Halloween may have been and gone, but with the nights drawing in, there’s still plenty of time to explore sci-fi’s universal terrors. So, come with us as we delve into the nightmare realm of space zombies, alien parasites, and lunar plagues.
According to George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, “When there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.” But what if we should be looking up instead of down, and the undead are just as likely to come from the stars? After all, fear thrives in isolation, and there’s nowhere more isolated than deep space.
From The Last Days on Mars to Dead Moon, we’ve rounded up ten movies, games, and books where zombies infest starships, shamble across the surface of other worlds, or bring their galactic infection to Earth. For more interstellar spooks, check out our lists of the best space horror games and best space horror movies.
Space zombie movies
Lifeforce (1985)
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Release date: June 21, 1985 | Cast: Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May | Director: Tobe Hooper | Where to watch: Blu-ray
Dracula has nothing on Lifeforce’s alien vampire queen, who, swapping bodies along the way, sets out to strip-mine England’s souls. Descending from a spacecraft hidden inside Halley’s Comet, she drains her prey of their life energy, transforming them into desiccated corpses that wake to seek their own victims.
Directed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper, it all culminates in a stunning, effects-heavy London climax that’d make Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale proud.
The Last Days on Mars (2013)
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Release date: December 6, 2013 | Cast: Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Romola Garai, Goran Kostić | Director: Ruairí Robinson | Where to watch: Blu-ray
The good news is that there is microscopic life on Mars. The bad news is that the bacteria Liev Schreiber’s crew stumble across zombifies its hosts and, just 19 hours away from finishing their mission, they’re forced to fight for their lives.
I would question how The Last Days on Mars’ space agency selected its astronauts, since at least two of them are at each other’s throats. But it wouldn’t be a zombie movie if everyone got on, and I’d like to see Matt Damon deal with a drill-wielding, spacesuit-clad shambler.
Science the s**t out of that one, smart guy.
Night of the Creeps (1986)
![NIGHT OF THE CREEPS [1986] – Official Trailer (HD) - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_PmPuYg6nqM/maxresdefault.jpg)
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Release date: August 22, 1986 | Cast: Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow, Tom Atkins | Director: Fred Dekker | Where to watch: Blu-ray
Night of the Creeps is Night of the Living Dead meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This shlocky 80s gem begins with a canister of parasitic alien slugs landing on Earth and gets more knowingly ridiculous from there.
Pursued by Tom Atkins’s haunted cop, these skittering, slimy creatures infest a college campus, slithering into the mouths of anyone with (or without) a pulse. It’s an absolute riot, with some wonderfully silly special effects, from splitting heads through to slug-spitting dogs.
Pandorum (2009)
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Release date: September 25, 2009 | Cast: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue | Director: Christian Alvart | Where to watch: Blu-ray
What’s worse than a zombie apocalypse? A zombie apocalypse on a spaceship, where there’s nowhere to run and zero hope of rescue. Waking up from suspended animation, the Elysium’s relief crew discovers their colony vessel is awash with savage flesh eaters, warped by the titular Pandorum, a form of space madness.
Pandorum oozes claustrophobia, from a gloomy crawl through the vessel’s ducts, through to a stomach-churning late movie reveal. And if the zombie-adjacent mutants aren’t enough to deal with, the harried protagonists are suffering from post-hypersleep amnesia, and the ship, the Elysium, is a mishmash of failing systems.
Space zombie video games
Dead Space (2008 / 2023)
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Release date: October 13, 2008 / January 27, 2023 | Platforms: Original – PC, Xbox 360, PS3. Remake – PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S | Developer: Visceral Games
Whether you dive into the original or its 2023 remake, there’s no denying that Dead Space is one of the best space horror games of all time. Everything, from its nightmarish necromorphs to the game’s semi-Lovecraftian lore, is designed to terrify.
As protagonist Isaac Clarke, you roam a massive planet-cracking mining vessel, ostensibly in search of your missing girlfriend, and battle an army of undead freaks called the Necromorphs. But while your foes may be undead, dismemberment, not headshots, is the key to putting them down. Fail, and you can look forward to one of several horrible fates, including having your whole body puppeted by a severed head.
Doom (1993)
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Release date: December 10, 1993 | Platforms: PC, Linux, iOS, macOS, Android, Sega Saturn, Tapwave Zodiac, PS1/3/4, Xbox/360/One, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch | Developer: id Software
It may be over 30 years old, but id Software’s original FPS is still a must-play. And, unlike the 2016 remake, you’re unwise to ignore its reanimated space marines, especially the shotgun-wielding variety.
Aside from the sheer satisfaction of dispatching them, they helpfully drop the ammo you need to continue your crusade against the forces of hell. It’s one of the few zombie games where you’re not trapped in there with them; they’re trapped in hell with you.
Doom 2 deserves a special mention for getting downright sneaky with its zombies. Just when you’d spent the entire previous game getting a handle on these foes, it introduced chaingun-toting zombies who could cut you down in a matter of seconds.
Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
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Release date: November 15, 2001 | Platforms: PC, Mac OS, Xbox, Xbox 360 (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary), Xbox One (via The Master Chief Collection) | Developer: Bungie
If you never played Bungie’s FPS (currently being remade using Unreal Engine 5), you’ve missed out on one of the most harrowing in-game encounters of all time: the Flood. Halo: Combat Evolved lures you into a false sense of security by introducing you to their spore form, resembling nothing so much as sentient popcorn.
But, a few minutes later, you’re sobbing into your controller as this parasitic lifeform unleashes infected and warped versions of all the Covenant enemies you’ve faced up to this point (along with freakish marionettes of your human allies). Cinema popcorn will never be the same again.
System Shock 2 (1999)
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Release date: August 11, 1999 | Platforms: PC, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S | Developer: Irrational Games / Looking Glass Studios
System Shock 2’s The Many, a horrifying worm-based hive mind, isn’t a million miles away from Halo’s The Flood, but it’s somehow even more terrifying. Trapped aboard a deep-space research vessel, its minions stumble towards you, lead pipe in hand, mumbling about the glory of the Many.
The Many itself periodically reaches out, a singsong of voices that mock you for wanting to retain your individuality. Throw in an extra helping of body horror and a smattering of RPG elements, and you’ve got a game that deserves to be experienced, ideally via Nightdive Studios’ exceptional recent remaster.
Space zombie books
Death Troopers (2009)
Release date: October 13, 2009 | Author: Joe Schreiber | Where to buy: Amazon
Long before Star Wars incarcerated Cassian Andor, Star Wars: Death Troopers took us inside an Imperial prison ship and then — because that wasn’t bad enough — unleashed a Star Destroyer full of undead Stormtroopers.
One of the few times Star Wars has delved into horror, it’s since been relegated to non-canon Legends status, but that doesn’t make it any less harrowing. Its primary protagonists, a pair of teenage brothers, are a sympathetic duo, and for those craving a big name, Han Solo and Chewbacca also put in an appearance to kick some undead Empire ass.
Dead Moon (2019)
Release date: October 15, 2019 | Author: Peter Clines | Where to buy: Amazon
What’s the first thing that springs to mind when we mention lunar settlement? The answer, according to Dead Moon, is moon cemeteries. The premise behind this novel, part of Peter Clines’ Threshold series, is that, thanks to a lunar space elevator, mankind has buried sixteen million people on the moon. What could possibly go wrong? You can probably guess…
But despite (or because of) its wilfully silly premise, Dead Moon is an excellent read. Resurrected by some alien force and preserved by the lunar conditions, the dead shamble across the dusty surface with the cemeteries’ caretakers beating a hasty retreat. What chance does Lunar City stand against the horde?
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