Even though Steven Spielberg's E.T. (1982) would like the audience to believe the opposite, aliens visiting the Earth isn't always a merry occasion. More often than not, aliens decide to invade the planet, and it's up to humans to stop them — something which is easier said than done.
Adding to this suspense, the aliens often have a technology that’s superior to humans or arrive in great numbers. Whatever the case, some of the best alien invasion movies create a story so suggestive it feels like it could very well happen in real life…which makes these movies even more intense and sometimes scary to the audience.
5 The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Day the Earth Stood Still became one of the science fiction classics that have aged well. Despite the large number of movies about alien invasions, this one stands out among the rest. The main reason is that in this story, the invasion doesn’t involve hundreds, or thousands of aliens. Instead, it’s just one alien – Klaatu – and he doesn’t have bad intentions. His goal is to persuade humans to stop destroying the planet, and it’s only when the peaceful negotiation seems to fail that Klaatu chooses a different approach.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic science fiction movie that still has the power to make the audience think. Even though many people could have perceived him as the villain, Michael Rennie’s Klaatu ultimately comes across as sympathetic. The movie inspired a 2008 remake with Keanu Reeves in the leading role. The remake didn’t do so well with the viewers even though it also has a lot to offer, including Reeves’ strong and calm performance.
4 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
The alien invasion story Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been adapted multiple times, most notably in 1956, 1978 and 2007. But while the original black-and-white version does have its charm, the 1978 movie works stands up best to this day. Unlike other alien invasions, this one is hard to fight since it starts quietly. Instead of raining down hell from the skies, the aliens replace people by their identical but emotionless copies when people go to sleep.
And since everybody has to sleep sooner or later, there's no real way how to fight what's happening. The movie offers a strong atmosphere, memorable acting performances by Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, and Veronica Cartwright, as well as a terrifying ending that leaves a long-lasting impression.
3 Independence Day (1996)
Director Roland Emmerich specializes in catastrophic movies in which some type of disaster force threatens to destroy the planet. Other than natural causes or space objects, Emmerich used aliens in this movie that has since become an icon of the genre. In fact, it earned a sequel Independence Day: Resurgence twenty years later. The movie shows what happens when aliens decide to destroy the planet and only a handful of brave people can stop them from doing so.
The movie offers many fun performances from well-know actors, most notably Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith, and Bill Pullman. It offered impressive special effects, such as the destruction of the White House. To this day, many people consider Bill Pullman’s character one of the best fictional presidents. Independence Day was nominated for two Oscars and won the award for Best Visual Effects.
2 Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)
Getting stuck in a time loop is never good news…unless it’s the only way how to save everyone from dying at the hands of a hostile alien army. After getting caught in the loop, Tom Cruise’s Bill Cage spends each day getting a step closer to the solution before he always dies. Fortunately for him, the experienced soldier Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) is there to lend him a hand.
Emily Blunt is no stranger to alien invasion movies. Unlike the civil A Quiet Place, Edge of Tomorrow features more than one battle as well as other action scenes. At its core, though, it’s still a movie about the power of sacrifice and even love, which when mixed with the action sequences and the time loop theme, makes for a compelling story.
1 A Quiet Place (2018)
Some of the best science fiction movies successfully combine sci-fi with horror. In A Quiet Place, the alien invasion has already happened…and humans lost. Now, the rest of them survive in a world where aliens reside and hunt everyone who makes a sound. The movie doesn’t offer a huge scope, so the audience doesn’t know what’s happening elsewhere. Instead, it focuses on one family that’s trying to survive from day to day.
The down-to-Earth approach works as it allows the audience to get to know the heroes well, and to start fearing from their lives. The tension rises even higher once it becomes obvious that the mother is about to give birth…and everyone knows that babies make a lot of noises. By directing this movie and acting in it opposite both his real and onscreen wife Emily Blunt, John Krasinski proved he was just as talented at directing as he is at acting. The atmospheric movie was a success and earned a sequel in 2020.