Alien Invasions: Our List of Top Otherworldly Films to Watch

Whether it’s here on Earth or in deep space, there’s always something that’s out to get the human race. Here are just some of our favourite alient invasion movies with an added hint of horror.

“Alien” (1979) directed by Ridley Scott and starred Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. The film follows the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo as they encounter a deadly extraterrestrial life form.

“Event Horizon” (1997) directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starred Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, and Kathleen Quinlan. The film follows a rescue crew sent to investigate a missing spaceship, only to find a mysterious and deadly presence aboard.

“Sunshine” (2007) directed by Danny Boyle and starred Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, and Chris Evans. The film follows a crew on a mission to reignite the dying sun, but their journey takes a terrifying turn as they face unexpected threats and confront their own psychological demons.

“Prometheus” (2012) directed by Ridley Scott and starred Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, and Guy Pearce. The film serves as a prequel to the “Alien” franchise and follows a team of scientists as they search for the origins of humanity, only to encounter a dark and dangerous threat.

“Life” (2017) directed by Daniel Espinosa and starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, and Rebecca Ferguson. The film follows a crew on the International Space Station as they discover a new life form, but as they try to study it, they soon find themselves fighting for their lives.

“Pandorum” (2009) directed by Christian Alvart and starred Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, and Cam Gigandet. The film follows two astronauts who awaken from hypersleep on a seemingly abandoned spaceship and must uncover the truth about what happened to the crew and their mission.

“Moon” (2009) directed by Duncan Jones and starred Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, and Dominique McElligott. The film follows an astronaut working on a lunar mining base who begins to question his own identity and the true purpose of his mission.

“The Thing” (1982) directed by John Carpenter and starred Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, and Keith David. The film is set in the remote Antarctica and follows a group of researchers as they are threatened by an alien life form that can mimic and assimilate its prey.

“Phantasm” (1979) directed by Don Coscarelli and starred A. Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister, and Bill Thornbury. The film follows a young boy as he discovers a mysterious mortician who is behind a series of brutal deaths, with a possible connection to another dimension.

“The Descent” (2005) directed by Neil Marshall and starred Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, and Alex Reid. The film follows a group of female cave explorers who become trapped in an underground cave system and must fight for survival against deadly creatures.

“Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) directed by Stephen Chiodo and starred Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, and John Allen Nelson. The film follows a small town that is attacked by aliens disguised as clowns.

“The Andromeda Strain” (1971) directed by Robert Wise and starred Arthur Hill, James Olson, and Kate Reid. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton and follows a team of scientists as they race to contain a deadly virus that has fallen to Earth from space.

“Phobos” (2021) directed by Matt Rifino and starred Anna Harr, Ethan McDowell, and Ry Barrett. The film follows a team of astronauts on a mission to explore the mysterious moon of Mars, Phobos, but their journey takes a terrifying turn when they discover an alien presence.

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) directed by Robert Wise and starred Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Hugh Marlowe. The film is a classic science fiction film and follows an alien visitor and his menacing robot who come to Earth with a warning of the consequences of humanity’s violent behavior.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956) directed by Don Siegel and starred Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, and Larry Gates. The film is a classic science fiction horror film and follows a small town as its residents are gradually replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

“Quatermass and the Pit” (1967) directed by Roy Ward Baker and starred James Donald, Andrew Keir, and Barbara Shelley. The film follows a team of scientists as they uncover a mysterious alien spacecraft buried beneath the London subway, which unleashes a terrifying force.

“Forbidden Planet” (1956) directed by Fred M. Wilcox and starred Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and Leslie Nielsen of Naked Gun fame. The film is a classic science fiction film and follows a spaceship crew as they visit a mysterious planet and encounter a mad scientist and his dangerous creations.

“The Thing from Another World” (1951) directed by Christian Nyby and starred Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, and Robert Cornthwaite. A classic science fiction horror film and follows a team of scientists as they encounter a deadly alien life form in the Arctic.