100+ Best Alien Movies of All Time

Humans have been fascinated with the idea of life existing on other planets for as long as we have been looking up at the sky. This has been reflected in the stories we tell through film since sci-fi adventure film A Trip to the Moon (1902), inspired by Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon. The number of movies about aliens increased dramatically in the 1950s when the US and the USSR began a “space race” which resulted in the Soviet Union successfully launching a satellite (Sputnik) in 1957, the Soviet Union achieving the first manned spaceflight in 1961 and the United States’ moon landing in 1969.

Modern films and television shows about aliens have centered around government coverups and conspiracies. Some of the biggest contributors to our current collective thinking around UFOs and aliens come from the 90s blockbuster Independence Day (1996) and the hit sci-fi drama series The X-Files (1993-2002, 2016-2018). Both portrayed the United States government as denying the existence of alien life to the public while secretly holding evidence to the contrary.

Collected here are the best movies about aliens ever made:

Top 10 Scariest Alien Movies

While this list catalogs all kinds of alien movies, Creepy Catalog focuses on scary and thrilling content. We consider these the best scary alien movies ever made:

• The Thing (1982)
• Alien (1979)
• Aliens (1986)
• Signs (2002)
• The Fourth Kind (2009)
• Dark Skies (2013)
• Honeymoon (2014)
• The Faculty (1998)
• Fire in the Sky (1993)
• Annihilation (2018)

The Best Alien Movies

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

Robert Wise directed this sci-fi movie about an alien who visits Earth to give humans an ultimatum. Landing in Washington, D.C. the alien, named Klaatu, delivers a message to all world leaders: “Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer.”

Village of the Damned (1960)

After a mysterious event, all the women in a small English town become pregnant. They birth a cohort of strange blonde children with telepathic abilities. The townspeople soon realize the sinister nature of the children and hypothesize that they are the result of an extraterrestrial experiment.

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

The first adaptation of prolific writer Michael Crichton’s work, The Andromeda Strain follows scientists investigating the events surround the crash of a U.S. satellite in a small New Mexico town. When all the town’s residents die, as does the crew sent to recover the satellite, it is discovered that the culprit is an alien microorganism they call “Andromeda”. Attempts to contain the virulent extraterrestrial confound scientists.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

This blockbuster written and directed by Steven Spielberg focuses on the experience of Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), a blue-collar worker from Indiana whose life is thrown into turmoil after an encounter with a UFO. Afterwards Roy is haunted by visions of a mountain that he attempts to draw almost as if it was a sketch of a criminal suspect’s face. After Roy’s wife leaves him due to his erratic behavior, he sees a TV report about a train wreck near Wyoming’s Devil’s Tower—and he realizes it’s the mountain he’s been trying to draw. Desperate to reach the site at any cost, Roy finally encounters the aliens again.

Star Wars (1977)

Now known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope due to franchise expansion, Star Wars is an epic space opera about a group of rebel fighters trying to save the galaxy from the autocratic Galactic Empire. Rebel leader Princess Leia is kidnapped and held hostage on the Empire’s Death Star space station. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo set out on a rescue mission. According writer and director George Lucas says: “It’s the flotsam and jetsam from the period when I was twelve years old. All the books and films and comics that I liked when I was a child. The plot is simple—good against evil—and the film is designed to be all the fun things and fantasy things I remember. The word for this movie is fun.”

See also: Every ‘Star Wars’ Movie, Ranked

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

A San Francisco health inspector (Donald Sutherland) and his partner discover that strange seeds have been landing from outer space, causing mysterious pods to grow in San Francisco. The pods systematically replace the humans with the stark difference being that the pod people are unable to experience human emotion. This is a remake of the original 1956 film and was cited by the Chicago Film Critics Association as the 59^th scariest movie in history.

Alien (1979)

In the year 2122, the space ship Nostromo receives a distress call and its inhabitants are woken out of hypersleep to investigate. Following the call to a moon, the crew discovers alien eggs and a crew member is attacked by a facehugging creature. Evacuating back to the ship, it becomes clear the injured crew member has become a host and the alien is released on board.

See also: The Best Sci-Fi Horror Movies

Contamination (1980)

A hideous gigantic alien cyclops plots to destroy the world by flooding it with slimy green alien pod spores that are filled with a lethal acid that dissolves human flesh. The eggs release a gooey substance that forces people to explode upon contact with it. Also released as Alien Contamination, Toxic Spawn, and Larvae.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

The film’s concept was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents’ divorce. The plot involves alien botanists who visit earth to obtain plant specimens from a California forest, only to be sent fleeing by government agents—except one alien is left behind. He is befriended by a troubled child named Elliott, who teaches the alien how to speak English and helps him construct a ramshackle device whereby he can “phone home” and contact his brethren in outer space. Shortly after its release, E.T. surpassed Star Wars and became the highest-grossing film of all time.

The Thing (1982)

One of the best and scariest horror movies of all time. The Thing follows a team at a research station in Antarctica who come into contact with an alien life form who can transform and absorb other life forms, including humans. Unsure whether their colleagues are actually “the thing” the team dissolves into paranoia and chaos.

Strange Invaders (1983)

In the late 1950s, the town of Centerville, IL is invaded by a race of aliens who can fire lasers from their eyeballs and take over the bodies of the humans they’ve killed. Years later, after a woman doesn’t return from her mother’s funeral in Centerville, her ex-husband arrives in town and notices the inhabits are acting strangely. The FBI doesn’t believe his story, but when he takes his tale to a tabloid, the aliens take notice and begin stalking him.

Cocoon (1985)

A group of aliens have left “cocoons” in a Florida swimming pool that rejuvenate people and serve as a Fountain of Youth. A trio of elderly people trespass and swim in the pool, and discover they suddenly feel younger and stronger. When word gets out, the local geriatrics crowd the pool and drain it of its life-giving energy. A 1988 sequel, Cocoon: The Return, featured most of the original cast members reprising their roles.

Lifeforce (1985)

Lifeforce is an alien invasion/vampire movie directed by Tobe Hooper. The crew of a space shuttle discover an enormous alien spaceship filled with dead bats and rescue three humanoid creatures before returning to Earth. The humanoids end up being alien vampires capable of draining the life force from humans.

Explorers (1985)

A family friendly alien movie directed by Joe Dante and staring Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix. A young boy obsessed with video games and comic books dreams up a spacecraft his nerdy best friend is able to build. The young boys use the ship to explore space.

Aliens (1986)

James Cameron co-wrote and directed Aliens, which is widely considered to be one of the best sequels of all time. 57 years after the events of the first film, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is sent to a colony on the moon with a unit of Colonial Marines. The crew discovers the colony destroyed due to the same alien species that Ripley previously battled on Nostromo. Sigourney Weaver earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in this film.

Wolf’s Hole (1987)

A creepy and unique sci-fi horror movie by avant-garde director Věra Chytilová, who was at one point banned from filmmaking in her home country of Czechoslovakia for seven years. It follows a group of students staying in an isolated mountain cabin while they take a skiing course. At first, Wolf’s Hole seems like a formulaic 80s slasher movie, but the presence of aliens makes it much more unnerving.

Predator (1987)

This action sci-fi thriller sees Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite team of hired guns sent to rescue hostages in the rainforest of Central American. The group discovers they are being hunted by a highly skilled alien warrior. Predator received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects and launched a franchise that includes sequels and crossovers with the Alien franchise Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).

They Live (1988)

Written and directed by John Carpenter and titled onscreen as John Carpenter’s They Live, this sci-fi action film is based on a 1963 short story called “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” by Ray Nelson. An unnamed drifter chances upon a pair of special sunglasses that enable him to see that aliens have taken over planet Earth and are manipulating people to breed and conform by sending subliminal messages through mass media. A hacker is able to take over television broadcasts and warn the populace of what’s happening.

The Abyss (1989)

In search of a lost nuclear submarine, a diving team uses an experimental diving suit that enables them to reach the ocean floor. A diver realizes that once he reaches the bottom and disables the nuclear bomb, he will suffocate. To his surprise, the alien species takes him into their alien city in a deep ocean trench and creates a safe pocket of air that enables him to breathe. Nominated for four Oscars, The Abyss won the award for Best Visual Effects.

Communion (1989)

A sci-fi horror movie starring Christopher Walken as Manhattan author Whitley Strieber, who begins waking in the night with the feeling that he is being watched. Strieber takes his family to a cottage in the woods where he experiences more paranormal phenomena and becomes dangerously paranoid. Seeking help, Strieber learns from a hypnotherapist that he has repressed the memory of being abducted and experimented on by aliens. He decides he must confront his fears (the aliens) in order to move on with his life.

Alien 3 (1992)

After the events of Aliens (1986), Ripley crash lands on a violent prison planet. Unfortunately, one of the aliens also survives the crash. Despite poor reception, Alien 3 was still nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Body Snatchers (1993)

This is the third film based on the 1955 Jack Finney novel The Body Snatchers. A teen girl and her father discover that alien clones are systematically replacing human beings on a military base in rural Alabama. The clones grow from pods and are exact replicas of the humans except for their inability to show any emotion. The pod people—who emit a distinctive scream to alert other pod people—try to convince an Army major that individuality is obsolete and that only rigid conformity can heal what ails the world.

Coneheads (1993)

This sci-fi comedy began as a sketch on Saturday Night Live. Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin star as cone-headed aliens who crash land on Earth. Stranded, the aliens attempt to blend in with Earthlings and fail miserably. However, their cover (that they are simply from France) works. Screenwriters Bonnie and Terry Turner later turned the idea into the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001).

Fire in the Sky (1993)

A sci-fi drama based on Travis Walton’s true story. Walton was a logger working in the White Mountains of Arizona with five other men in November, 1975. They saw an unidentified flying object (UFO) and Walton disappeared after getting out of his truck to investigate a beam of light emanating from the object. When his coworkers report Walton’s disappearance, they are humiliated by local police even after passing lie detector tests. Walton returns five days later and his abduction is shown through excruciating flashbacks.

Species (1995)

Researchers at the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) use a transmission giving them an alien DNA structure to create an alien/human hybrid they name Sil (Natasha Henstridge). Sil breaks out of the lab and sets her sights on mating with a male human to spread her alien DNA. A group of scientists tries to track her down.

Mars Attacks! (1996)

A black comedy sci-fi movie directed by Tim Burton and features an all-star ensemble cast including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Martin Short, and Danny DeVito. Mars Attacks! sees a massive invasion of flying saucers from Mars greeted diplomatically by a naive U.S. government. The Martians attack until it is discovered that they have one major weakness: country music.

Independence Day (1996)

A blockbuster action sci-fi thriller directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich and starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid and Vivica A. Fox. A seemingly insurmountable alien attack on Earth begins over the Fourth of July weekend. At Area 51, the U.S. President (Pullman), a technology expert (Goldblum) and a Marine Captain (Smith) form a plan that may be the planet’s only hope. Independence Day was a major commercial success and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Contact (1997)

A sci-fi drama based on Carl Sagan’s 1985 novel of the same name. SETI scientist Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) discovers what she believes to be communication from extraterrestrial life in radio transmissions from outer space. She is later chosen to make first contact with the (alleged) aliens. Roger Ebert called Contact “the smartest and most absorbing story about extraterrestrial intelligence since Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Men In Black (1997)

A sci-fi comedy movie starring actors Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as the title characters, government agents whose role it is to keep the existence of aliens a secret from the public. The two fight against an undercover alien determined to capture a powerful energy source known as “The Galaxy,” which holds the strongest source for subatomic energy in the universe. Shot on a budget of $90 million, this debut film earned $589.4 million at the box office.

Starship Troopers (1997)

A sci-fi action movie loosely based on Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel of the same name. Starship Troopers finds humans who are stuck in a totalitarian future regime commissioned to do battle with giant alien bugs. Even more terrifying, they are thought to be directed by a “Brain Bug” who gains knowledge about humans by piercing their skulls with his proboscis and eating their brains. The film led to two a pair of live-action sequels—Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) and two computer-animated films, Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017).

The Faculty (1998)

An iconic sci-fi horror movie about a covert invasion of parasitic aliens in a small Texas town. Ground zero for the invasion is the local high school where teachers and students are becoming infected. An ecclectic group of teens are all that stand between the aliens and the rest of the world.

The X-Files (1998)

A good companion to the television show, or a standalone movie, The X-Files is a sci-fi thriller that finds Mulder and Scully uncovering a government conspiracy involving an alien species colonizing Earth. While investigating a bombing that claimed the lives of five people, Mulder and Scully are told that the victims were already dead when the bomb went off. The informant alleges that the bombing was faked as part of a coverup to explain the deaths of people who actually died after coming into contact with a parasitic alien species. The special agents investigate while being pursued by government officials involved in the coverup.

Galaxy Quest (1999)

A sci-fi comedy about the cast of an 80s television show that is obviously modeled on Star Trek. The stars are beamed aboard a spacecraft by aliens who are convinced the show is real and hilarity ensues. Galaxy Quest is both a parody of and a tribute to science-fiction films and TV series.

Signs (2002)

One of M. Night Shyamalan’s best films is this sci-fi horror movie about an alien invasion from the perspective of a widower (Mel Gibson), his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and his two children (Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin). At first in denial about the covert invasion, when video evidence of the aliens is broadcast the family accepts that they must protect themselves. Inspired by films like The Birds (1963) and Night of the Living Dead (1968), the family retreats to the cellar of their farmhouse.

See also: M. Night Shyamalan Movies: The Rouge Auteur

War of the Worlds (2005)

A sci-fi action movie directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name. Tom Cruise stars as Ray, a divorced blue-collar worker in Brooklyn, New York who has a strained relationship with his children: teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and 10-year-old Rachel (Dakota Fanning). When aliens appear in fighting machines, Ray and his children go on the run in a fight for survival from the aliens.

Slither (2006)

A sci-fi comedy about a small town in South Carolina where an invasion of parasitic aliens begins after a meteorite hits Earth. Infected humans turn into tentacled monsters and mindless followers. While it was a box office failure, Slither has since gained a cult following.

Avatar (2009)

Based on a script that director James Cameron had been revising for years, the plot of Avatar is set in the year 2154 when a severe energy crisis threatens to destroy life on Earth. Seeking a resolution to the crisis, a paraplegic Marine is sent to a moon named Pandora to mine a mineral known as unobtanium, a superconductive element that would solve Earth’s energy problems. But Pandora is inhabited by a blue-skinned alien species that grow to 10 feet tall, and the Marine who was sent to save the world develops an emotional bond with them.

The Fourth Kind (2009)

A sci-fi horror pseudodocumentary that purports to be based on true events. In the remote town of Nome, Alaska psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) uses hypnosis to help clients dealing with trauma. During her sessions she uncovers her patient’s accounts of alien abductions and begins to believe she was abducted as well.

See also: Is ‘The Fourth Kind’ Actually Based On A True Story?

Prometheus (2012)

A sci-fi horror movie directed by Ridley Scott about a spaceship crew searching for the origins of humankind. Finding an isolated planet with a star map, the crew discovers an ancient civilization and wrongly believes the predators who killed the inhabitants off are now extinct. Another battle between humans and the Xenomorph aliens ensues.

Dark Skies (2013)

A sci-fi horror movie starring Keri Russell as a suburban mom whose family starts experiencing unexplainable events — their kitchen is rearranged overnight, birds crash into their home, and their security alarm goes off for seemingly no reason. When they install cameras in the house, they discover three entities standing over them while they sleep. An expert they consult calls these entities the “Greys” and associates their appearance with child abduction. Desperate to keep their children safe, the family boards up their home and prepares for a final confrontation.

Under the Skin (2013)

Scarlett Johansson stars as an extraterrestrial woman who seduces unfortunate men in Scotland. Back at her dilapidated home, the men become submerged in a pit of black liquid. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin is for viewers who want a quiet, mind-bendingly weird movie.

Honeymoon (2014)

A horror movie about a newlywed couple, Bea and Paul, who spend their honeymoon at a remote cabin in the woods. One night Paul discovers Bea has sleepwalked into the woods and rescues her. However, she behaves strangely after the episode and Paul begins to suspect something sinister has happened to his bride.

The Signal (2014)

Young hackers Nic (Brenton Thwaites) and Jonah (Beau Knapp) are contacted by a shadowy figure who challenges them to thwart his evil plot. Proving unable to meet the challenge, they instead track him down to a run-down house in the middle of the desert, but things are not as they seem—in the house’s basement is a high-tech bank of computers, and Nic suddenly wakes up wondering where he is and why he can’t feel his legs.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

A sci-fi action movie that is scary because of how absolutely dominant the invading alien species is at fighting. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star as two Earth military personnel battling aliens (called “Mimics”), who are so advanced they can change time to redo any battle they lose. Through many “loops” the two learn how to fight the Mimics and finally figure out a weakness that they can target.

Arrival (2016)

A sci-fi drama directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Amy Adams. Adams plays a linguist who is contracted to help the military communicate with newly arrived extraterrestrials. The aliens are advanced creatures that speak to humans in a complex hieroglyphics. Arrival is one of the most cerebral alien movies ever made by Hollywood.

Life (2017)

A sci-fi horror movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds as astronauts aboard the International Space Station. When the crew discovers evidence of extraterrestrial life in a soil sample from Mars, they are thrilled. However, the intelligent life form escapes containment and threatens the lives of everyone aboard.

Annihilation (2018)

A sci-fi psychological horror movie written and directed by Alex Garland. Natalie Portman stars as a cellular biology professor and Army soldier who volunteers for a dangerous mission into a mysterious quarantine zone where plants and animals have mutated following a meteor crashing in the area. With no communication to the outside world, the explorers find the quarantine zone filled to the brim with nightmares.

A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski wrote and directed this post-apocalyptic horror movie starring his real-life wife Emily Blunt. Some time after an invasion by an alien species with super sensitive hearing, a family survives on their farm by living in near silence. Sequel and prequel A Quiet Place: Part II (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) are also excellent alien movies.

The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)

In this third installment of the Cloverfield franchise—following Cloverfield (2008) and 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)—the year is 2028, and the planet Earth is in the midst of a catastrophic energy crisis. Desperate to solve the crisis, scientists from multiple nations aboard a space station develop a particle accelerator which they claim will solve the crisis, but which skeptics fear will open a parallel universe, or several, which will allow those universes to attack the planet and unleash untold horrors on its residents.

See also: 34 Spooky Facts and Trivia About ‘Cloverfield’ (2008)

Nope (2022)

Jordan Peele’s second film is this Western sci-fi horror movie following brother and sister OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer). After their father passes away, the two struggle to keep their family ranch in operation. When they encounter a UFO, the pair hope that they can capture an “Oprah shot” of the ship in order to cash in on the spectacle.

See also: 17 Details You May Have Missed in ‘Nope’ (2022)

No One Will Save You (2023)

A sci-fi horror movie that is unique in that there is almost no dialogue. Kaitlyn Dever stars as a young woman who was living in so much isolation, she barely noticed an alien invasion had begun. When she encounters an alien in her home, she has no one to turn to for help.

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Alien: Romulus is an “interquel” that is set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). It follows a group of exploited young colonists who dream of escaping to a planet where life is better. Exploring an abandoned space station to scavenge supplies, the crew discover the Xenomorph aliens

More Alien Movies

• A Trip to the Moon (1902) this may be the first film about aliens. The crew of a lunar expedition battle aliens and return home with one in tow.
• The Thing From Another World (1951) adapted from the same source as John Carpenter’s The Thing, an arctic outpost is endangered by a bloodthirsty alien.
• The War of the Worlds (1953) in this first film adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel, an army of seemingly impenetrable aliens invade Earth.
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) in a small California town aliens begin replacing residents with pod people.
• The Blob (1958) a gelatinous alien life form swallows up everything it comes into contact with and grows in size.
• It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) an alien monster is a stowaway on a space ship returning to Earth from Mars. The movie’s plot is cited by Ridley Scott as an inspiration for Alien (1979).
• Los Astronautas (1964) a Mexican sci-fi comedy about Venus, a planet run by women.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) humans set off on a space mission to find an alien monolith buried under the surface of the moon.
• Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) two orphans with psychic abilities run from an evil millionaire and discover their extraterrestrial origin.
• Creepshow (1982) in this anthology, the segment “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” finds a man infected by strange alien vegetation after a meteor lands on his farm.
• 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is, however, not directed by Stanley Kubrick.
• Bloodsuckers From Outer Space (1984) follows a small agricultural town whose farmers begin turning into zombies after an extraterrestrial infection spreads across town.
• Critters (1986) furry creatures from space invade small town America.
• The Blob (1988) a California town is endangered by a gelatinous alien life form who absorbs everyone it touches.
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) is a bad 80s horror movie that also a beloved cult classic.
• My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) an 80s science fiction comedy about… well, the title says it all.
• Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) a sci-fi musical rom-com that features hilarious comedians such as Damon Wayans and Jim Carrey telling the story of furry aliens that land in a California girl’s pool.
• Stephen King’s It (1990) while this mini-series seems to be about an evil clown, it’s actually an evil clown from outer space. Pennywise is an alien. So It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019) are also, technically speaking, alien films as well.
• Space Jam (1996) Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters play a basketball game against alien invaders.
• Alien: Resurrection (1997) Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder star in this fourth film in the Alien franchise.
• Lost In Space (1998) as Earth becomes uninhabitable, the Robinsons look to colonize another planet in our galaxy.
• The Astronaut’s Wife (1999) Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron star in this sci-fi thriller about a woman whose husband undergoes a mysterious change after a space mission.
• Virus (1999) stars horror royalty Jamie Lee Curtis as an ex-Navy officer who boards an abandoned space research vessel holding an alien power.
• Battlefield Earth (2000) a “bad” sci-fi movie based on a novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
• Pitch Black (2000) a ship carrying a dangerous convict (Vin Diesel) crashes on a remote planet.
• Titan A.E. (2000) an animated post-apocalyptic alien film about a future where humans and aliens interact on a daily basis until a human invention threatens the alien species enough that they plan an attack on Earth.
• Returner (2002) a Japanese sci-fi film taking place in 2084, where a brutal alien invasion threatens any chance at the human race’s survival.
• Dreamcatcher (2003) based on the Stephen King novel of the same name about four friends challenged to stop an alien invasion.
• Alien vs Predator (2004) Paul W.S. Anderson’s crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises.
• The Forgotten (2004) a grieving mother is told her son never existed and uncovers an alien conspiracy.
• Night Skies (2007) based on the infamous 1997 event known as the Phoenix Lights, which is regarded as the largest UFO sighting ever recorded.
• Cloverfield (2008) the villain in this found footage monster movie is revealed to have extraterrestrial origin in sequel The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).
• District 9 (2009) a sci-fi action thriller about alien refugees who live in marginalized squalor on Earth.
• Predators (2010) third installment of the Predator franchise where a group of elite paramilitary warriors are parachuted into a battle of two warring factions of extraterrestrial killers.
• Unaware (2010) inspired by Paranormal Activity (2007) and The Blair Witch Project (1999) and tells a terrifying story through a vacationing couple’s found footage.
• Attack the Block (2011) a teen gang in South London protect their neighborhood from an alien invasion.
• I Am Number Four (2011) aliens find protection on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters.
• Super 8 (2011) a group of teenagers in a rural town are shooting a Super 8 film when they witness a horrible train accident and begin to suspect alien activity when they recover their developed footage.
• The Watch (2012) buddies who form a neighborhood-watch group get more than they bargained for
• V/H/S (2012) the story titled “A Sick Thing That Happened To Emily When She Was Younger” features a woman whose student-doctor boyfriend surgically removes an alien fetus from her abdomen.
• The Host (2013) based on Stephenie Meyer’s best selling novel, a sci-fi love story that takes place after parasitic aliens take over Earth’s human race.
• 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) a woman awakens from a crash held hostage by a man who insists the outside world is now uninhabitable.
• How To Talk To Girls At Parties (2017) takes place in 1970s London, where a shy teenage boy falls in love with a beautiful and adventurous alien who is visiting Earth for a mysterious reason.
• Occupation (2018) violent aliens take over an Australian town, and a group of them need to fight back.
• Assimilate (2019) a small town where nothing ever happens experiences an otherworldly wake up call.
• Color Out of Space (2019) a Lovecraftian horror movie about a rural family whose life is interrupted by a meteorite crashing into their yard.
• The Vast of Night (2019) a sci-fi mystery about a two people in 1950s New Mexico who think they have discovered an extraterrestrial radio signal.
• Psycho Goreman (2020) a sci-fi action horror comedy about a brother and sister who accidentally rouse an ancient alien overlord.
• The Seed (2021) three female friends travel to an isolated house in the Mojave Desert for a weekend getaway where an alien lands in their swimming pool.
• Prey (2022) a prequel to the Predator movies, the title aliens battle Comanche warriors.

Television shows dealing with alien abductions

What are the best alien/UFO episodes of Unsolved Mysteries?

Some of the creepiest alien stories ever told appeared on this iconic long-running mystery documentary series. Generally, the Unsolved Mysteries seasons are broken out by whether they are hosted by Robert Stack or Dennis Farina. The most recent episodes of the series are streaming on Netflix. The best alien episodes of Unsolved Mysteries are:

• Season 2, episode 1 has a two-part overview of the Roswell, NM UFO crash
• Season 3, episode 13 covers Dorothy Izatt’s “Vancouver Lights” home video
• Season 5, episode 1 has a two-part story about the Hudson River UFO
• Season 6, episode 17 wonders whether UFOs seen in Nevada are actually top secret military planes
• Season 7, episode 5 recounts a UFO video captured by a prominent Mexican journalist
• Season 7, episode 21 is an entire episode on Aliens and UFOs and includes one of the scariest Unsolved Mysteries segments: “The Allagash Abductions”
• Season 9, episode 17 covers “Men in Black”
• Volume 3, episode 2 “Something in the Sky” tells the story of 300 Michiganders who saw mysterious lights in the sky in 1994

What are the best alien episodes of The X-Files?

The iconic sci-fi drama series follows FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigate unsolved casefiles involving paranormal phenomena. Memorable episodes of The X-Files that deal with aliens include the pilot episode, “Erlenmeyer Flask” (season 1, episode 24), “Duane Berry” (season 2, episode 5), and “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” (season 3, episode 20).

Further reading:

• 33+ Cosmic Horror Movies — Lovecraftian Cinema
• 28+ Best Sci-Fi Horror Movies
• 33+ Space Horror Movies