Aliens are the ultimate immigrants, and — like actual immigrants around the world today — cinematic aliens have alternately been portrayed as a source of fear or as a boon to civilization. Sometimes visitors from another world are here to help us, while other times they look to humans like a pest to be eliminated (or devoured). More often than not, they’re used as a springboard to shine a light on how we as a society react to the unknown, which is why they continue to be a cornerstone of the sci-fi genre.
With Roland Emmerich ‘s long-awaited alien invasion sequel Independence Day: Resurgence arriving on Earth June 24, we thought we’d take the opportunity to run through what we consider to be (in our humble opinion) The 10 Best Alien Movies . Of course, as in the immigration process, there were many worthy to enter the list but only a few slots to fill. Some were chosen because they are accepted classics that no list can do without, while others were picked to shine a light on some underappreciated gems. All ten are by different filmmakers (sorry, only one film each from Spielberg and Carpenter!), and we encourage readers to post what they think are the best alien movies in the comments below!
Also, for those looking for other recommendations within the genre — any of which could have easily made the list themselves — check out these other great extraterrestrial masterpieces: The Man from Planet X , The War of the Worlds (1953), The Mysterians , The Blob (1958), Forbidden Planet , Planet of the Vampires , Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Battle Beyond the Stars , E.T. The Extraterrestrial , The Thing (1982), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension , The Brother From Another Planet , Starman , Aliens , Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Night of the Creeps , Predator , The Abyss , Independence Day , Star Trek: First Contact , Men in Black , Starship Troopers , The Iron Giant , Pitch Black , The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , Slither , Avatar , Super 8 , Paul , The Avengers , Pacific Rim and Guardians of the Galaxy .
The 10 Best Alien Movies
#10: Explorers (1985)
Despite having bitten the dust at the 1985 box office and been, as director Joe Dante has admitted, essentially a rushed, unfinished rough cut, Explorers holds a soft spot in many an 80's kid's heart.
#10: Explorers (1985)
Less emotionally cloying and more whimsical than its spiritual cousin E.T. , the film follows a trio of archetypal outsider kids (a brain, a mechanic and a dreamer) who build a jury-rigged spaceship in their backyard with the help of some aliens who want to meet them.
#10: Explorers (1985)
The story takes a wildly satirical turn in the outer space-set third act that puts off some viewers but charms those who vibe off the film's irreverent, off-kilter tone.
#10: Explorers (1985)
It also boasts the first mainstream movie roles for both Ethan Hawke and the late River Phoenix (cast against-type as the nerd), as well as an engaging performance from the now-retired Jason Presson.
#9: Attack the Block (2011)
Here's another teen-centric alien movie, although these London street hoods are more likely to beat you up and rob you than do anything remotely cute.
#9: Attack the Block (2011)
They might just meet their match when a coterie of vicious aliens land in their hood, but with a bit of ingenuity and the help of a nurse they've just mugged, these pint-sized thugs will show these beasts how they do things in the streets.
#9: Attack the Block (2011)
Writer/director Joe Cornish (who also co-wrote the screenplays for Tintin and Ant-Man ) wisely pushes the copious humor to the background and plays the tension of the situation straight.
#9: Attack the Block (2011)
He also made a huge discovery by casting a young John Boyega in the heroic lead role of Moses. Despite the film underperforming at the box office, Boyega was able to make an impression on J.J. Abrams with his performance and the rest is Star Wars History.
#8: They Live (1988)
John Carpenter slipped a white-hot dagger into the heart of Reagan-era consumerism and greed with this sci-fi broadside only loosely masquerading as an action/horror flick.
#8: They Live (1988)
The late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper chews bubblegum and kicks ass as the scrappy homeless hero who stumbles onto a massive alien conspiracy to infiltrate our society in order to subliminally keep us in line.
#8: They Live (1988)
The central gimmick involves a pair of specially-treated sunglasses that allow the wearer to tell who the yuppie scumbag bad guys are, as shown in stark black & white.
#8: They Live (1988)
Piper attempting to get Keith David to try the glasses on leads to the movie's most (rightfully) famous scene: A non-stop five-and-a-half minute alley fistfight in which the actors beat the ever-loving crap out of each-other.
#7: Superman (1978)
While we tend to categorize Richard Donner's take on the Man of Steel as a superhero movie, it's easy to forget that Clark Kent is indeed an alien sent to Earth from the destroyed Planet Krypton.
#7: Superman (1978)
The epic film briefly details Clark's struggles to come to reconcile his unearthly powers with his Kansas farm boy roots.
#7: Superman (1978)
It then throws us headlong into the central elements of the Superman mythos, with Clark taking the guise of a reporter for The Daily Planet while moonlighting as the most physically-powerful man on Earth.
#7: Superman (1978)
Unlike Zack Snyder's more grim recent interpretation of the character, Donner and actor Christopher Reeve lean into the deeply benevolent nature of the character, which is why it is still the most beloved incarnation to date.
#6: Contact (1997)
Based on the best-selling fiction book late scientist/science advocate Carl Sagan, this film stars Jodie Foster as dogged SETI researcher Ellie Arroway, who finally hits extraterrestrial pay dirt and the worldwide repercussions that follow.
#6: Contact (1997)
The story also finds the agnostic Arroway literally in bed with religion in the form of hunky Matthew McConaughey as a Christian philosopher who tries to teach her about the place where faith and science intertwine.
#6: Contact (1997)
The Robert Zemeckis film shows the ugliest sides of the fanatical as a religious right zealot violently attacks the program attempting to bridge two worlds, while also painting a not-so-pretty picture of the government's attempts to control worldwide perception of the First Contact.
#6: Contact (1997)
Arroway's final journey into the unknown is both hopeful and intellectually satisfying, despite the fact that we never actually see a single alien in the flesh.
#5: Dark City (1998)
Filmmaker Alex Proyas (The Crow , Gods of Egypt ) seamlessly mashes together so many genres with this head-trip of a movie (noir, mystery, action, sci-fi, romance) that it should be considered a spoiler to even be on this list if the movie wasn't already almost two decades old.
#5: Dark City (1998)
A dark and rugged Rufus Sewell is a perfect blank as hero John Murdoch, an amnesiac who awakens to a city of perpetual darkness and constantly-shifting architecture and identities.
#5: Dark City (1998)
With the help of the woman he thinks is his wife (Jennifer Connelly), a fastidious gumshoe (William Hurt) and a mad scientist (Kiefer Sutherland) he slowly pieces together the secret of the mysterious Strangers.
#5: Dark City (1998)
A box office dud ultimately championed by the likes of Roger Ebert and others over the years as a cult masterpiece, Dark City dipped its toes into the same philosophical sci-fi visionary well as The Matrix a year earlier and far more effectively.
#4: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Some may balk at including this film over E.T. as far as Steven Spielberg takes on aliens are concerned, but the human story at the core of it is much bolder and more relevant than its Hallmark Card-like 1982 counterpart.
#4: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Richard Dreyfuss is terrific as Roy Neary, a simple Indiana electrician and family man who's thrust into extraordinary circumstances when he has several encounters with UFOs.
#4: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
His inability to let go of the truth in what he saw leads to the loss of his job, his wife, his kids and nearly his sanity, though his persistence is ultimately rewarded.
#4: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The industrial-strength lightshow Spielberg puts on at the end is less an affirmation of UFOs than a payoff for anyone who has ever struggled with obsession in the realization of a dream in their life.
#3: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Forget Scott Derrickson's dreadful 2008 remake and dive into the original classic that set the pace for more intelligent dissections of what fruits an alien encounter might bear.
#3: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
In the case of Robert Wise's film, the visitor Klaatu (Michael Rennie) is on a mission of neither malevolence nor benevolence but rather to warn humanity of its destructive potential.
#3: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Of course, humanity responds by proving what violent, reactionary a**holes we truly can be, and are given a chilling final warning to change our ways or risk destruction.
#3: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Cold War allegory combined with the awesomeness of giant robot Gort give this movie a timeless quality that can still be appreciated more than half-a-century later.
#2: Alien (1979)
In this all-timer monster movie, Ridley Scott infused the haunted house genre with a sci-fi sensibility while simultaneously bringing a blue collar approach to space films.
#2: Alien (1979)
The crew of the industrial spaceship Nostromo receives a distress beacon from a derelict ship on an uncharted planet, and when they go to investigate of of the crew becomes impregnated with an alien seed that comes to full term very quickly.
#2: Alien (1979)
One-by-one the crew is decimated until a final showdown between the iconic Xenomorph and the pragmatic badass Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) that set up three direct sequels and two prequels, including Scott's forthcoming Alien: Covenant .
#2: Alien (1979)
It's hard to overstate the power of what Scott did both in terms of design and story, although the latter owes a great debt to both Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires and Alien screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's own Dark Star .
#1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
It's very telling that Stanley Kubrick sought to make an evolutionary leap within the sci-fi genre with this complex and artful film, yet only the most cosmetic aspects of it have been followed by subsequent filmmakers.
#1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The story, co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, traces the influence of a mysterious Monolith of unknown origin on mankind and beyond, while also exploring the disturbing possibilities inherent in artificial intelligence.
#1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The story is divided into a prologue at the dawn of man, a middle section detailing the crew of space shuttle Discovery One and their computer HAL's voyage to decipher the secrets of the Monolith, and an abstract final sequence that has served as a virtual Rorschach test of interpretation since its release.
#1: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001 is the rare sci-fi film that demands the audience bring something to the table, and the miracle of it is everyone sees a slightly different movie. That's why it's so important that it continues to be seen as the years go by, even though everything from the camerawork to the sets to the groundbreaking effects remains timeless.