It’s fascinating to see the different trends that influence the film industry and which genres become especially successful, but there’s also been a heavy fascination with science fiction.

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The advent of modern technology allows sci-fi films to explore worlds and create creatures that would have been impossible a few decades back. However, a steady push towards computer graphics and special effects isn’t always in a movie’s best interest. There are some iconic uses of practical effects in classic science fiction movies that look just as good now as when they first premiered.

10 The Thing Is A Practical & Visual Marvel That’s Become Timeless

The alien transformation from The Thing

John Carpenter is responsible for some iconic pieces of science fiction and horror. It’s hard to believe that The Thing was a critical failure upon its initial release considering that it’s since been reclaimed as a crowning genre achievement. The Thing presents a chilling and claustrophobic story about paranoia as a shapeshifting extraterrestrial infiltrates a group of isolated research scientists.

The constantly changing nature of The Thing’s central creature is truly unfathomable and each of the morbid setpieces feels both unique and terrifying. The Thing’s effects still hold up 40 years later and it’s a testament to what can be accomplished with practical work.

9 1988’s The Blob Amplifies This Extraterrestrial Terror’s Powers

Movies The Blob 1988 Practical Effects

Chuck Russell's The Blob remake follows the original 1958 sci-fi feature by 30 years, but it's one of the better remakes of its generation. Russell's The Blob doesn't deviate from the original story about an invasive gelatinous terror that forces a sleepy town to band together.

The Blob is full of harrowing visuals as the titular creature consumes its prey. The purple and pink aesthetic to the Blob feels alien in nature and the way in which humans are eviscerated accentuates why a threat like this can be so frightening.

8 Society Goes Out On A Messy & Unbelievable Celebration Of Gore

Movies Society Shunting Practical Effects

Brian Yuzna is a talented genre filmmaker who came up under Re-Animator's Stuart Gordon and would go on to craft his own fair share of body horror classics. Society is arguably Yuzna's greatest claim to fame and it functions as a smart satire that shines a light on the duplicitous underbelly of the community's elite.

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There's a lot to enjoy in Society, but it's the movie’s climax that makes it a memorable sci-fi oddity. The group "shunting" sequence turns an entire community into an interconnected mass of flesh. It's a true nightmare and remains hard to watch.

7 The Fly Remains A Disturbing Sight That Needs To Be Seen To Be Believed

Brundle full transformed in 1986's The Fly

Many of David Cronenberg's earlier movies have a flair for body horror, but The Fly is easily the most disturbing of the lot. Functioning as an updated remake of the Vincent Price classic, Jeff Goldblum plays eccentric scientist, Seth Brundle, who finds himself losing his humanity after an experiment with an insect goes awry.

Seth's transformation into the Brundlefly is still a marvel of practical effects. Chris Walas' work wouldn't only reward him with an Oscar, but the effects are so crucial to The Fly's success that Walas' name is the first to appear during the end credits.

6 RoboCop’s Oppressive State & Heightened Technology Are Practical Triumphs

Movies Robocop Practical Effects

1987's RoboCop has become a highly lauded hero who's had his own cartoon series, comic books, and even guest appearances in the Mortal Kombat games. RoboCop features a mix of practical effects, stop motion technology, and the use of matte paintings to create a rich future dystopia.

Peter Weller completely disappears into the RoboCop character and the effects work, led by Rob Bottin, is seamless. A major reason that the modern RoboCop is such a forgettable misfire is that it doesn't apply the same respect towards practical effects. RoboCop’s enduring legacy would not exist without the original’s superlative practical effects.

5 From Beyond Turns To Every Trick In The Book As Worlds Collide

Movies From Beyond Monster Practical Effects

Stuart Gordon has a rich reputation for creative mad scientist stories and From Beyond looks at the erasure of the barrier that exists between reality and a parallel realm of pleasure. From Beyond is at its strongest when it allows these foreign elements to invade the world and confound the film’s heroes, but it truly goes for broke in this department.

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Four separate special effects teams worked on Gordon’s From Beyond and they make use of animatronics, puppets, prosthetics, and eerie combinations of practical effects and stylized lighting. All of these ambitious effects make From Beyond’s dangers really feel like they’re from another world.

4 An American Werewolf In London Writes The Book On Lycanthropy

Movies An American Werewolf In London Transformation Hand

Werewolves are one of the oldest monsters that genre films and stories have looked at, but they’re a variety of monsters that’s hard to do justice since so much comes down to their metamorphosis from man to beast. A practical werewolf transformation is a logistical nightmare that many movies attempt to get around because none of them will be as effective as what Rick Baker and his team accomplish in An American Werewolf in London.

This has become the prototypical werewolf scene and there’s just so much that goes into it as limbs stretch and the body bubbles.

3 Jurassic Park Makes Dinosaurs Feel Real

Movies The first confrontation with the T-Rex in Jurassic Park

The very best applications of practical effects make the impossible seem real. A groundbreaking step forward in this area occurred in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park when he tricked audiences into believing that dinosaurs were real. The modern Jurassic World sequels prove just how dependent stories of this nature have become on CG effects and they can’t compare with the “authentic” nature of the original.

Stan Winston goes above and beyond here with unprecedented animatronics and practical touches that make sure that these prehistoric threats feel tangible.

2 Videodrome Is Creepy Body Horror With A Technological Influence

Videodrome's scary TV Screen where practical effects make it look like a gun is coming through the tv screen

Videodrome remains one of David Cronenberg's foundational feature films that expertly explores the blurring lines between man and technology. Cronenberg's movies are ripe with disturbing practical effect body horror and Videodrome is a cavalcade of alarming and surreal visuals.

The human body becomes a cavity for technology, TV screens breathe, and weapon and anatomy meld. These themes return in later Cronenberg pictures like Naked Lunch and eXistenZ, but Videodrome is just so haunting. Rick Baker brought much of his effects team from An American Werewolf in London over to Videodrome and it shows.

1 Alien’s Xenomorph Is A Practical Effect Masterpiece

Xenomorph leaping out at Ripley - Alien practical effects

Some iconic creatures have populated the science fiction genre, but Alien’s Xenomorph has found universal acclaim and it’s a creature that’s transcended the film franchise. The predatory Xenomorph is one of Stan Winston’s crowning sci-fi achievements and it’s safe to say that the movie wouldn’t have the same reputation without this unique monstrosity.

It’s hard to believe it, but both Alien and Aliens make very little use of CG effects and the Xenomorph is a real piece of technology. The Xenomorph remains intimidating and it’s incredible that such a strong impression is made through practical effects and clever uses of lighting and shadow.

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