[Berserker]

I have gone to multiple horror conventions, watch horror movies, and obviously love Halloween but when I think horror, Halloween, or anything of the sort, sci-fi does not enter my head.
Now dont get me wrong, Sci-Fi has some good movies out there and some freaky ones as wll (ex; Dark Skies) but I just think they go together.

Perfect example, I was in Spirit last week (getting new tires on the car and there was a store across the way I could walk to and waste time) so I was looking around and I was in the prop section. I was looking at tombstones, skeletons, zombie babies (terrible props), bloody hooks, etc and all of a sudden I hear this weird nose behind me; sounded like a ray gun.

So I turn around and it was this little alien prop (the size of the dumb zombie babies) with its eyes glowing green. It was more of an annoyance than a "hey that's cool" reaction. So you see my point, all this Halloween/horror stuff and then there is this little alien; it just does not fit.

Anyone agree with the horror/sci-fi correlation?
Does anyone say "hey it's Halloween, let's decorate with aliens this year"?

 

[icyuod2]

It's you, Nothin's scary than SPACE ZOMBIES! (joke)

 

[miles]

Agreed. Some sci fi works but not like that. If I'm to watch a sci fi horror “the thing" is my go to. Not even alien or aliens. And the funny thing really, is I lLOVE space movies and aliens. I just don't like it around Halloween... Doesn't jive

 

[frogkid11]

I, personally, think the space/alien thing blended with horror in the 1950's when folks were really scared of the unknown and the potential for life in other realms that could come take over the planet. Since back then it was more of a mystery I think the theme lent itself well to horror flicks....but again, you have to watch them through that lens. Now that we are on this side of space exploration and expirments, I don't think it's as scary. Please keep in mind this is just my opinion and for those that find the thought of an alien encounter scary or finding that your loved one turned out to be an extra-terrestrial in disguise, I meant no disrespect

 

[ooojen]

The thought of someone else mixing the props or themes doesn't bother me in the least, but I've never considered including aliens or sci-fi as part of my own Halloween decorating. It seems like a separate, distinct genre to me, too.

 

[Paul Melniczek]

I think they are related on certain levels and there are parts which cross over. Now, if you're looking with a haunt in mind, there will be mismatches, and proper blending will smooth over the rough edges. If you put aliens within a pumpkin patch, it might seem a little odd to some. If you place them in a dark abduction room, it might work better. Traditionally, hard sci-fi doesn't seem to be as popular in haunted attractions. They are used, and depending on the owner's tastes, it will either be incorporated or not. I never found clowns to be a part of traditional Halloween, yet they are abundant, most likely because they invoke fear in many people. The same could be said about aliens these days. There was a time period when science fiction evoked more fear, as mentioned in a previous post, pertaining to the 50s. This was brought about by the end of WW II and the entering of the Cold War, which subsequently brought about Cold War Horror on the big screen and other media. Godzilla was a result of the atom bomb, but it really wasn't just about a guy in a rubber suit trampling down cities. The Japanese had really undergone this type of destruction. Other movies followed suit, based on our fear of radiation, which unlike the previous culprit -- electricity -- implied power and destruction on a much greater scale. Basically, the threat of total annihilation. Hollywood and around the world saw the advent of an entire host of such movies, and this reflected the attitudes of pop culture. There were tons of giant creature features, all based on the premise that mankind had unleashed the ultimate genie, radioactivity. Movies like THEM!, WAR OF THE COLLOSAL BEAST, THE FLYING MANTIS, TARANTULA, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, and countless others, were given birth by the signs of the times. It's an interesting part of pop culture and history. Concerning using science fiction in your own haunt? I think if it's not overused, it can work. Personally, I like the traditional type of scares myself, based more on atmosphere, lighting, background, and timing, but to each his own.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

The only time I've run for my life in fear was a haunted house that did a room all Aliens style. Marines yelling, that siren, the exhaust blasting out of pipes, the yellow light spinning...When that xenomorph come out of the wall I literally ran to the car before looking back.


Different things scare different people. Honestly, I don't understand the whole graveyard = halloween thing, myself. Never been scared of graveyards, don't see horror there.

 

[Trex]

Yes they can be two distinct genres, but that gets pretty murky hence the sub category of sci-fi-horror. All types can be very creepy, it depends on what each person defines as "horrific". I have been totally creeped out by some images on Dr. Who, many would say that is Sci-fi. Like UnOrthodOx pointed out above, it is subjective. One person's horror is another person's science fiction. IMO they can be blended as long as there is some continuity in the setting.

 

[diajoh]

It's in the personal definition. Goofy alien is cute, not spooky. Cuddly Cthulhu is not horror related. But there are plenty of folks who make a connection.
To me, slasher films are not horror by any means. Kill-the-cast is not a plot. It isn't scary, there is no suspense, and since you know the entire film 5 minutes after it starts, it isn't even interesting. The original Halloween is an exception, but it's practically the only one that is both slasher and horror.
It's the same with SF. I see a real connection between the two, because so much SF is about fear, which is a big part of horror. But it depends. 2010 is not horror. Aliens is. Yes, Aliens is just a Big Bug Movie, like the film version of Relic. It is also kill-the-cast, so it include slasher as well.
Some of us were around when War of the Worlds was played on the radio, and though that is SF, it scared the sh!t out of an entire nation. And the Roswell Incident and subsequent alien abduction scenarios are truly terrifying to many.
Oddly enough, there are lots of folks who decorate with aliens. This list always has someone asking about alien autopsy, dealing with spaceships, making a set look like a tilted saucer, etc. And I've been to haunts that do feature them.
Despite his classification, Stephen King was never really a horror writer, if you think about it (Rabies, alcoholic abusive dad, lots of rats, angry washing machines, apocalypse, psychic powers ... very few of this horror writer's work is actually spooky. But being attacked by a rabid dog is horrible.)
So it is personal.

 

[halloweenjon]

Sci Fi is very low on my list as far as horror subgenres that I get into for Halloween atmosphere, for sure. On the other hand if the monster(s) are grotesque enough and the plot is contructed as traditional horror, I can dig it. I watch The Thing every year.

That said, I find nothing scary or Halloweeny about the giant monster movies. Your Godzillas and Gameras and King Kongs and such.

 

[Blarghity]

I have gone to multiple horror conventions, watch horror movies, and obviously love Halloween but when I think horror, Halloween, or anything of the sort, sci-fi does not enter my head.
Now dont get me wrong, Sci-Fi has some good movies out there and some freaky ones as wll (ex; Dark Skies) but I just think they go together.

Perfect example, I was in Spirit last week (getting new tires on the car and there was a store across the way I could walk to and waste time) so I was looking around and I was in the prop section. I was looking at tombstones, skeletons, zombie babies (terrible props), bloody hooks, etc and all of a sudden I hear this weird nose behind me; sounded like a ray gun.

So I turn around and it was this little alien prop (the size of the dumb zombie babies) with its eyes glowing green. It was more of an annoyance than a "hey that's cool" reaction. So you see my point, all this Halloween/horror stuff and then there is this little alien; it just does not fit.

Anyone agree with the horror/sci-fi correlation?
Does anyone say "hey it's Halloween, let's decorate with aliens this year"?

You only say these things because nobody had strapped you down on an ice cold steel table and given you a thorough alien probing yet. Once you've been properly violated, you understand how they mix.

It isn't that they don't mix, the problem is they are incredibly difficult to mix properly. But if you put your mind to it, there are plenty of movies that mixes the tropes of the two genres quite well. And if you think about it, the first successful mixing was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in 1818. We've been mixing away for nearly 200 years and we still don't mix them properly with any regularity.

They mix just fine when you know what you're doing. Most of us simply aren't up to the challenge, me included.

 

[the dogman]

My family has done the alien thing a couple times, both were well received and people really liked it. First was a 'crash landing' with a saucer smashed into the house and generic aliens popping out here and there. The typical Grey alien freaks a lot of people out when one sneaks up behind them.
The second time, my brother made a full size Queen Xenomorph out of foam and we had it in a community haunt. That room had the most screams in the place, we had a couple actors, one with a smaller xeno mask, one with a face hugger on them, and the Queen would rock forward, looming over people as they tried to leave the room. Sadly, some of the people we worked with on that haunt were less than respectful, and they ended up knocking the Queen over and smashed her head apart.

I also recall a Disney attraction [that has since been retired] called ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter, and as a kid that freaked me right out. IMO something like that would be pretty cool in a haunt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExtraTERRORestrial_Alien_Encounter

Sci-Fi, Thrillers, and Horror all have connections to each other, if you look through any movie catalog that goes by genre you can find a lot of the same films in all three sections. As for putting in it a haunt, well it all depends on how you play it. I didn't think pirates was all that scary for a haunted house, but we got an actor done up to look like Barnacle Bill and a couple dozen people turned tail and ran out halfway through when he peeled off the wall at them. Likewise, having the typical monsters doesn't make it horror. The movie may have vampires and werewolves, but that doesn't make Twilight a horror film.

Halloween stores carry all kinds of things, not just horror/haunt specific merch. Not much is 'horror' about Adventure Time, cheesy pun costumes, decade specific costumes or really half of their merchandise, but it still fits the modern idea of Halloween.

 

[ooojen]

oops-- double

 

[ooojen]

Yep, as has been said, it's subjective, and - what is an alien like? Potentially, it's anything your imagination comes up with. I guess when I visualize generic aliens, they're not really terrifying, so (to me) they don't scream, "Halloween", but there's nothing wrong with their inclusion.
Pirates are in a similar category. I didn't really think of them as rock-solid Halloween material before the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Throw in a dash of zombie, though, and they meld right in.

One great thing about aliens-- they make an extra potential excuse for a themed summer party, creepy or not. Graveyards or vampires would seem wrong out of season to most people, but aliens are pretty versatile.

BTW-- good point Blarghity, on Science Fiction being a lot more inclusive than Aliens.

 

[Berserker]

You only say these things because nobody had strapped you down on an ice cold steel table and given you a thorough alien probing yet. Once you've been properly violated, you understand how they mix.

What you do on your own time is your business.

 

[just_Tim]

I love watching both horror and sci fi and I happen to own and enjoy the dumb Alien LOL everybody likes different things I enjoy mixing all my stuff up.

 

[Shadowbat]

To me, they go hand in hand. I grew up watching classic and modern horror films along with classic and modern sci-fi. I guess it comes down to your personal preference, but to me, they are all monsters of a sort. Monsters are linked to horror and Halloween. I guess I would be on the opposite end here and say why wouldn't they be linked?

 

[Tyrant]

Sci-fi and horror are a fusion to me. My favorite movie of all time is Alien, so this is probably why. But to paraphrase one of my literature professors, when you dissect both and look at their foundations, they come from the same creative theme: THE UNKNOWN. The difference is that with Sci-Fi, you run -toward- that unknown, harness it, make it work for you and become something amazing, even if improbable. With horror, you run -away- from the unknown because that unknown is out to get you. One genre has you embracing it, the other fearing it.

If Halloween is a celebration of the unknown, the things that go bump in the night and the things that fly around in spaceships, then sci-fi deserves to sit firmly at horror's side during this time of year, IMO.

 

[Dulcet Jones]

"The Blob", "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" and more recently (sort of) "Alien" are as much horror to me as anything, just to name a few.

 

[Screaming Demons]

It all depends on your definition of horror. Basically it's being scared. So aliens, graveyards, haunted mansions, giant monsters, undead pirates, zombies, serial killers, killer clowns, snakes and insects, ghosts, witches and goblins all fall into this category.