Top 10 Alien Invasions

Alien Invasions

Alien invasions are often the subject in many sci-fi films, and they're usually portrayed as mindless killers. Here I have compiled a list of my top 10 favorites sticking specifically to film.

#10 Men In Black (1997)  (7/10)

Surely you must know the plot to this one. It follows a secret organization, known as 'Men In Black', that monitor alien life on Earth, effectively hiding their existence from society. The film is a nice take on a classic Marvel comic series, and it blends action and comedy sequences together to make an overall pleasant viewing experience. This seemingly major alien threat is never once taken seriously, and it provides a light hearted tale that differs itself from the majority of this list.

#9 Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1978)  (8/10)

This is a remake of a 1956 classic of the same name, and it couldn't be more different to number ten. It tells the story of a parasitic species that abandon their dying home planet and arrive in San Francisco via solar wind. Here they gradually replace humans with identical clones, known as 'pod people', to the unknowing public. This premise makes for a genuinely chilling experience, the fact that the aliens could be absolutely anyone means this film never gets boring. There is always a sense in your mind that the person who has just walked into shot could be an alien. This well paced story eventually leads to a fantastic climax, which involves that iconic scream above, and provided a thrilling cliffhanger that still traumatizes me today. A brilliant take on the alien invasion genre that may just mentally scar you for life.

#8 Superman 2 (1980)  (6/10)

It didn't help that half of this film had to be shot again, but ignore the lackluster film and you have a decent alien invasion. The actual invasion only consists of three people, who are led by legendary villain General Zod, whose one liners and general screen presence instantly make him one of my all time favorite villains. The story is they seek revenge after their home planet is destroyed by a hydrogen bomb, and with new powers granted by the sun they just generally become douchebags. They do leave a lot to be desired, but their presence is both entertaining and a little shabby at the same time.

#7 The Thing (1982)  (7/10)

This is one of the main reasons I won't go anywhere near Antarctica, it is the stuff of nightmares, and still continues to haunt me to this very day. This sole alien is a parasitic species that lives inside a human. It can pass completely undetected from human to human, and just so happens to inhabit an Antarctic research station, which leaves me and the crew with brown stained pants. The film is both horrific and gory, something that it's been heavily criticized for. Although to me it just makes the alien seem that much worse, the exceptional special effects really don't leave much to the imagination, making the parasite seem all that more horrific. Overall a really good idea, but then I've always loved parasitic alien species, I just find them so interesting.

#6 The Avengers (2012)  (5/10)

Probably the most overrated, and unoriginal film of all time, but at the same time pretty fucking successful. 1.51 billion is how much this film made in dollars, the third highest in history. I'm not really sure why, it isn't anything special, it just looks quite nice, and also features a nice alien invasion. The aliens in this case are known as 'Chitauri', who invade Earth when they join forces with the evil Loki. That's certainly not a bad idea, but for me the film is too action orientated and cliche ridden to be any good. It's not necessarily a bad film, I just never remember enjoying any of it, despite repeated thoughts that this might be quite awesome.

But as much as the flawed script and poor direction let it down, it still has a nice alien invasion which serves as an anchored backdrop to what should have been a solid plot. I would also praise the performance of Loki, Tom Hiddlestone works his British charms a treat, and this works as an effective portrayal of such a powerful character. But unfortunately the rest of the star studded cast don't quite live up to their billing, and they end up trying to get noticed over each other, which leaves the script feeling very flat, and lacking any depth to convey a good story. I guess I felt there was something missing from all the action, the solid alien invasion certainly didn't hurt though.

#5 Mars Attacks (1996)  (7/10)

This list has been a bit serious so far, so here we have an entry that's just some good lighthearted fun, mixed with a bit of murder. 'Mars Attacks' is the satirical story of a martian invasion of Earth. The farce that follows next is quite extraordinary, the film goes from blackmailing president Jack Nicholson to bowling with the Easter Island statues, in a moment that really must be seen to be believed. I just like that in a genre dominated by serious pieces that this film can come along and shit on them all. My only real problem comes from the fact that the stellar cast is not suitable for what is essentially a B movie. Sometimes it does try and take itself too seriously, but I don't really care in the end, it's just utterly ridiculously and stupidly good fun.

#4 District 9 (2009)  (8/10)

This is an exceptional example of an invasion film, because it isn't like anything else on this list. Out of a genre that really doesn't vary much, this is the most original and unique the film industry can come up with. For once an alien invasion film becomes a political drama and focuses on more ethical dilemmas rather than endless action shots. It takes place in 1982 Johannesburg, when an alien ship is found with malnourished inhabitants aboard. The government forces them to live in an area known as 'District 9', where race wars and cultural clashes soon occur.

This is a classic piece of political fiction, that puts a new spin on an already powerful topic. The story sends the viewer strong messages on both racial segregation and national identity. It's probably not going to be the revolutionary that it claimed to be, but it is an extremely well worked and directed take on the sci-fi genre.

#3 War of The Worlds (2005)  (6/10)

This really is the blueprint for all alien invasion movies. It is genesis, all other movies would follow in its footsteps, and everything you see in any other films is based off of this film. It is the original disaster thriller, and is based on the classic HG Wells novel. It is probably best remembered for the tripod like spiders that clamber out of the ground the vaporize Earth's cities, which is quite an awesome plot, especially considering they have huge laser cannons that obliterate anything in range. The romantic and personal aspects of the plot sometimes do get a little distracting, but the aliens are usually kept to the fore, which is the main thing, even if the ending is very anticlimactic. Although I will give praise to the director for sticking to the book's original ending, even if it does fall a little flat.

But if you ignore the pathetic ending then you have a solid film that harbors fucking awesome aliens. Overall it is a nice film to look at, especially the destruction scenes, which are expertly shot. But I really feel that the aliens could of made to be more intimidating, they don't really have any purpose, and there is very little direct contact with them. However, this is a very harrowing experience, one that seems so plausible that it almost makes it realistic. For once on this list you get the impression that these aliens could be a genuine threat to humanity, and realism is a hard thing to pull off in a sci-fi film.

#2 Predator (1987)  (8/10)

A personal favorite of mine that also happens to be a pretty awesome invasion. It tells the story of a group of commandos who find out they're being hunted by a super-evolved alien life form in the jungles of Central America. I just find this film awesome, everything from Arnold Schwarzenegger to the brilliant special effects, which are put to great use in multiplying the threat of the invasion and giving it powers such as active camouflage and thermal imaging. It's not a film that relies on finer details, often resorting to brutal 'Arnie' style fight sequences that carry this film along at an incredible pace. But in my opinion this just makes the alien that much more brilliant, there still isn't any back story on the alien, but who cares when he can fire fucking lasers out of his shoulders.

I also think that by not giving the alien a back story it creates a sense of mystery. It's not heavily featured like in other similar films, and so when we do get a shot of this elusive life form you can't help but feel exciting, after all it has laser cannons in its fucking shoulders. There really isn't much else to say about it, but brawn versus aliens never gets old. Oh, and laser cannons, can't forget them.

#1 Independence Day (1996)  (7/10)

I don't think anyone can really argue with this decision. It might be a lackluster film, but I really don't think any other invasion comes anywhere near. This really is the invasion in the movie universe, this huge blockbuster really has become the epitome for all sci-fi films to follow. It centers around an alien mothership that enters Earth's orbit, and a team of cliche ridden soldiers have to try and destroy it using limited firepower. No other invasion film shows destruction on this scale, The White House being destroyed is both an iconic and visually stunning scene that shits on any American in the audience. In a way it almost becomes like the Death Star battle from 'Star Wars Episode IV', just a bit shitter. But you can't deny that the beautifully shot action sequences serve only to highlight the brutal and menacing qualities of these invaders.

Unfortunately this is another invasion film that suffers a disappointing ending, which after the previous action sequence really felt like a middle finger shoved right in my face. I understand that firepower wasn't a feasible option, but a computer virus, yeah, that won't be anticlimactic. I also don't like the fact that they created a very well worked invasion and then made no attempt to make the aliens in any way interesting. The only impression I got was that they were over-sized squid, who travel around on a huge plate, and just generally become a nuisance. But even these poorly worked squid things are better than the human cast, who try their best to ruin what could have been an epic film. But the annoying, patriotic script and shitty acting already made sure this would never get past the 'good' level. Still, an absolutely brilliant invasion.