In space, no one can hear you noisily eating popcorn

Becky Ferreira

Becky Ferreira

— 2 min read
Share
In space, no one can hear you noisily eating popcorn
A nutritious part of the xenomorph diet. Image made by redditor LordRiden

Thanks for tuning back into The BeX Files! And welcome to the semifinals of the Scariest Space Movie of All Time, a tournament that has come down to four freaky finalists. 

Cast your votes in the penultimate matches here. 

Want to find out which movie wins on October 30? Join the Yub Nub Club for the big reveal and other exclusive starstuff. You can also give the gift of membership here or toss some space bucks into the cosmic tip jar. Every little bit helps. Thanks!

And now, behold the wreckage of the quarterfinals...

MATCH ONE WINNER: ALIEN (1979)

MU/TH/UR 6000 has powered down HAL 9000, and the Star Child was exploded by a Star Chestburster.

MATCH TWO WINNER: SUNSHINE (2007)

Sallow Cillian Murphy beats out sallow Sam Rockwell in this battle between early-millennium sunlight and moonbeams.

SEMIFINAL: ALIEN vs. SUNSHINE

Nostromo and Icarus II meet in the cinematic void, but only one will emerge victorious. I love the contrast here between a dark cramped horror and a radiant expansive thriller.

MATCH THREE WINNER: EVENT HORIZON (1997)

You don’t need eyes to see that Event Horizon has made a ghost of Solaris (though it’s nice that the Soviet classic received at least a little bit of love). 

MATCH FOUR WINNER: TOTAL RECALL (1990)

Total Recall ices out Europa Report in this close match! Since these rivals were in a dead heat as of Wednesday, I ran a Twitter poll and re-boosted the form to break the tie. Europa Report ended up with a slight edge on the form (6 to 5 votes), but Total Recall topped out at 10 votes against 7 in the total (recall) tally.

SEMIFINAL: EVENT HORIZON vs. TOTAL RECALL

What an amazing clash of 1990s space schlock! What’s scarier: The internal hell of one's own mind, or a very literal external hell? It’s “Free Mars!” versus "Libera tutemet ex inferis!" in this delightful showdown.

I can't wait to see what nightmares advance to the final, plus I am excited to share something new and special next week. See you at the cosmic rest stop then!

Read more