ALIEN HORROR SUMMER: WRAP-UP
This summer…no one could hear you scream. From "A Quiet Place: Day One" to "Alien: Romulus" we took a look at true Sci-Fi horror with some unthinkable and truly visionary views on the terrors of life beyond our little blue marble...
by Nate Lemann
** SPOILER WARNING IS IN EFFECT **
BEST ALIEN HORROR FRANCHISE:
It takes a great movie to terrify us. It takes an even greater story to make you want to come back for MORE. These stories have earned the right to scare us for years and years to come...
1. Alien
There is no denying that this franchise stands above all others, irregardless of how you feel about the later films; without this franchise, this genre would not exist. It evolved not only horror but also thoughtful blockbusters by decades, continuing to reinvent itself with each subsequent entry while still delivering on the carnage and gore it has become known for.
2. Predator
The Omega to "Alien"'s Alpha in the "Alien Horror" pantheon. While the Alien franchise operates like a Swiss Army Knife in both tone and style, this franchise is a hammer, a blunt and direct action shot to the pupils. The only thing that matters in this cruel and dark world is how much punishment you can not only take...but how much can you give BACK! Its latest entrant is a sign of great things to come...
3. A Quiet Place
This is a rather recent entrant but just three films in, one can already tell this is one of the most accomplished franchises of the 21st century. The beasts and the conception of this world is brilliant but want sets these films apart are their deeply rooted humanity. Each entry will both terrify you and make you weep in equal measure. With its latest entrant a show stopping spectacle, bet on more of these to come in the very near future.
4. The Thing
While there is basically only two films in one continuity (plus a solid 1950s Sci-Fi B-movie), this can be hard to call a franchise. That said, the 1982 version is a masterwork like no other and no matter how many middling films make up this franchise, nothing can knock down the importance of the classic Kurt Russell-starer; it is just that perfect.
5. Cloverfield
This franchise, while having its dips and lulls, has proven to so far be an interesting sandbox for creative genre-filmmakers to flex their muscles and show off what they can do. Really only connected by the word "Cloverfield", the principals of this franchise are simple: add one ambiguous Sci-Fi threat, profound human-centric stories, and let the sparks fly. While seemingly dead for the moment, the beauty of this franchise is that it can come back when you least expect it.
BEST CREATURE DESIGN:
Life...well, life can be terrifying. Don't believe us? Take a look below to find out:
1. Xenomorphs & Facehuggers, Alien
It doesn’t get much better than H.R. Giger’s now iconic design, a creature so foreign yet so tactile and intuitive. The mixing of organic matter with a metallic looking exoskeleton will forever take your breath away. Ash describes it as the perfect organism, one built to withstand the harshest environments and with an aggressiveness and lack of moral code that he so admires. Extra love also should go to its early vestigial form as the terrifying facehugger, an invasive force that violates its victims (feeding into Dan O’Bannan’s psycho-sexual themes of rape and violation). Everything about the process of this creature’s birth and life cycle is just the epitome of horror.
2. The Thing, The Thing
John Carpenter is a legend for a reason and this film is his crowning achievement. It may even be the pinnacle for practical creature effects. By leaning hard into the concept of a shapeshifter species of alien that looks to assimilate all life into itself, it allowed Carpenter a tremendous freedom to play with multiple forms and iterations of the beast. The idea that every part of the creature IS the creature, looking out for its own survival, also gave us the lobster head effect and other very gruesome manifestations of the beast. Every iteration is a macabre masterpiece. Even its digitally enhanced prequel couldn’t match the original's visceral visual feel.
3. The Ventress Orb, Annihilation
I’m not even sure what to call this creature, if it's even a creature at all. Once Portman’s Lena makes it to the lighthouse, she encounters a version of Dr. Ventress speaking about her transformation into something…MORE. Lena goes on to witness Ventress disintegrate right before her eyes and reform into a shifting orb of matter that eventually takes the form of a humanoid being. The best Sci-Fi goes beyond our own conceptions of reality and leaves plenty of room for one’s own interpretation. Garland and his VFX team created something transcendent and beautiful that shatters our perceptions of what life can be.
4. Predators, Predator
The design and build of this formidable beast is so iconic that one can look past its many oddities in design (the dreadlocks are almost laughable) to appreciate this vision of true alien horror. Before we can even see it, we can hear its ominous clicking sounds as it stalks its prey. Its heat vision is also beautifully inventive and an intuitive visual style. Its myriad of weapons makes it immensely formidable. Once it removes its mask, its grotesque face forces one of Arnie’s best lines in “You one ugly son of a bitch!” It has become a hallmark of horror for a reason.
5. The Offspring, Alien: Romulus
Fede Alvarez’s great contribution to the Sci-Fi horror cannon will be the closing act of his new “Alien” movie: just when you think Rain, Kay, and Andy have survived the worst horror imaginable, Kay’s decision to use Rook’s pathogen proves to be the birth of ultimate horror. For decades, it has been hard to understand what the Weyland-Yutani suites hope to get by capturing a Xenomorph, almost as foolish weaponizing of an untamable predator as the recent “Jurassic World” films have been about. Rook finally delivers on the promise of the prequels, that the Company has been after the Engineer black goo that can augment humans in a way to evolve and be able to survive on harsh worlds...for a more efficient workforce that that can adapt to each harsh climate the Company wants to send them to. The result is creepy and uncanny, Kay giving birth to an Alien egg…with a human baby inside! That baby morphs into the most unholy looking Human/Xenomorph hybrid one could ever imagine, aggressive but also infantile. Pure terror…
6. The Tripods, War of the Worlds
Technically a weapon and not a creature, this faithful adaptation from the H. G. Wells novel was given a life of its own in this 2005 film. Its booming call was so alien and ominous. Its vaporizing rays so eerily efficient killing machines. Its mushroom design head mirroring its drivers’ own alien-shaped bodies. They are nearly indestructible and remorseless killers. The creepiest part is knowing that these monsters have been sitting below our feet for centuries now, waiting for their drivers to come back and take them on a genocidal rampage.
7. Calvin, Life
The primary antagonist in this Sci-Fi thriller starts out as a single cell organism but quickly grows into a formidable beast, every cell in its body both brain and muscle. Incorporating elements of an octopus into the creature’s design gives its movements an intuitive feel and uncanny naturalism that makes it even more terrifying, feeling like a real threat that only grows in proportion as it gets bigger and ever so SMARTER and STRONGER.
8. The Grey Men, No One Will Save You
Brian Duffield and team decided to stick with the old “Grey Man” model of an invading alien but mixed it up ever so cleverly. The first uncanny update was the “feet fingers”, its extra tapping making its approaching footsteps more ominous. The other was making this a non-homogenous species, with varying sizes and types of beings, from the standard scout to the little man to the very formidable daddy longlegs. Each new form only heightening the tension.
9. Jean Jacket, Nope
Leave it to Jordan Peele to total subvert the UFO genre in inventive and innovative ways. Not only is the object flying around at unnatural speeds not an object, but is in fact a creature itself, with its own predatory mind. What it does to those “abducted” is beyond horror (Peele wisely only showing horrific glimpses). Once it morphs out of its “UFO” form, the inspired imagery takes us to a whole new level of wonder and horror that you only hope the best Sci-Fi can accomplish.
10. Pod Creatures, Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The vestigial form of the creatures that floated on cosmic winds may look harmless but is in fact death incarnate. As one slowly fades, the beast inside grows to replace you! It’s psychological and existentially horrific to witness and something the practical effects of the 1970s makes all the more terrifying. The notion of armies of civilians spreading these demonic pods across the city sends shivers down your spines because it just seems that world after world will fall the same way as ours did.
BEST “ABDUCTION” SCENE:
You better pray you don’t end up in nightmare scenarios like these, where you go from being human to test subject for some monster’s little games…
1. The Lighthouse Dance, Annihilation
A trippy sequence of interpretive dance at first seems primal but soon turns into a realization this dance is meant to be a primer…on how to replace you!
2. The Probing, Fire in the Sky
The granddaddy probing sequence is so disturbing because of all the elements that don’t seem normal: the skin-like feel to the restraints. The beige and mushy environment. The callus attitude of the probers toward Travis. This scene is as gross as you could imagine.
3. The Black Water, Under the Skin
This feels like what you would get if you asked Kubrick to direct an abduction scene. It is uncanny and alien in all the right ways. From the pitch black mirror like water and environment, feeling like the endless void of space, to the way she continues to walk on water and they…well, they don’t. Masterful design and execution.
4. Jupiter’s Claim, Nope
The hubris of Ricky Jupe, the lone survivor of the chimp sitcom massacre, doomed so many to die. Instead of learning from his past trauma the folly of trying to tame nature for spectacle, he instead believed he was special and could get away with it again. The images from the bowels of the beast are some of the most disturbing from this whole list.
5. The Mouth Invader, No One Will Save You
This scene plays out in such horrific fashion, Dever’s character paralyzed and helpless to stop this slow moving squid ball from invading her mouth. For any screenwriters out there: take a look at the page describing this scene; one of the most inventive pieces of script writing you can find.
BEST SPACESHIP:
Sometimes the best supporting character doesn’t need to be human and we don’t mean synthetics: lets look at some of the best ships wondering through the scary void of space…
1. The Nostromo, Alien
One of the best set designs in film history, this floating fortress of a mining vessel is all steampunk and wet, making it feel like the Xenomorph will pop out of any corner. The fact it can move around the sometime cramped spaces with such ease adds a whole other level of horror to the creature.
2. The Engineers’ Ship, Alien
H. R. Giger’s design of the alien vessel we would come to learn is an Engineer’s spaceship is one of most innovative pieces of set design in film history, a truly foreign space that feels intuitive in a very odd way. It was so compelling that it inspired a whole prequel series to explain its origins.
3. The Event Horizon, Event Horizon
This ship may literally be the devil in this pulpy piece of space horror. After traveling to another dimension that may actually be hell, the spaceship Event Horizon has come back alive and looking for a new crew to torture. The only qualm you may have is that ship is very much designed like it was built by the devil when it was supposed to be Sam Neill’s Weir who actually designed it.
4. Alien Ship, Fire in the Sky
This abduction scene magnifies the horror with brilliant set design. The eponymous “fire in the sky” is the ship that is surrounded in “blood red” mist and has a veiny orb that seems to react to any and all of Travis’s movements. Once inside, the design is unnatural and “organically” gross with goops and non-intuitive spacial design. Very inspired, especially for its time. Also all the more horrifying because this may actually be what a real spaceship looks like if we are to believe the real-life Travis.
5. Pulsing Saucers, No One Will Save You
The first we see of this ship is obscured in the clouds, giving this ship design a very ominous feel. Once we see it pulse and communicate with the daddy longlegs creatures, our curiosity of how this ship works gets peaked. The final sequence inside gives this ship a tesseract like inner design, a seemingly endless room of psychedelic imagery…and aliens.
BEST HERO:
An alien is only as good as our heroes and this genre is full of some of the best in cinema history…
1. Ellen Ripley, Aliens
Who were we kiddin'? Number one was always going to be Ripley. The question becomes which performance should we pick for this list (if we don’t limit to one performance per character, it would be a list full of just Ripley)? The choice here has to be “Aliens”, the most badass the character has ever been, resourceful and tremendously defiant. I mean… “Get away from her, you bitch!” is as iconic as it gets. (Special shoutout to Bill Paxton’s “Game Over, Man!” line reading, as well)
2. MacReady, The Thing
From his fun introduction playing chess against a robot (“Cheating, bitch!”), it was obvious this was a character that was the everyman audiences would glom onto. What sets this character apart is he knows he is going to die and yet he still fights on, knowing that the only thing worse than death is becoming a part of the creature. His ultimate end is one of the most bittersweet moments of victory in film.
3. Naru, Prey
Underdog doesn’t even begin to cover how outmatched this Comanche warrior appears to be in the film but as we slowly come to learn, Naru may be the most dangerous predator of all: her ability to learn, adapt, and plan is unmatched and her ultimate coronation at the end is the resounding victory this heroine deserved.
4. Dutch, Predator
While less of an underdog figure than Naru, Dutch was still laid low by the fearsome Predator in the franchise’s first entry, losing his whole team of expert mercenaries to the beast. He is able to adapt and show this fearsome ghoul just how resourceful a killer MAN can be.
5. Lee Abbott, A Quiet Place
Krasinski’s Lee may be the most purely good character in the entire “Alien Horror” pantheon: a man whose whole life revolves around providing a den protection for his family. Lee can be awfully intense but he also has moments of exquisitely beautiful tenderness (the waterfall scene is a work of art). His ultimate sacrifice for his kids is the most gut-wrenching and beautiful acts of pure love in the whole series…and genre, frankly.
BEST NON-ALIEN VILLAIN:
Aliens can be scary…but sometimes they are the not the real threat you should be worried about…
1. David, Prometheus & Alien: Covenant
David was the unfortunate son of a cruel Peter Weyland, a man with such an inferiority complex that he had to put down his “perfect” son so often and so coldly that he drove him to become disillusioned with humanity (a species he only likes in the abstract, through the art it produced). He slowly morphs into a Dr. Moreau-type figure, the father of the Xenomorph design, taking over from the Engineer species he put to a grisly end. David’s distaste for humanity is only matched by his curiosity for carnage.
2. Ash, Alien
Ash walked so David could run: the seemingly most humane character in the film’s first entry turns out to be the most scary synthetic you could imagine, amoral and willing to put the whole crew in peril if it means fulfilling its prime directive. His final speech in praise of the Xenomorph is the most ominous monologue in the Alien Horror genre. His closing line (“You have my sympathies”) and smirk will haunt your dreams.
3. Burke, Aliens
For a franchise with the most fearsome aliens, it does sure have some best non-alien villains. Burke is such a slim-ball who presents as a good guy initially, but eventually proves how spineless and conniving this corporate stooge truly is. At least Ash had no choice but to betray his crew, given his prime directives. Burke has no such excuse for his nefarious betrayal of Ripley and the Marines.
4. Howard, 10 Cloverfield Lane
The best villains make you shift you precetptions of them ever so often and Howard is such a villain. Claiming the world outside his doomsday bunker is gone, we are not sure we can fully trust Howard, not really the benevolent savior he views himself as. He has a truly twisted view of gratitude and “family” that makes him make horrific choice after horrific choice.
5. Colonel Semiradov, Sputnik
The Colonel initially presents as a steadfast leader and a man of his word, but we quickly come to learn that his best intentions are anything but. The character feels like a commentary on the nefarious power of the Russian Military Industrial Complex in the late-80s, grasping at whatever weapon can help them hold back the tide as the Cold War comes to a close.
BEST PERFORMANCE:
For a genre as pulpy and gory as it is known for, the “Alien Horror” pantheon is full of timeless performances that elevate the horror genre to new levels…
1. Michael Fassbender, Prometheus & Alien: Covenant
The control and restraint in physical performance alone elevates Fassbender’s work as both David and Walter to new heights. This role lives in the micro-actions and Fassbender is unmatched in his ability to convey so much with only the slightest of movements. A shame we won’t get his envisioned third prequel with Ridley. We can keep hoping, though…
2. John Krasinski & Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place
This real life couple brought a staggering amount of vulnerability and pathos to the Abbott parents, a couple still reckoning with the unbearable loss of a child. In looking to bring a new child into this very harsh world, the two must reconcile their guilt with their sense of responsibility to protect those they still have left. They are incredibly raw and tender in this film, wearing their towering emotions on their sleeves. Blunt also has the birth scene to end all birth scenes, not allowed to scream…or ELSE.
3. Ian Holm & Sigourney Weaver, Alien
The antagonistic relationship between these two makes these characters jump off the screen in exciting ways, allowing the two talented performers to play with very complex interpersonal dynamics. Weaver, a then unknown, became the quintessential final girl and one of cinema’s ultimate heroins, the beacon all action actresses chase after. Holm gave the finest performance of his illustrious career, evolving from a quirky and humane seeming scientist into a cold and heartless monster, with a jump scare in the “Mother” control room that rivals anything the Xenomorph does in the film. He basically is the second monster of the movie, representing corporate, banal indifference to its employees’ well-beings in service of the bottom line.
4. Amber Midthunder & Dakota Beavers, Prey
The sibling bond between these two performers is so vividly brought to life, playing a dynamic of both mutual respect but a bit of insecurity and jealousy. Midthunder at first appears to be the underdog of the two but Beavers so exquisitely tells his sister that it is he who is jealous of her, recognizing the great warrior she truly is. You are made to care so deeply for these two that their ultimate parting will tear your heart straight out of your chest. “This is as far as you go…”
5. Kaitlyn Dever, No One Will Save You
Only one line of dialogue: that is all Dever had to work with in the film but she was able to convey so much through physical performance alone, one of the great acting feats of the genre. Instead of making the character quippy, the choice to have the heroin of the story be silent makes the terror that much more relatable. Her ability to communicate so much with so little is beyond praise.
6. David Jonsson, Alien: Romulus
There is something that must be so fun playing a synthetic in the Alien franchise: Jonsson gets what maybe the meatiest role yet, basically doing the duel role Fassbender did in ”Alien: Covenant”…but as the SAME character. The hapless version of Andy is warm and endearing, almost child-like (someone you don’t want to see terrorized by facehuggers, Xenomorphs, and…much worse). When he takes Rook's prime directives, he becomes a cold and calculated machine, showing a menace and certitude that is at once both terrifying and heartbreaking in his loss of innocence.
7. Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds
There was a point in time when Cruise wasn’t always just playing the literal manifestation of destiny. In those days, he even would play assholes…and play them well. Ray is one of those characters. He is a deadbeat dad who was probably a real charmer but was never equipped for caring for anyone but himself. When he is thrust into a mass disaster situation while he has his kids for the weekend, Ray must learn what it means to care for those behind himself. It is one of Cruise’s most nuanced and layered roles in years.
8. John Goodman, 10 Cloverfield Lane
It is an absolute travesty that Goodman has never even been nominated for an Academy Award, one of the most versatile and powerful performers of his generation. Howard is one of his very best roles, a believably real and unhinged lunatic who may be right about the world ending but doesn’t excuse his monstrous behavior. There are points in the film where Goodman makes you even feel for this horrible man and that is a sign of an actor with incredible command and range within the same role.
9. Millicent Simmonds & Noah Jupe, A Quiet Place
The fortune that Krasinski had in casting these two very talented child performers was a sheer stroke of luck as these performances may be the most natural and gifted showings by child actors ever. Jupe is amazing as the more nervy and babyish son, too scared of the harsh world around them. Simmonds is a supernova of an empathetic performer, carrying immense guilt that she projects onto her father. Marvelous performances by truly talented kids.
10. Lupita Nyong’o & Joseph Quinn, A Quiet Place: Day One
The performances by these two transcendent talents is soulful in a way you wouldn't expect from a big summer horror/action blockbuster. They both learn to come to grips with their mortality in profound and touching ways. There moment of cathartic release will make you shiver and hum at the same frequency as this wonderfully beautiful horror film.
BEST KILL / SET PIECES:
A horror movie can only be as good as its kills or set pieces and this sub-genre has some of the best...
1. The Chestburster, Alien
Arguably the most iconic movie death in film history: John Hurt goes all out in scene that was so shocking and gruesome, it launched this whole sub-genre by telling audiences that the horror they knew before was just a fraction of what…what was out THERE…
2. The CPR Scene, The Thing
Nothing will prepare for this shocking reveal, at once killing two base members with a horrific hell hole of a mouth. It comes out of nowhere and escalates at a breakneck pace. The reveal of the multiple versions of the Thing will haunt your nightmares.
3. The Blood Test, The Thing
The tension and paranoia is unbearably palpable in this scene where MacReady uses a bootstrapped blood test to root out the creature. Ever second that hot piece of metal gets close to the petrie dishes of blood is a moment of ratcheted up tension the likes of which will be hard to ever match again.
4. Dallas’s Death, Alien
The first time you watch this film, you are so shocked by the choice to kill Dallas so early on, the ostensible lead of the movie and the biggest star they had in Tom Skerritt. Its boldness is only matched by its flawless execution, the best jump scare in cinema for my money.
5. The Backburster, Alien: Covenant
Only Ridley Scott could've created a scene to rival the original chestburster. As a crew member on the Covenant begins to convulse after a spore infection, the Neomorph begins to take a...DIFFERENT route out of its host, killing off two of the main characters up to that point in horrific fashion.
6. The Scream, A Quiet Place
The most emotionally resonant death in the whole franchise (and maybe genre), Lee's choice to yell let's out a primal show of love for his beloved children and sentences himself to certain death to protect them from the Death Angels.
7. The Lighthouse, Annihilation
The moment Lena enters the lighthouse in the third act of this film, we leave the world of the "known" behind and are witness to the most existential and interpretive piece of art of the whole genre. From the reveal about Kane to Ventress's demise and, finally, Lena's mirror dance with the humanoid, you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.
8. David Kills a Planet, Alien: Covenant
From Fassbender's delivery of the Ozymandias line to the horrific visual grandeur that only Ridley Scott could execute, this sequence gives a glimpse of the horror the black goo bioweapon would've inflicted upon the earth, a planet completely taken over by the Xenomorphs in just an instant.
9. The Broken Forest, Prey
A true and terrifying exhibition of a Predator's ferocious fighting style, this master hunter makes quick and gruesome work of the French fur-trappers who are using Naru and her brother as bait. Watch this if only to see how the Predator turns a bear-trap into a grenade like projectile.
10. Dutch v. Predator, Predator
The original final showdown between Dutch and the Predator is a great battle of both wits and weaponry, with the very adaptable hunter underestimating how resourceful Dutch could be.
11. The Probing, Fire in the Sky
Everything about Travis's abduction is uncanny and unnerving and when they finally strap him down to the table, he is as helpless as it gets to stop the very terrifyingly invasive procedure.
12. The Kids Step Up, A Quiet Place Part II
The culmination of the children's character arcs in this sequel is both stirring and powerful, proving to their parents/guardians that they are more than capable to face a harsh world on their own.
13. The Tripod Emerges, War of the Worlds
There is a pure “Spielberg-ian” awe watching the birth of the Tripods, lit like a majestic painting. That awe soon turns to horror as it begins to vaporize bystanders indiscriminately. It is a scene that is very evocative of the street-level experience escaping the ash clouds during 9/11.
14. The Bridge Flips, War of the Worlds
Three years before Nolan would flip a truck in “The Dark Knight”, Spielberg flipped a whole bridge! It was a shocking moment of indifferent carnage most weren’t expecting from the more populist filmmaker behind “E.T.”. This was Spielberg in the darker pocket of his career and this scene was meant to evoke feelings of seeing familiar landmarks eviscerated with a causal ease. Devastating…
15. The Offspring Birth, Alien: Romulus
This whole sequence is so beautifully messed-up: from the horrifying realization her pregnancy has escalated to the violent birth and then to the final reveal of the baby’s final form, this sequence is pure terror. FUN NOTE: The moment of the offspring nursing off of Kay’s dead body is expertly foreshadowed in the classical paintings we saw adorn the walls of the Romulus station earlier in the film.
16. The C-Section, Prometheus
Shaw’s surprise pregnancy, even though she is baron, culminates in one of the most horrific c-sections ever depicted on screen. Special shoutout to Emily Blunt for her horrific birth scene in “A Quiet Place” but it doesn’t make this list because…well, she at least gave birth to a HUMAN child.
17. Naru v. Predator, Prey
It’s Naru’s world and the Predator is just living in it: Naru sets the perfect trap to slowly dismantle the apex hunter through slow cuts and an expertly placed weapons guidance system.
18. Bait / Samurai Battle, Predators
This film is full of fun kills. The two most memorable is the first one, where Danny Trejo’s sicario is dispatched and set up as a half-dead piece of bait; chilling stuff. The second is the beautifully shot sword battle between the Predator and the Yakuza enforcer. It feels like something out of an Akira Kurosawa film in the beauty of how it is shot and elegant violence.
19. Blood Rain, Nope
The terrible fate of the Jupiter’s Claim show is revealed in this scene when the screams of the abducted ring out over the farm house…and then suddenly comes to a stop. What follows is most horrible acid reflux scene you can imagine, the blood of the victims mixing with the rain outside.
20. Elizabeth Goes to Sleep, Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The horrible reveal when Matthew returns from his scouting mission to find Elizabeth has fallen fast asleep is topped moments later when her passed out body disintegrates in his hands, followed quickly by the reveal of the Pod Elizabeth. The VFX in this scene are years ahead of anything seen at the time and really startling to witness for the first time.
BEST DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
There have been some legendary directors in this genre, from Spielberg to Fincher to Carpenter to McTiernan, and so on and so forth. With all due respect to all those greats, this genre is and always will be Ridley Scott’s creation. “Alien”, one of his first films, is one of the best and most influential films ever created and his subsequent return to the genre was maybe flawed but endlessly more fascinating than most people’s magnum opuses. We live in the shadow of his monumental talent and achievement…and always will.
FINAL LIST & REVIEWS:
Below is our final list, now including the final ranking of “Alien: Romulus”, with links to each of the original reviews:
26. Europa Report (2013) Dir. Sebastián Cordero
The 2013 release is about a mission to uncover new potential life on Jupiter’s moon Europa, serving as both a cautionary tale and meditation on the price of discovery.
25. Fire in the Sky (1993) Dir. Rob Lieberman
The 1993 film is based on the “true” story of Travis Walton, an Arizona logger who has a chance encounter with a UFO but after he disappears, the question becomes if Travis was taken or the subject of foul play.
24. Event Horizon (1997) Dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
Paul W. S. Anderson’s demonic alien space thriller that, while well beyond the realm of credulity, is truly a grotesque hell of a time - it's “Alien” meets “Dante’s Inferno”.
23. Life (2017) Dir. Daniel Espinosa
This international starer from director Daniel Espinosa feels a bit like “Alien”-lite but still has enough style and creative creature design to entertain and scratch that "Alien Horror" itch.
22. Under the Skin (2014) Dir. Jonathan Glazer
This 2014 alien horror oddity is unlike anything else on our list; if only it stayed in that rarified existential air instead of looking to shock and sensationalize.
21. Nope (2022) Dir. Jordan Peele
Jordan Peele’s 2022 film is a tale about familial obligations and the trade-off you pay to observe a spectacle.
20. Predators (2010) Dir. Nimród Antal
The third film in the “Predator” franchise is a severely underrated action-horror thriller led by an imposing Adrien Brody.
19. Cloverfield (2008) Dir. Matt Reeves
The film that put Matt Reeves, Drew Goddard, and a young cast on the map in the found-footage, Kaiju attack movie.
18. Sputnik (2020) Dir. Egor Abramenko
A Russian cosmonaut survives a horrible reentry to Earth in 1983 Russia, but he did not come back alone…
17. Signs (2002) M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 summer thriller is a meditation on faith, as well as being a pretty scary and intimate alien invasion thriller.
16. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) Dir. Dan Trachtenberg
The stealth spiritual sequel to the found-footage alien invasion thriller takes the franchise in new but still terrifying direction, anchored by a powerhouse John Goodman performance.
15. Prometheus (2012) Dir. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott returns to the franchise that put him on the map…but this film is less concerned with Xenomorph mayhem, exploring deep existential themes like the origin of man and what it means to create life.
14. Alien: Covenant (2017) Dir. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott’s follow-up to “Prometheus” has more focus on Xenomorph violence than its predecessor, a more tightly written thriller/fun blockbuster with still plenty of existential questions on its mind.
13. No One Will Save You (2023) Dir. Brian Duffield
Aside from an amazing title, Brian Duffield’s 2023 film is a remarkable and fairly dialogue-free home invasion thriller that takes very unexpected turns in presenting alien horror elements in very fresh and inventive ways.
12. A Quiet Place Part II (2021) Dir. John Krasinski
John Krasinski’s follow-up to his sleeper hit, director breakthrough got buried in the COVID years but is just as powerful, if not more technically impressive than the original.
11. A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) Dir. Michael Sarnoski
Michael Sarnoski’s new entry in the stellar “A Quiet Place” franchise gifts audience a better glimpse of the mass destruction and mayhem of the Death Angels, but the movie really shines in the quiet moments of reflection.
10. War of the Worlds (2005) Dir. Steven Spielberg
Overshadowed at the time by its star’s odd off-screen behavior, this Alien Invasion thriller, that is very coded in 9/11 imagery, is Steven Spielberg putting on an absolute clinic, once again reminding us that he has no equals as a director.
9. Aliens (1986) Dir. James Cameron
James Cameron’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic alien horror thriller is an action extravaganza that really hits its stride in a breathless second half.
8. Alien: Romulus (2024) Dir. Fede Alvarez
Fede Alvarez steps into the director’s chair after years looking for the best path forward for the famed horror franchise, at first playing the hits from across the wide ranging horror filmography, but builds to creating something wholly new...and terrifying.
7. Prey (2022) Dir. Dan Trachtenberg
This inventive prequel/sequel to the action horror “Predator” franchise is set in the 18th century heartlands as a young Native American woman goes hunting for a new and dangerous predator to prove herself to her tribe.
6. A Quiet Place (2018) Dir. John Krasinski
The first entry in what is looking like the newest prestige horror franchise expertly created a new world and set of rules that immediately draw the audience in, but the movie is wisely more concerned with character-driven drama and emotional arcs getting paid off.
5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Dir. Philip Kaufman
This dread and paranoia filled classic from the 1970s is about a stealth invasion from alien spores but has much more on its mind than the average Sci-Fi fare.
4. Annihilation (2018) Dir. Alex Garland
Alex Garland’s follow-up to his breakthrough hit “Ex Machina” starts out as a generic “team on a mission” horror show…but mutates into something transcendent in its jaw dropping finale.
3. Predator (1987) Dir. John McTiernan
This seminal action horror spectacular is one of the most propulsive action movies ever made…and introduced one of the "holy two" alien horror species in cinema history.
2. The Thing (1982) Dir. John Carpenter
John Carpenter’s remake of the 1950s horror thriller escalates the horror to unthought of levels of grotesque terror…and became the most perfect encapsulation of paranoia.
1. Alien (1979) Dir. Ridley Scott
Our number one is not much of a surprise as Ridley Scott crafted one of (if not) the best Sci-Fi horror movie of all-time, a monster movie that changed the game in profound ways.
Thank you for joining us this summer in our exploration of the horrors laying in deep space...
Our full ”Alien Horror” list can be found here on Letterboxd
Think we missed something or disagree with our rankings? Let us know in the comments below!
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