Top Ten Best Alien Movies

Alien films have fascinated us since H.G. Wells “War of the Worlds.” With their alien landscapes, close encounters, and twilight zone appeal they are sure to keep you awake into the night.

The following are ten of the greatest alien movies of all time. These films reflect three different categories one is a more realistic account of E.T. contact with people and the other is a sci-fi thriller with suspense, and the third are more like message movies with benevolent aliens.

War of the Worlds (1953) was written as a novel by H.G. Wells. It was adapted into a screenplay by Barre Lyndon. The movie was directed by Byron Haskin. This was the epic sci-fi fantasy of aliens invading the earth. The eerie lighting and hovering UFOs give the movie quite an ambiance. Watch humans try to fight back the alien menace in this classic sci-fi film.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) was written by Steven Spielberg and Jerry Belson. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg. In this movie we have a secret project that is underway near a large mountainous rock formation. The government has their own private landing pad where numerous spaceships will land through an exchange program of pilots, citizens, and aliens.

Communion (1989) is a movie based upon the book Communion, written by Whitley Strieber. The screenplay for this movie was also written by Whitley Strieber. It is an excellent account of a man coming to terms with his visitation by alien beings. It is a mixture of reality coming apart at the seams, strangeness, and bizarre humor. Not to mention a great performance by Christopher Walken.

Fire in the sky (1993) as a screenplay was written by Tracy Torme. The film is an adaptation of a book by the same name by Travis Walton. This movie is more of a thriller and shows the darker side of alien abduction.

This movie is about a lumberjack that unfortunately, lets his curiosity get the best of him. He is taken for a period of days; in which he is stripped down naked, and deprived of food and water. The rest of the movie shows him trying to prove that he really was taken by little alien beings. He has a hard time convincing most people, and even goes in for a lie detector test.

E.T. or The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielberg. This film depicts the otherwise gray alien, with almost human eyes. This shows the alien as a benevolent being more or less trying to survive amidst a cold government that only wants to control it. This is a film geared more towards children, but with a strong message of alien interaction.

The Arrival (1996) was written and directed by David Twohy. It is a movie that shows a scenario of infiltration. In this picture Charlie Sheen becomes aware of a group of aliens gradually changing the environment through global warming to make the earth more compatible with their biology.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) was written originally by Harry Bates and adapted as a screenplay by Edmund H. North. The film was directed by Robert Wise. This is a film about a positive human alien with a message for humanity. He comes to teach people to be careful with the development of weapon technologies.

The message is that if human beings don’t control their need to develop destructive weaponry; the aliens may have to wipe us out completely. The logic follows that our destructiveness will upset the rest of the galaxy, thus we must be careful. And the freezing of all the machine powered gadgetry on earth is a demonstration of the alien’s true power; that we should most certainly fear.

They Live (1988) originally written as short story by Ray Nelson and adapted into the screenplay by John Carpenter. This film was directed by John Carpenter. It depicts a world pulled over our eyes. In this world we are living in a dream world that our alien masters have put over on us.

The aliens resemble a walking ghoul that talk into wrist watches. The character in this film starts to see the true reality with his special glasses. They are like x-ray glasses from a comic book, except they show the reality of the messages on the billboards, magazines, and even money.

Alien (1979) was written as a story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Alien was adapted to a screenplay by Dan O’Bannon. Alien was directed by Ridley Scott. This is a sci-fi action, thriller, suspense film at its finest. See a powerful heroine rise to the occasion to battle this formidable beast. The characters more or less try to survive being hunted down by a man-eating alien beast.

Predator (1987) was written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas. This film was directed by John McTiernan. Predator depicts a technologically advanced reptilian alien that enjoys eating people. This is an excellent adventure and suspense film. Watch Arnold Schwarzenegger battle it out with this reptilian hunter in the jungle.