The 1990s was a frighteningly good decade for sci-fi horror movies. This was the age of Tremors, Species and a number of Alien and Predator sequels. It was a time when science got seriously scary on the big screen and film fans lapped it up with wild abandon.
Yet arguably, some of the era’s best and most unsettlingly inventive sci-fi horror movies initially went overlooked or under-appreciated, only to enjoy a second life through VHS rentals and late-night TV broadcasts. The good news is that, thanks to the glut of streaming services available, it’s a whole lot easier to get acquainted with these underrated classics - starting with these 10.
Cube (1997)
The genius of Cube lies in its simplicity. Six strangers from disparate backgrounds wake to find themselves trapped in a seemingly endless maze of cubes. They quickly discover some of the cubes have been kitted out with deadly traps that must be traversed in order to find a way out.
Vincenzo Natali’s debut belies its low-fi origins to deliver a smart sci-fi horror tale that blends memorable set pieces with a consistently intriguing premise. Gripping, well-paced and packed with plenty of surprises, it’s already been remade in Japan. It’s surely only a matter of time before Hollywood follows suit.
Arachnophobia (1990)
Steven Spielberg’s producing partner, Frank Marshall, turned his hand to directing with this underrated homage to the classic creature features of Hollywood yesteryear. Arachnophobia delivers surprisingly effective PG scares, alongside some genuine laughs, with a plot that centers on a sleepy Californian town where the locals are dropping like flies, thanks to a sudden influx of highly poisonous spiders.
Jeff Daniels plays Dr Ross Jennings, a self-confessed arachnophobe new in town, who must confront his fears and prevent an ecological disaster with a little help from the local exterminator, Delbert McClintock (John Goodman). It's suspenseful and boasting genuine moments of terror.
Delicatessen (1991)
Ten years before he turned his hand to rom-coms with Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet was better known for this equally inspired sci-fi comedy-horror hybrid. Delicatessen centers on an apartment building in post-apocalyptic , where the landlord and local butcher Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus) has developed a disturbing sideline business that sees him turn new arrivals into food for the building’s strange inhabitants.
Clapet’s scheme hits a snag, however, when his young daughter (Marie-Laure Dougnac) falls in love with his latest disposable recruit, Louison (Dominique Pinon). Dark, funny and frequently frightening, Delicatessen is French cinema at its very best.
Hardware (1990)
British filmmaker Richard Stanley put himself on the map and landed the gig directing the ill-fated adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau with this inspired sci-fi/monster thriller. Ingenious and visually inventive, Hardware stars a young Dylan McDermott as Moses 'Hard Mo' Baxter, an ex-soldier turned scavenger in a post-apocalyptic America.
Eager to impress girlfriend artist, Jill (Stacey Travis), Hard Mo thinks he’s hit the jackpot after coming across some spare robot parts he figures she could use in a piece. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that he’s reawakened a deadly android capable of reassembling itself. Violent chaos ensues.
Body Parts (1991)
Prior to Lawnmower Man, Jeff Fahey delivered a career-best turn in this B-movie sci-fi shocker from The Hitcher writer, Eric Red. Fahey plays Bill, a criminal psychologist who, after a car accident, wakes to discover he has lost his arm and had a stranger’s transplanted in its place.
Soon, however, the arm starts acting like it has a life of its own in a series of creepy set pieces that crank up the tension. Bill eventually discovers his new limb previously belonged to a very bad man. Worse still, he’s not the only one to have undergone a transplant.
The Relic (1997)
The Relic might well be the best monster movie of the decade, combining slick genre thrills with some surprisingly effective scares. Events center on the Chicago Field Museum, where an alien creature is on the loose and people are being picked off in increasingly grisly circumstances.
It’s up to a homicide detective (Tom Sizemore) and an anthropologist (Penelope Anne Miller) to try to track down the lizard-like intruder before the body count rises any higher. Witty, well-paced and suitably tense, The Relic flopped upon release, but has found an audience in the years since and is well worth your time.
Body Melt (1993)
Taking up the torch from Peter Jackson’s antipodean cult favorite Braindead, Body Melt is a truly astonishing bit of body horror filmmaking that truly has to be seen to be believed. Blending gross, gooey special effects with biting satire, it focuses on the residents of an ordinary Australian suburb and the mad scientist who decides to use them as guinea pigs for a new vitamin pill - a pill with some pretty alarming side effects.
Criminally under-seen, Quentin Tarantino is a huge fan, ranking Body Melt as one of the best horror movies of its kind since Re-Animator. High praise indeed.
Mimic (1997)
Guillermo del Toro cut his teeth in Hollywood with this prescient sci-fi horror thriller set in a near-future version of New York in which a cockroach-based plague is threatening the lives of children across the city.
When a team of researchers, led by an evolutionary biologist (Mira Sorvino), develop a species of “Judas” bug, capable of imitating the diseased insects and wiping them out, it seems as though disaster has been averted. But the bugs keep on evolving and find new prey to imitate: us. Smart, creepy and suitably atmospheric, Mimic is sure to leave you squirming in your seat.
Body Snatchers (1993)
Filmmaker Abel Ferrara’s work is a constant source of fascination, and it’s no different with this dread-filled adaptation of Jack Finney’s timeless 1955 novel of the same name. Terry Kinney stars as Steve Malone, an Environmental Protection Agency inspector dispatched to a remote military base with his young family, including teenage daughter, Marti (Gabrielle Anwar).
Things take a turn for the sinister when an increasingly paranoid Marti notices people at the base acting strangely and the presence of a plant-like organism. Thoughtfully paced and punctuated with striking moments of terror, Body Snatchers stays with you long after the credits roll.
Event Horizon (1997)
This list would not be complete without Event Horizon. It's crazy to recall how under-appreciated Paul W.S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror gem was upon release. A box office bomb initially loathed by critics, its stature has grown in the years since. Event Horizon is a dizzying mix of deep space tension and terrifying visuals, brought to life by a brilliant cast and director at the top of his game.
Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne star as of a crew sent to explore a spacecraft that has reappeared years after vanishing. But something sinister is waiting onboard.
