Best Movies About Aliens: 29+ Films That Explore Life Beyond Earth

Movies About Aliens (Top Picks At A Glance)

Looking for the best alien movies around? You’ve come to the right place! Here are some of the greatest films about those otherworldly creatures.

Whether you’re looking for spine-tingling scares or thought-provoking stories, these movies are sure to give you a good dose of extraterrestrial activity. So sit back, relax, and get ready to watch some of the movies about aliens out there.

Alien Movie Description

The crew of the starship Nostromo is awakened from their cryogenic sleep capsules halfway through their journey home to investigate a distress call from an alien vessel.

They discover a nest of eggs inside the ship, and one of the crew members is attacked by an organism that emerges from an egg. This event causes him to fall into a coma. It isn’t long before all of them regret following protocol.

• How To Watch The Alien Movies In Order

Arrival Movie Description

Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguistics professor, leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world.

On the brink of global war, Banks and her colleagues must sprint against time to find a way to connect with the extraterrestrial guests. With fingers crossed, she takes a chance that could jeopardize not only her own life but also all of humanity.

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Super 8 Movie Description

A group of friends is making a zombie movie with a Super-8 camera. As they film their movie, they witness a train derailment and are lucky to escape with their lives.

They soon discover that the catastrophe was no accident as more mysterious events begin to occur. All the while, Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), searches for an explanation behind these strange happenings.

• Movies Like Super 8

Cloverfield Movie Description

As a group of New Yorkers enjoy a going-away party, they have no idea that they will soon face the most terrifying night of their lives.

A creature that is the size of a skyscraper appears in the city and begins to kill and destroy everything in its way. The friends who are trying to survive use a handheld video camera to record the fall of New York City.

• Cloverfield Movies Timeline

Dark Skies Movie Description

The Barrett family leads a normal life in the suburbs until they are targeted by an unknown and deadly threat.

Daniel (Josh Hamilton) and Lacy (Keri Russell) must use their courage and determination to protect their family and identify what is after them.

District 9 Movie Description

Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth seeking refuge from their dying planet. They are placed in a district in South Africa called District 9 and are managed by Multi-National United.

MNU is only interested in the aliens’ advanced technology and not their welfare. When a company field agent contracts a mysterious virus that begins to alter his DNA, he must go into hiding in District 9.

Life Movie Description

The astronauts aboard the International Space Station are at the forefront of a groundbreaking discovery: evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars.

As they conduct their research, they quickly realize that this life form is far more intelligent and terrifying than they could have imagined.

• Movies Like Life

Europa Report Movie Description

Six astronauts take a spacecraft to explore one of Jupiter’s moons that may harbor life.

However, as unexpected events begin to unfold, their mission ends in total disaster.

Sputnik Movie Description

At a top-secret research facility during the Cold War, a young doctor is summoned to examine a cosmonaut who may not have returned from orbit alone.

• Movies Like Sputnik

Fire In The Sky Movie Description

Five men driving home after work see a mysterious light in the sky. Travis Walton (D.B. Sweeney) leaves the truck to investigate and is abducted by a UFO.

The other four men report the event but are met with skepticism. When Walton reappears five days later, he tells his story of alien abduction. However, no one wants to believe him.

Knowing Movie Description

A professor’s son decodes a time capsule message that predicts major disasters.

When no one believes him, he sets out to save the world with the help of the author’s daughter and granddaughter.

The Thing Movie Description

A group of American research scientists is disturbed when a helicopter starts shooting at a sled dog. They take in the dog and discover that it can transform into the victims it takes.

A resourceful helicopter pilot and camp doctor team up to lead the other members of the camp in a desperate attempt to kill the creature before it can slaughter them all.

Close Encounter Of The Third Kind Movie Description

Some people are driven to discover the truth, no matter the cost. When Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) sees an unidentified flying object, he is determined to find out what it is.

Despite warnings from others, he remains committed to learning more about UFOs- even if it means risking his life.

Independence Day Movie Description

A group of strangers must work together to stop an impending global catastrophe over the Fourth of July weekend. They are disparate and unprepared people, brought together by chance and unimaginable circumstances.

As strange phenomena surface around the globe, they must band together to prevent utter annihilation.

Edge Of Tomorrow Movie Description

When Earth is invaded by aliens that are immune to any form of military attack, Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is involuntarily assigned to a suicide mission. After dying almost instantly in combat, Cage finds himself stuck in a time loop, in which he has to relive the same brutal fight and his death over and over again.

However, with each repetition, Cage becomes better at fighting, leading him and a comrade (Emily Blunt) closer and closer to defeating the aliens.

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War Of The Worlds Movie Description

Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockworker who is trying to build a positive relationship with his children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). At first, it seems like another weekend of tension when his ex-wife drops their kids off at Ray’s house.

But then, strange electromagnetic pulses hit the area, and it turns out to be the start of an alien invasion. Ray must now protect his children as they seek refuge from the aliens.

Prometheus Movie Description

Two brilliant young scientists, Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), lead an expedition to the darkest parts of the universe after discovering a clue that could reveal mankind’s origins on Earth.

Shaw hopes they will meet a race of benevolent beings who will confirm her religious beliefs, while Holloway is determined to debunk any spiritual notions. However, neither scientist nor their shipmates are prepared for the horrors that await them.

Starship Troopers Movie Description

The war against the alien Bugs has been raging for years, but there was a time before that. Hoping to get back to those times, a Mobile Infantry travels to their planet to take the war to them.

The Bugs are determined to wipe out humanity, no matter what the cost. But for the soldiers of the Mobile Infantry, there is only one mission: survival, no matter what.

Annihilation Movie Description

Lena, a biologist, and former soldier joins an expedition to uncover the truth about her husband’s disappearance inside Area X, a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is spreading across the American coastline.

Lena hopes to find some answers about what happened to her husband and discover what secrets Area X may hold. Immediately upon entering, the expedition members are met with disfigured landscapes and creatures which threaten their lives and mental state.

• Movies Like Annihilation

Men In Black Movie Description

Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) and Jay (Will Smith), two Men in Black agents, investigate a series of unregistered close encounters.

They soon discover that an intergalactic terrorist is on a mission to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies currently in residence in New York City.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Movie Description

Elliott (Henry Thomas) is just an average kid living in suburban California when he discovers a gentle alien stranded on Earth.

He befriends the extraterrestrial, christens it E.T., and brings it into his home, introducing it to his brother and sister. But when E.T. falls ill, the government intervenes and Elliott faces a dire situation.

• Where Was E.T. Filmed?

Avatar Movie Description

The Na’vi live on the lush planet of Pandora. They are highly evolved beings, but because the planet’s environment is poisonous, human/Na’vi hybrids called Avatars must link to human minds in order to move around freely.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine who is now paralyzed, becomes mobile again through an Avatar. He falls in love with a Na’vi woman and as their bond grows stronger, he is drawn into a battle to save her world.

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Attack The Block Movie Description

Aliens have landed in South London, and a group of teenagers must band together to stop them.

Dark City Movie Description

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens in a strange hotel with no memory of who he is or what he has done. He soon learns that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders, but he can’t remember whether he committed them or not.

As he struggles to figure out his identity, Murdoch discovers a dark underworld controlled by the Strangers, a group of enigmatic beings who may have something to do with his amnesia.

• Best Dystopian Movies

The Tomorrow War Movie Description

A group of time travelers arrives from the year 2051 to warn that in thirty years, mankind will lose a global war against a deadly alien species.

Extinction Movie Description

A man’s home life begins to unravel when he starts having nightmares about a destructive and unknown force.

When extraterrestrials launch a devastating attack on the planet, he must find the strength to save his wife and two daughters.

Dune Movie Description

Paul Atreides is a young, gifted man who is thrust into a great destiny that he does not understand. He ventures to a hostile world with bountiful resources to protect the future of his loved ones.

With factions vying for control over the planet’s scarce resources, only the brave will thrive.

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Signs Movie Description

Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his family experience a life-altering event when they find strange markings carved into their crops. Graham investigates the markings and their origins, learning more about them than he ever could have imagined.

As he comes to understand the true significance of the crop signs, his life and the lives of his loved ones are changed forever.

Pixels Movie Description

When aliens misinterpret video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, they attack Earth, using the games as models.

In order to save the planet, President Will Cooper (Kevin James) recruits his childhood pal and former video-game champ Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler) to lead a team of old-school arcade players in an all-out battle against the aliens.

5 More Movies About Aliens (Honorable Mentions)

While our top picks offer a diverse range of perspectives on extraterrestrial life, there are plenty of other movies that delve into the theme of aliens. From humorous takes on the idea of life beyond Earth to more serious explorations of the implications of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, these honorable mentions still manage to offer an entertaining glimpse into the rich history of movies about aliens.

Though they didn’t make the cut for our top picks, these movies are sure to entertain and possibly even frighten you. So if you’re looking for something a little different in the world of sci-fi and have watched through all our top picks, make sure to add these to your watchlist!

• Rim Of The World (2019)
• Jiu Jitsu (2020)
• Pacific Rim (2013)
• Prey (2022)
• I Am Number Four (2011)