The 53 Best Alien Movies of All Time

 

The 53 Best Alien Movies of All Time

Look—let's not beat around the bush. We love aliens. Everyone loves aliens. If you're watching a mediocre movie and it turns out to be an Alien movie? It's automatically a million times better. We always want to know what's going on in a world beyond our own, even if usually it's not even somewhat based in reality. Whether it's a world where they're running rampant—like, say Guardians of the Galaxy—or a world where they're basically hunting us down one-by-one—like, say, the entire Alien franchise—an Alien always makes for a great movie hook.

But what is it about this trope that we find ourselves so drawn to? Why do we love Alien movies so much, and why does Hollywood love the idea so much that it keeps churning out movies of widely-varying quality? It's probably something of a cross between the idea of otherworldly beings in and of itself, a human being's nature of being drawn to fear, and the curiosity of the unknown. In the case of Jordan Peele's Nope—one of the best movies of 2022—it's all about the addiction and obsession with spectacle. And that's something that's present in varying degrees in just about every wake of life.

But we also have to be real—it's obviously not always that deep. Sometimes the aliens are just...out to kill us. Other times, they're voiced by Seth Rogen, and hanging out with nerds played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. We're OK with movies like that, too.

So whenever you're feeling like you want a peek into a world that's either slightly different or very different from our own, the movies on this list should always be a good bet.

We can have all sorts of debates on which of Jordan Peele's three films (the other two being Get Out and Us) is best, but Nope is without question his biggest. The movie keeps form with his others in that you'll be thinking hard about everything you just saw the second the movie is over—and be thrilled every second of the way on your way there. Nope is one of the very best films of 2022, alien or not.