The existence of aliens has long been debated, and Hollywood has only catered to our extraterrestrial fantasies. It's no surprise that there are so many movies about aliens out there.
Yet, we still love them! Whether the aliens are portrayed as good or evil, it's always interesting to see creative depictions of otherworldly life forms on film, especially when they keep putting new twists.
If you're in the mood for a movie that's out of this world, check out these worthwhile alien movies you can stream on Netflix.
10. Doom (2005)
Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Dwayne Johnson
Action, Horror, Sci-Fi (1h 45m)
The film Doom is based on the video game of the same name and stars Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It follows the story of a military squad sent to Mars through a wormhole portal to extract the scientists—or, rather, the research data in the facility.
However, things go awry as they find themselves hunted by unknown creatures from the laboratory, which kill the squad members one by one.
We're cheating a bit with this pick because these creatures aren't technically aliens but rather humans who have mutated after receiving an alien chromosome—through the Martian Serum—in their bloodstream. But that's close enough!
9. Beyond Skyline (2017)
Directed by Liam O'Donnell
Starring Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, Jonny Weston
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi (1h 46m)
In Beyond Skyline, police detective Mark Corley (played by Frank Grillo) bails his estranged son out of jail at the wrong time.
As aliens suddenly begin invading Earth, dozens of civilians get beamed into spaceships flying overhead. Mark, his son, and two strangers are left to fend for themselves in underground subway tunnels.
Beyond Skyline is a sequel to Skyline (2010) with the plot continuing and reaching its conclusion in Skylines (2020). Unfortunately, the first film isn't available on Netflix, but the second and third ones are!
8. Rim of the World (2019)
Directed by McG
Starring Jack Gore, Miya Cech, Benjamin Flores Jr.
Action, Adventure, Comedy (1h 38m)
The adventure-comedy movie Rim of the World is a familiar kind of alien story, which follows four kids who are left behind by their group of campers during an alien invasion.
Now holding the key that could save the world from annihilation, they have themselves a very big responsibility on their hands and must work together to bring that mission to success.
Rim of the World was inspired by teen adventure movies of the 1980s, so expect a lot of old tropes, clichés, and homages to the genre. But if you can look past that, it's a fun movie.
7. Starship Troopers (1997)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Starring Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi (2h 9m)
In the film Starship Troopers, bugs aren't just pests but full-blown monsters. They're called Arachnids, an insectoid race from outer space and currently in an interstellar war with the people of Earth.
After the Arachnids' attack wiped out Buenos Aires, a demoted Johnny Rico (played by Casper Van Dien) returns to military duty to partake in the assault on the alien insects' home planet. Why? To avenge the death of his parents, of course.
On that planet, they face several species of humongous bugs, from crawlers and flying insects to a giant grub that serves as the "brain bug" and center of the hivemind.
Starship Troopers is based on a brilliant sci-fi novel of the same name, written by the perennially remembered Robert Heinlein.
6. Circle (2015)
Directed by Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione
Starring Michael Nardelli, Carter Jenkins, Julie Benz
Drama, Horror, Mystery (1h 27m)
The sci-fi psychological thriller film Circle features a death game that pits 50 strangers against each other in a battle of decision-making. The game seemingly tests their willingness to kill others to survive themselves.
These 50 strangers all wake up in a dark room, standing in a circle around a mysterious black dome in the center. If anyone tries to leave, they're killed. Furthermore, every 2 minutes, someone is killed—and people can influence who dies by voting with hand gestures.
When the game reaches its conclusion, the winner finds himself outside and sees UFOs hovering above the city. As it turns out, it was aliens who abducted them and toyed with their fates.
5. PK (2014)
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani
Starring Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt
Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi (2h 33m)
After starring in the successful film 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan appeared again in the Indian sci-fi comedy film PK. Like the former film, this one is also directed by Rajkumar Hirani.
In PK, Aamir Khan plays an alien humanoid creature whose spaceship's communication device is stolen, causing him to be stranded on Earth. After adapting the name of PK (pronounced "pee-kay"), he starts to learn the ways of the people around him.
He eventually meets Jaggu (played by Anushka Sharma), a female reporter who takes an interest in him because of his weird antics. Together, they try to find the thief who stole his device.
What makes PK extraordinary is the way it incorporates themes of faith and religion throughout the film. Plus, there's also the love story that isn't meant to bloom any further.
4. Annihilation (2018)
Directed by Alex Garland
Starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson
Adventure, Drama, Horror (1h 55m)
The film Annihilation is mostly set in a mysterious zone known as the "Shimmer," the landing site of a meteor that's now full of unexplainable occurrences and anomalies. What's worse is that the size of the zone keeps expanding and extending its reach and area of influence.
Many expeditions are sent to study the location, but only Kane (played by Oscar Isaac) returns as the sole survivor. When he's detained in a secret facility, his wife Lena (played by Natalie Portman) joins an all-female crew for a new expedition into the Shimmer.
Armed with high-caliber firearms, they step foot in this place, unsure of what awaits them. From mutated bears and alligators to shrubs shaped like humans, it becomes abundantly clear that these are the works of extraterrestrial forces brought by the space rock.
3. Extinction (2018)
Directed by Ben Young
Starring Michael Peña, Lizzy Caplan, Amelia Crouch
Action, Drama, Sci-Fi (1h 35m)
Peter (played by Michael Peña) is haunted by a recurring nightmare about losing his family. However, he soon realizes that his nightmare isn't just a bad dream—it's a prophecy of an upcoming alien invasion.
As extraterrestrial beings start to clobber Earth, Peter is determined to keep his family safe.
However, there's a plot twist to this film that shifts the story from simple alien invasion to something you wouldn't expect from an alien film. Its fresh new take on the topic of interstellar war is pretty interesting.
2. The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
Directed by Julius Onah
Starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Daniel Brühl
Action, Adventure, Horror (1h 42m)
Now, for the film that answers our hows and whys of the Cloverfield film series: The Cloverfield Paradox. In this third installment of the franchise, we follow the story of a group of researchers conducting experiments in outer space to solve a global power crisis.
After numerous failed attempts to activate the Shepard particle accelerator on the Cloverfield Station, their successful trial soon becomes a disaster after it overloads.
Unexplainable occurrences start happening aboard the space station, including the sentient severed arm that communicates with them. Unbeknownst to them, the overloading of the Shepard caused the Cloverfield Paradox. What is that? You'll have to watch the film for that!
1. Arrival (2016)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi (1h 56m)
When a group of extraterrestrial spacecraft appear and hover over various cities around the world, the military enlists the help of linguist Louise Banks (played by Amy Adams) to help them learn how to communicate with these alien visitors.
Just like people on Earth across different cultures, a language barrier exists between the aliens and humans. But thanks to Banks and Ian Donnelly (played by Jeremy Renner), they break ground and start to understand each other, little by little.
Unfortunately, some countries misinterpret the crude messages from the aliens, prompting them to take violent measures and ruining the budding relationship between man and alien.
Arrival is based on Ted Chiang's novella Story of Your Life, which features a unique story about aliens landing on Earth not for world domination but to build relationships through communication.
