Best Alien Movies for Every Kind of Sci-Fi Fan to Watch
Posted inMovies & Series

Best Alien Movies for Every Kind of Sci-Fi Fan to Watch

Best Alien Movies: 8 Essential Picks for Every Kind of Sci-Fi Fan

Key takeaways

  • Choose from alien horror, family adventures, first-contact dramas, invasion stories, and comedy.
  • Start with Alien for suspense, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for warmth, or Arrival for thoughtful science fiction.
  • The picks are organized by mood rather than presented as a definitive ranking.
  • For a thoughtful first-contact double feature, pair The Day the Earth Stood Still with Arrival.

Table of contents

The best alien movies offer more than visitors from another planet: they can be terrifying creature features, gentle family adventures, tense invasion stories, or thoughtful first-contact dramas. This list covers all four, from landmark classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still to modern picks like Arrival. It isn’t a definitive ranking; it’s a guide to finding the kind of extraterrestrial story you want to watch.

Here, “alien movie” means a film where extraterrestrial life is central to the story—not simply a sci-fi film with alien characters in the background. The American Film Institute’s science-fiction list and the BFI’s selection of films about aliens visiting Earth are useful reference points, but they cover different ground. The picks below are organized by mood, so you can start with the one that suits you.

Best alien horror movies

Alien (1979): For claustrophobic creature horror

Ridley Scott’s Alien traps the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo in a nightmare they can’t simply escape. The threat is a single, deadly extraterrestrial creature, but the film’s tension also comes from its setting: narrow corridors, isolated workspaces, and a crew far from help.

Choose this one if you want suspense and creature horror rather than a large-scale invasion. It’s a landmark of science-fiction filmmaking, included in AFI’s top 10 science-fiction films, and its AFI catalog entry records its Academy Award for visual effects.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956): For paranoia instead of space battles

Not every frightening alien arrives in a spacecraft. In Invasion of the Body Snatchers, people in a small California town are replaced by alien duplicates. The premise turns the familiar into something unsettling: the danger is difficult to recognize, and trust becomes part of the suspense.

It’s a strong choice if you prefer psychological unease to a creature-feature setup. AFI includes the film in its science-fiction top 10, reflecting its place among the genre’s enduring classics.

Best alien movies for family viewing

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): For a warm, accessible adventure

Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial follows a boy who finds a stranded alien and tries to help him get home. The focus is on the bond between the child and the visitor, making this a gentler alternative to films built around invasion or pursuit.

It’s a natural starting point for viewers who want wonder and emotion rather than sustained horror. AFI includes E.T. among its top science-fiction films, and Rotten Tomatoes’ critics’ consensus highlights the film’s blend of adventure and childhood feeling. Its warmer tone makes it more approachable than Alien, though parents may still want to consider what suits the children watching with them.

Best first-contact movies

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951): For a classic alien warning

In this influential first-contact story, an alien visitor arrives on Earth with a message for humanity. Rather than centering on a battle between species, the film uses the encounter to explore how people respond to a warning from beyond their world.

Pick it for a concise classic that puts the ideas behind first contact front and center. It appears in AFI’s science-fiction top 10, alongside several other films on this list.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): For wonder and mystery

If you’d rather watch people drawn toward an encounter than fight off an invasion, try Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg’s film builds around the mystery of contact: an inexplicable experience unsettles ordinary life and leads people toward something they don’t yet understand.

The tone is more curious and awe-filled than frightening. The BFI includes it in its guide to films about aliens visiting Earth, making it an apt pick for viewers who want a sense of discovery instead of a conventional alien attack.

Arrival (2016): For thoughtful, modern first contact

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival begins with the appearance of mysterious spacecraft and follows linguist Louise Banks as she works to communicate with their occupants. Language and interpretation sit at the heart of the story, making it a different kind of first-contact film from the older classics on this list.

Choose Arrival if you’re in the mood for measured science fiction that treats communication as the central challenge. It’s a useful modern companion to The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind: all three are interested in what contact means, but Arrival approaches the question through the work of understanding an unfamiliar language.

Best alien invasion movies

The War of the Worlds (1953): For a classic invasion story

Based on H. G. Wells’s novel, The War of the Worlds brings an extraterrestrial attack to Earth. It’s the pick for viewers who want a direct invasion narrative, with humanity facing an outside force rather than trying to build a relationship with a visitor.

The BFI includes the film in its selection of notable alien-visit movies. Its 1953 setting in this list also makes it a useful comparison with the other classic-era choices: The Day the Earth Stood Still focuses on a visitor’s warning, while The War of the Worlds centers on the threat of attack.

Best alien comedy

Men in Black (1997): For action with a comic streak

Men in Black takes the idea of aliens on Earth in a lighter direction, mixing secret-agent action with comedy. The film is a good option when you want extraterrestrial encounters without the tension of Alien or the reflective pace of Arrival.

It suits viewers looking for a fast-moving, playful watch. AFI included it among the nominees for its science-fiction list, though it wasn’t one of the final top 10 selections (AFI’s nominee list).

Which alien movie should you watch first?

Let your preferred mood decide:

If you want… Start with…
Suspense and creature horror Alien
Psychological paranoia Invasion of the Body Snatchers
A gentler, emotional adventure E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Classic first contact The Day the Earth Stood Still
Mystery and wonder Close Encounters of the Third Kind
A thoughtful modern story Arrival
An alien attack The War of the Worlds
Comedy and action Men in Black

These films also show why “alien movie” isn’t one fixed genre. Some are horror stories, some are adventures, and others are about communication or human reactions to the unknown. If you’re choosing for a mixed-age group, E.T. is the gentler starting point; if you want a darker night, begin with Alien. For a thoughtful first-contact double feature, pair The Day the Earth Stood Still with Arrival.

The takeaway: Start with Alien for fear, E.T. for warmth, Close Encounters for wonder, or Arrival for a more reflective take on meeting extraterrestrial life.