school teacher, and the titular monster itself having next to no screen time. It has its unexpected charms, but these come as a result of its endless flaws, not in spite of them.
Release Date July 1, 1965
Director Bill Rebane , Herschell Gordon Lewis
Cast Henry Hite , Phil Morton , Lois Brooks , Rork Stevens , Robert Simons , Peter M. Thompson , June Travis , George Perry , Aviva Crane , Stu Taylor , Barry Hopkins , Art Scott , Leonard Holstein , Dean Tompis , Jim Bassler , Rick Paul , Lorri Perry , Bill Rebane
M. Night Shyamalan's career in horror filmmaking has had as many massive highs as it had infamously egregious downs, with one of the director's worst films being the hilariously bad The Happening. The film sees a mysterious airborne virus making its way across the northeastern United States, as it forces those that it infects to end their own lives without a second thought. As a teacher and his wife flee into the countryside, they cross paths with various intricate characters as they attempt to make sense of why this is happening or what is causing it.
While the premise is immediately hooking and had many audiences intrigued as to what Shyamalan's true end goal was, the director's signature quirks proved to make the film seemingly impossible to take seriously. Nearly every performance in the film crosses well into the territory of being comedically bad, with Mark Wahlberg especially giving what is easily the worst performance of his career. The final twist also ends up being largely underwhelming, especially for a director who is so widely beloved for his signature twists.
Doom had already received a film adaptation in the 2000s, which while largely lambasted by critics of the era, ended up finding its own audience thanks to some fun visual effects and a great first person action sequence. However, following the revival of the franchise in the late 2010s, Doom would find itself returning to the cinematic format in Doom: Annihilation, an action-oriented sci-fi horror film with even fewer redeeming qualities than the original. The film sees a group of marines responding to a distress call on a top-secret scientific base on one of Mars's moons, only to discover the base has been overrun by demons.
By this point in time, Doom as a video game franchise had almost completely abandoned any notions of being a horror franchise and had fully embraced itself as a manic action series about destroying demons in gloriously violent ways. While it would always be difficult to recapture this on a small, straight-to-video budget, Doom: Annihilation's insistence on returning to horror only serves to annoy fans of the series while coming across as a lazy riff on the Alien series. Releasing at a time when video game movies were finally starting to improve, Doom: Annihilation goes against the grain and may just be one of the worst video game movies of all time.
Release Date October 1, 2019
Director Tony Giglio
Cast Amy Manson , Luke Allen-Gale , Nina Bergman , Dominic Mafham , James Weber Brown , Lorina Kamburova , Louis Mandylor , Jemma Moore , Katrina Nare , Chidi Ajufo , Gavin Brocker , Cassidy Little , Arkie Reece , Nathan Cooper , Clayton Adams , Amar Chadha-Patel , Hari Dhillon , Boyan Anev , Vasil Yordanov , Gina Philips
A strange made-for-TV sci-fi horror film that attempted to give a science fiction edge to Bram Stoker's classic horror story, Dracula 3000 is an idea that sounds moronic on paper, yet manages to be even worse in execution. The film sees a space crew discover the mysterious, long-since-disappeared Demeter, abandoned in the vast reaches of space, deciding to board the craft in search of answers. Instead, they end up accidentally awakening the evil Count Dracula, with the crew now having to find a way to destroy the vampire.
While the inherent concept of retelling the story of Dracula in space sounds like it could at the very least be fun to watch, the film does very little in terms of using its space setting to add to the story of Dracula. It's not nearly as campy and fun as other horror icons sent to space like Jason X or Leprechaun 4, instead being a boring and highly predictable experience that goes above and beyond in terms of bad filmmaking. The film isn't even worth watching as a so-bad-it's-good experience, as it will only have audiences feel uncomfortable and bored by its end.
Release Date August 9, 2004
Director Darrell James Roodt
CastCasper Van Dien , Erika Eleniak , Alexandra Kamp , Coolio , Grant Swanby , Langley Kirkwood , Tommy Lister Jr. , Udo Kier
Both Alien and Predator have long and varied histories as iconic figures of sci-fi horror action, so it made perfect sense for them to face off against one another in a glorious battle to determine the ultimate intergalactic hunter. While the original film certainly had its fun moments that lived up to the concept, it's the infamous sequel, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, that has achieved a heinous status as the worst film in both franchises. The film sees a terrifying crossbreed between an Alien and a Predator crash landing in a small Colorado town, laying waste to the populace until another Predator arrives to take the threat down.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem's biggest issue comes not from its story and concept, not that they were great to begin with, but instead from the jarring execution that makes even the simplest of sequences impossible to enjoy. The film is constantly shrouded in darkness and shadows that make it near-impossible to make out anything that is happening, and when the action finally is visible, it ends up lacking any sort of energy or weight. There's very little that the film does right, and it's thanks to its monumental failure that there hasn't been another attempt at an Alien vs Predator film since.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Release Date December 25, 2007
Director Colin Strause , Greg Strause
Cast Steven Pasquale , Reiko Aylesworth , John Ortiz , Johnny Lewis , Ariel Gade
Runtime 94 Minutes
1 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' (1957)
Directed by Edward D. Wood Jr
Image via Distributors Corporation of America
One of the most iconic so-bad-it's-good movies of all time, Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space is a masterclass in terrible cinema, filled with unbelievable choices and constantly one-upping itself in terms of bad qualities. The film follows a group of extraterrestrials who are attempting to stop humanity from creating a doomsday weapon that threatens to destroy the entire universe. To achieve their plan, they enact the infamous "plan 9", involving the resurrection of Earth's dead, hoping that the chaos will force humanity to listen and stop creating the weapon.
Plan 9 From Outer Space is the type of unbelievably terrible film that simply needs to be seen to be believed, to a point where it takes genuine talent to create a film so chaotic and ineffective at its original goals. The film has achieved legendary status as one of the pillars of terrible films, often being cited as one of the worst movies of all time, yet at the same time being largely celebrated for its near endless list of flaws. It's one of the few films that are so bad that they in themselves inspired comedy films about their creation, creating a timeless legacy that will never be forgotten, but for all the wrong reasons.
plan 9 from outer space
Release Date July 22, 1959
Director Edward D. Wood Jr.
Cast Béla Lugosi , John Breckinridge , Duke Moore , Tor Johnson , Tom Keene , Vampira
Custom Image by Federico Napoli
Image via Crown International Pictures 
Image via Saben Films 
Image via Cinema Associates 
Image via B.I. & L Releasing Corp. 
Image via 20th Century Studios 
Credit: Universal Pictures 
Image via 20th Century Fox 
Image via Distributors Corporation of America 
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/10/29/625/n/1922564/ec222ac66720ea653c5af3.84880814_.jpg)
:quality(85):upscale()/2021/07/06/971/n/1922153/7d765d9b60e4d6de38e888.19462749_.png)
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/10/29/957/n/1922441/c62aba6367215ab0493352.74567072_.jpg)
:quality(85):upscale()/2024/10/29/987/n/49351082/3e0e51c1672164bfe300c1.01385001_.jpg)
English (US) ·