What's the Worst That Could Happen? (Buried in the Ice Edition)

If I've learned any lesson from my lifetime of watching horror movies and cult-tv programming, it is this: don't excavate something found buried in Arctic or Antarctic Ice. 

Chances are...it isn't a harmless (we hope...) pandora-virus, but rather something far more dangerous to human life.

In this edition of "What's the worst that could happen?" we'll look at some of the most terrifying and monstrous things buried in Earth's ice.

What's the Worst that Could Happen?

An ancient alien lizard, in thick green body armor is uncovered on a glacier by British scientists. The alien awakens and is revealed to be a Martian, an Ice Warrior. Soon, the awakened warrior from a long past age will be on the warpath. (Doctor Who: "The Ice Warriors" [1967]).

In Antarctica, scientists find a strange alien seed pod buried in the ice. After scientists excavate it and thaw it out, the pod begins to grow, and actually stings one of the scientists who discovered it. The seed pod is a Krynoid, a vegetable-based life-form, which can communicate with other plants on Earth, and will eventually take over the entire planet, making plants the dominant life form and rendering human beings nothing more than compost. (Doctor Who: "The Seeds of Doom" [1976]).

In Antarctica, in the early 1980's, a Norwegian scientific outpost unearths a flying saucer and its pilot from deep within the ice. Despite being in the ice for over 100,000 years, the alien pilot is not dead. Rather, it is very much alive, and capable of imitating any life form it comes in contact with, including human beings. After the Norwegian outpost is destroyed, the alien "thing" moves on to an American camp not far away, and hides there, as winter falls. (The Thing [1982]; The Thing [2011]).

In Icy Cape, Alaska in the early 1990's, scientists unearth from deep within the ground an ice sample teeming with tiny, ostensibly alien worms. These parasites enter the human body, and create feelings of enhanced aggression and violence in their hosts. If they reach the civilized world, it could be the end of the human race. (The X-Files [1993 - 2002]: "Ice.")

Scientists working in the Arctic discover debris from a spaceship crash from a century ago. They also find corpses among the wreckage, cybernetic corpses. These corpses rapidly awake, and begin to assimilate the science team. Then, these beings flee the planet, attempting to contact their distant people: The Borg. (Star Trek: Enterprise [2001 - 2005]: "Regeneration.")

The most powerful Kaiju in the world is buried in the ice, quiescent. But when hostile aliens show up to invade the planet with their own nefarious monsters like Gigan, man must awaken the sleeping giant from the ice, paving the way for an all out smack-down. (Godzilla: Final Wars [2004]).

Buried deep within the ice of an Antarctica, an ancient temple is discovered. A team of scientists go to explore the subterranean temple only to learn it is a hunting ground or two violent alien races. (AVP [2004]).