Top 10 Best Alien and Extraterrestrial Life Movies

The title of this grim 1979 film leaves little to the imagination: this is one of the essential alien films. A spaceship receives a signal from a planet and the crew goes to investigate. They find a crashed spaceship. One of the crew members is then attacked by a creature that latches onto his face. Back on their ship, it becomes clear that the creature has reproduced inside its victim and is hungry. Never before has an alien been as ruthless and bloodthirsty as in Alien. The success of the film would lead to a number of interesting sequels

In 1982, Steven Spielberg found a way to tell the now standard story of aliens. E.T. is the moving story of an alien who is left behind on Earth. A little boy finds the creature and they cautiously become friends. But E.T. cannot last long on Earth and becomes ill. He must make contact with his home world. This leads to the famous words: "E.T. phone home."

In the ultimate alien movie, the aliens are only seen for a very short time. In the 1977 film, a number of people become obsessed with a mountain after a brief confrontation with light phenomena. They feel an irresistible desire to travel there. Once you arrive at the top, you will make contact with an impressive spaceship. But can one communicate with the visitors? And do they have good intentions? Particularly thanks to the extended version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind from 1980, with extra images in the spaceship, Steven Spielberg set a new standard for the science fiction film about aliens.

Horror and alien films go well together. Because if the aliens have evil intentions, humans are suddenly very vulnerable. A group of scientists in the Arctic discover this when they are visited by an alien who can take on the appearance of living things. A tense atmosphere arises in the camp as they try to find out who has turned into “a thing”. Furthermore, the alien must be stopped before it reaches civilization.

Paul Verhoeven adapted the popular science fiction book Starship Troopers into a film in 1997. The story is about a long-term war between humanity and insect-like creatures. Earth is ruled by a militaristic government that trains young people to serve in war. When the insects destroy some cities, it's time to strike back. The young recruits take part in a brutal invasion of the home planet of Klendathu. Like no other, Verhoeven knows how to add satirical elements, creating a unique film.

Predator (1987) is a nice mixture of action and science fiction. The leading role is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, in addition to showing a lot of muscle, also delivers a number of classic one-liners. As Dutch, Schwarzenegger and a commando team have to free a captured minister from a camp in the jungle in Guatemala. The action is successful, but the minister is missing. Dutch and his team retreat through the jungle to be picked up. On their journey through the jungle they are followed by a mysterious creature. Using a camouflage suit, the alien attacks the soldiers one by one. He seems invincible until they discover that

South African director Neill Blomkamp made his debut in 2009 with an original response to invasion films. In 1982, an alien ship appears above Johannesburg. Nothing happens for months and people decide to visit the ship. The aliens appear to be weakened and starving. They are taken from the ship and placed in a refugee camp called District 9. Crime arises in the camps and the aliens become addicted to cat food. Humanity is starting to look down on “shrimp”. Due to circumstances, a security officer flees the camp, which will have surprising consequences.

This classic 1956 science fiction film set the standard for subtle alien invasion. There is an epidemic in a Californian town. A growing number of people think that loved ones are no longer themselves. A doctor is intrigued by the phenomenon and investigates. Soon some of his friends find copies of themselves that are not yet fully grown. Once the copy is complete, it destroys the original. An extremely exciting situation arises: who is still human?

Arrival (2016) proves that an alien movie doesn't necessarily have to be about lasers and explosions. Mysterious ships land all over the world, after which linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is called in to make contact. The real battle takes place in words, misunderstandings and the political pressure that arises when no one knows what the visitors want. Arrival is exciting in a quiet way: every step towards communication feels like a risk. At the same time, it is a film with an emotional underlay that is gaining more and more weight. An alien film that is mainly about understanding, time and the price of knowing.

In Annihilation (2018), the alien film takes a strange, almost dreamlike twist. A meteorite impact creates an enclosed zone where nature goes off the rails and where people disappear. A team of scientists heads into the area, including Lena (Natalie Portman), who also has a personal reason to find answers. What they find does not feel like a classic invasion, but like a slow, incomprehensible process that rewrites everything: plants, animals, memories and even identity. The film is oppressive because it never tells you exactly what “it” is, but it does make you feel that you are too late to turn back.