The best alien movies ever made

Be they mysterious, amusing, or terrifying, extraterrestrials have long fascinated moviegoers. From comedies and animated films to blockbusters, here are the 20 best films about aliens.




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Alien (1979)

A skillful mix of horror and science fiction has turned Ridley Scott’s Alien into a cult film, and rightly so. Sigourney Weaver portrays crew member Ellen Ripley. After receiving a distress call from space, her crew confronts a terrifying extraterrestrial creature.




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E.T. (1982)

We certainly can’t overlook E.T.! Director Steven Spielberg ingeniously created a sympathetic extraterrestrial by infusing him with a bit of humanity. Forty years later, this classic film, starring Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, is still a hit with both young and young-at-heart audiences.




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The Thing (1982)

A team of researchers, based in Antarctica, is slowly eradicated by a creature who adopts the appearance of its victims. John Carpenter’s The Thing takes inspiration from Alien by fusing horror and science fiction. The paranoia that gradually infiltrates the team makes this film a truly disturbing thriller.




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Starship Troopers (1997)

Based on a Robert A. Heinlein novel and directed by Paul Verhoeven, Starship Troopers stars Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards as soldiers in the future battling an invasion of giant extraterrestrial insects. While the film received disappointing reviews upon its release, its gore and exaggerated style gradually won over many fans.




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Independence Day (1996)

Bill Pullman and Will Smith fight to save the United States—and the world—from destruction by an extraterrestrial threat in Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day. In the grand tradition of expensive 1990s disaster films, every aspect of this blockbuster is larger than life, but that’s part of its charm.




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Avatar (2009)

Written and directed by James Cameron, Avatar impressed audiences at the time of its release with unprecedented special effects. On a planet called Pandora, the Na’vi follow their leader, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), into battle to preserve their environment. Meanwhile, a marine named Sully (Sam Worthington) is torn between his duty and sympathy for the indigenous population.




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Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Little Lilo goes to the pound to adopt a dog, but falls in love with a rather surprising creature who turns out to be an extraterrestrial with a gift for mischief. While less popular than Disney’s princess movies, Lilo & Stitch is still a family favourite full of humour and touching moments as well as magnificent watercolour backgrounds, a technique Disney hadn’t used since the 1940s.




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Attack the Block (2011)

Before achieving international success in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Boyega starred in Attack the Block, a film written and directed by Joe Cornish. Alongside Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch, Doctor Who), Boyega plays a south London gang member who must defend his apartment building from extraterrestrials in this British comedy gem that’s full of surprises!




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District 9 (2009)

Thirty years after arriving on Earth, extraterrestrials known as “The Prawns” now live in a South African refugee camp, isolated from humans, in the infamous District 9. Director Neill Blomkamp’s independent film successfully delivers a science-fiction morality tale that impressed critics from day one.




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Time Masters (1982)

Avant-garde director René Laloux and animator Moebius collaborated on Time Masters, a quasi-surrealist animated film based on a Stefan Wul novel. A young boy, left alone on a hostile planet following the death of his parents, calls for help from an adventurer who must overcome several obstacles as he travels through space. We’ve left Disney far behind with this one!




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Pacific Rim (2013)

Fabulously extravagant, Pacific Rim recounts a war between giant human-made robots and sea monsters from outer space. Featuring special effects, explosions, and enormous robots, this deliciously entertaining film by Guillermo del Toro doesn’t take itself seriously for a single minute.




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Cloverfield (2008)

Cloverfield is a sort of science-fiction Blair Witch Project. Directed in found-footage style by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams, the film is a new take on the Godzilla motif. A group of young adults try to survive an attack by a creature from the sky that threatens to destroy New York City.




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A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski works in front of and behind the camera in the science-fiction thriller A Quiet Place. Disturbing and brilliant, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in which a family tries to escape extraterrestrial creatures with particularly acute hearing. Emily Blunt’s performance in the bathtub scene is especially chilling. (Shhh!)




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Aliens (1986)

James Cameron took on the task of making a sequel to the near-instant classic Alien (1979). In part 2, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, who wakes from 57 years of hypersleep to resume the hunt for the Xenomorphs, this time at Hadley’s Hope, a devastated colony on LV-426.




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Paul (2011)

In Paul, geeks Nick Frost and Simon Pegg team up on a road trip across the United States only to meet an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) trying to escape Area 51. It may not be the year’s best storyline, but it’s certainly an entertaining genre original.




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Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)





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Men in Black (1997)

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are the titular men in black in this science-fiction comedy directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family). In Men in Black, aliens walk among us, but no one knows this except the MIB who must control and, if needed, exterminate them, all while erasing our memories. It’s Hollywood bubble-gum comedy just the way we like it.




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Mars Attacks! (1996)

Mars Attacks! is quite colourful for a Tim Burton film. This very faithful homage to science-fiction films of the 1950s features over-the-top performances by Jack Nicholson as the president of the United States and Pierce Brosnan as a scientist. Add to that some questionable extraterrestrial humour and slapstick comedy. The movie has its detractors, but also its share of fans who appreciate its joyful quirkiness.




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