Not since Marvel’s Loki has there been a lovable scoundrel quite like Yabushige in Shōgun. But ask the man himself, ex-rocker and screen actor Tadanobu Asano, and he can’t tell you why or how that even happened.

“Honestly, I’ve been surprised by the reception of the audience,” Asano tells Inverse over Zoom, speaking through an English interpreter. “Before the show started airing, I was a little worried about what was going to happen, how people would see him. But it’s been a happy surprise.”

In a conversation with Inverse, Asano recaps the final days of Yabushige, as well as a look into his own experiences as an outsider in Hollywood — a theme that perfectly suits the tone of this quiet, careful, one-of-a-kind TV drama.

The line between science fiction and horror is not always clear-cut. It is, after all, all too common for a sci-fi plot to reveal a horror of our own making (“I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that”) or the frightening limitations of our understanding — like the unpacking of an alien language in Arrival (“We don’t know if they understand the difference between a weapon and a tool!”).

But for science fiction to be considered real horror, it needs to do more than just shed light on the science-based terror that is existence — it needs to give us a nice big dose of Hollywood-sanctioned danger. Whether it’s a jump-scare or five, some oozing body horror, or even a classic chase scene, when a sci-fi movie embraces tried-and-true horror devices, the resulting thrill is one no other subgenre can match.

This is why we compiled 50 of our favorite sci-fi horror movies. Whether you agree or disagree with the order or inclusions on this list, we’re sure that if you’re into a sci-fi movie with an eerie thrill, you’ll find hours of great viewing within.