Best Alien Movies To Watch

The idea of aliens or any extraterrestrial beings always inspires humans. It also attracts a lot of attention. It can be in books in form of characters, in fairytales, in imagination, or in movies. There are excellent storytellers and directors who know exactly how to transform an eye-catching story about an alien into a movie. Believe it or not, lots of people tune in to see the stories about creatures who are not human beings but do possess some of our qualities. This summer, you should add alien movies to your watching list as well. There are so many alien movies out there to choose from. We have made a list for you of the best alien movies to watch over the weekend, with your friends or plan ahead of summer break. It’s not that far!

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A Quiet Place

Let’s start with a 2018-released hit that had everyone excited. This movie was an instant success due to its remarkable story, direction, and incredible work of the actors. John Krasinski directed this movie and his wife Emily Blunt is also playing the main characters with him. Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, and Krasinski wrote the screenplay for it. The most astonishing thing about this movie is that the actors are quiet throughout the movie. It makes one wonder how incredibly talented one has to be to deliver such a masterpiece without speaking a word. In the movie, almost realistic aliens appear from nowhere and are attracted to any kind of voice or sound. They are brutal and kill whoever utters even a word. How must one survive since everything in the world has sound? This movie can particularly be a great experience if watched with friends. The production company for this outstanding film about aliens was Sunday Night. It is available to stream on Amazon Prime!

Avatar

It would be unbelievable if one said they have never heard of Avatar. This 2009 release gained international success and there was a reason for it. This was the first movie that used ‘motion capture’; a new technology. Moreover, the completion of this film took 15 years as the production started in 1994. Titanic’s James Cameron served as a director and producer for the movie. It was the highest-grossing film of all time. In the movie, the time is set in the year 2154, and energy on Earth has depleted. There’s an alien planet called ‘Pandora’ where the Na’vi lives and have a mineral they need Unobtanium. No matter how simple they seem, they’re quite evolved from humans.

However, due to the hazardous and poisonous environment of ‘Pandora’, humans have to link their minds to Na’vi bodies in order to interact with them. These special hybrid Na’vi bodies are known as Avatars. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is on a mission to get Unobtanium but in doing so he falls in love with a Na’vi woman (Zoe Saldana) and ends up betraying the cause. It’s full of adventure, action, romance, and much more. It’s definitely one of the best alien movies to watch! 20th Century Studios was the production company behind the movie. The cast also includes Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, and Joel David Moore.

1979’sAlien

Alien is considered one of the best alien movies by many because it was a pioneering tale of how alien life can be terrifying. Released in 1979 and directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, and Harry Dean Stanton. The movie’s plot is set in the distant future where a crew on a special spaceship ‘Nostromo’ respond to a distress call from a moon while they’re coming back to earth. But upon landing on the moon, they find out that there’s an unknown and dangerous colony of creatures that are a major threat. The distress call was actually a warning signal! The crew must fight the grave danger and come back home safely. The 20th Century Studios production was a massive success with merchandise, toys, comic books, and many more!

1986’s Aliens

This movie was a sequel to 1979’s Alien. Released in 1986 and directed by James Cameron, Aliens was also a huge success. It continues the story of Sigourney Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley as she teams up with a group of marines to help fight off the alien predators who have taken over the space colony built on the moon LV-426. The human marines are up against a big danger as they also try to protect the only remaining human left in the colony, Newt (played by Carrie Henn). The cast also includes Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Jenette Goldstein, and William Hope. Aliens is a fascinating tale full of action, terror, and thrill. It’s definitely the best aliens movies to watch if you’re a fan of extraterrestrial fiction.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Released in 1982, this movie was also a huge success like ‘alien’ as it had merchandise including dolls and other products too. In this movie, aliens secretly visit our planet earth. While they are on the planet, one of them separates from the group and is left behind. The US government spies on him, however, he escapes. He reaches the home of a 10-year-old Elliot (Henry Thomas) and both grow a lovely connection. The alien E.T. shows Elliott and his siblings (played by Drew Barrymore and Robert MacNaughton) his unbelievable powers. But there’s more to the story which can make an audience cry. The movie has spectacular themes about friendship and love with visuals that were definitely ahead of its time! Steven Spielberg directed the movie with Melissa Mathison as the writer for the screenplay. It was nominated for a whopping 9 Oscars in 1983, out of which it won 4! You’re really missing out if you don’t watch this endearing story about an adorable alien.

District 9

This is one of the best alien movies because of how well it melded realism in the sci-fi genre. District 9 showcases an alien ship arriving in South Africa but something unexpected happens. It does not invade, it rather has sick aliens in it and the government of South Africa takes malnourished aliens to a camp. But 28 years later, the camp known as District 9 turns into a militarized ghetto. A group known as the Multi-National United is given a contract to evict the aliens and things turn ugly really fast. The film shows the real colors of human beings through this creative story. How do humans react when they find someone who isn’t one of them? How do they really treat someone who is basically an ‘alien’?

Moreover, the movie shows disagreements and tensions between aliens and humans who aren’t in favor of giving aliens a place to live on earth. It is an excellent film that sheds light on the issues of racism and xenophobia that unfortunately still exist in our ‘modern world’. It would be unfair to keep this one out of your best alien movies list as it can educate you or the young generation as well. The movie is directed by Neill Blomkamp and casts great actors such as Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, and Sylvaine Strike.

Prometheus

Ridley Scott directed this horror and sci-fi movie revolving around aliens. And what makes it one of the best alien movies to watch is because of its stunning visuals, amazing cinematography, and very interesting tale. The story written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof revolves around a spaceship called Prometheus. The spaceship discovers a special star map and a distant world that show the crew the origins of humanity. But at the same time, they find a threat that could end all of humanity and the world as we know it. The movie also has a stellar cast, starring Logan Marshall-Green, Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, and Michael Fassbender. It’s definitely one of the greats!

Arrival

When enormous alien spaceships arrive in 12 different locations on earth, humanity must find a way to communicate with them or risk a full war. Amy Adams plays the role of the Linguistic professor Louise Banks who is in charge of a team to investigate and figure out what the aliens what. This Denis Villeneuve movie also incorporates themes of time travel and love. It’s one of the best alien movies out there because it shows how aliens can be something we never quite expect! The movie stars Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma, and Abigail Pniowsky.