CAST
ARNOLD SHWARZENEGGER, CARL WEATHERS, ELPIDA CARRILLO, SONNY LANDHAM, JESSE VENTURA

DIRECTED BY
JOHN McTIERNAN

What many believed to be another run of the mill Arnold Schwarzenegger movie slowly turned into something else entirely, as an extraterrestrial hunter picks apart Uncle Arnie’s group of muscle bound commando unit in the jungles of Central America. A thrilling finale still stands as one of the best man v alien throwdowns in cinema.

CAST
RODDY PIPER, KEITH DAVID, MEG FOSTER, GEORGE ‘BUCK’ FLOWER, PETER JASON

DIRECTED BY
JOHN CARPENTER

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper personifies “bad ass” in the forever quotable John Carpenter classic They Live!, taking out extraterrestrial scum who have infiltrated the human populace. His mammoth fight scene with Keith David has to be seen to be believed.

CAST
SHARLTO COPLEY, JASON COPE, MANDLA GADUKA, VANESSA HAYWOOD, DAVID JAMES

DIRECTED BY
NEILL BLOMKAMP

The surprise hit of 2009 focused on a ghetto in the outskirts of South Africa inhabited by Earth bound aliens. Sharlto Copley gives an impressive debut performance as the government agent who develops a relationship with the ETs. Much gross out and first game player hijinks follow.

CAST
JOHN BOYEGA, JODIE WHITAKER, LUKE TREDAWAY, ALEX ESMAIL, NICK FROST

DIRECTED BY
JOE CORNISH

A mesh of sci-fi horror and British urban culture, Attack the Block is a loveable old school throwback that is fuelled with writer/director Joe Cornish’s obvious love for the sci-fi genre, and like most great alien invasion movies features much social/political commentary alongside it’s scary alien monster thrills.

CAST
MEL GIBSON, JOAQUIN PHOENIX, RORY CULKIN, ABIGAIL BRESLIN, CHERRY JONES

DIRECTED BY
M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN

M. Night Shyamalan’s last great movie focused on how an alien invasion affects a broken family struggling with grief, especially when an ET decides to make their family farm home. Mel Gibson is heartbreaking as a former preacher forced to confront his faith, while Shyamalan’s deft touch with tension has never been as good.

CAST
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, GENE HACKMAN, MARGOT KIDDER, TERRENCE STAMP, NED BEATTY

DIRECTED BY
RICHARD LESTER

Sequel to the popular superhero movie features a trio of powerful aliens who take over the world, as Superman undergoes an identity crisis. Terrence Stamp is diabolically good as the super villain General Zod, who forces Superman to “Kneel before Zod!”

CAST
RUFUS SEWELL, JENNIFER CONNELLY, WILLIM HURT, KIEFER SUTHERLAND, RICHARD O’BRIEN

DIRECTED BY
ALEX PROYAS

A dark sci-fi noir, Dark City starred Rufus Sewell as an amnesic who must contend with alien beings who feed on the memories of humans. Highly imaginative and visually grand, it is easy to see how this film inspired the likes of The Matrix and Inception.

CAST
MICHAEL RENNIE, PATRICIA NEAL, HUGH MARLOWE, SAM JAFFE, BILLY GRAY

DIRECTED BY
ROBERT WISE

This 1951 classic starred Michael Rennie as a prophetic alien whose warnings to the human race are met with less than thrilling results. A 2008 remake starring Keanu Reeves tried to repeat its winning formula, and spectacularly failed.

CAST
DONALD SUTHERLAND, BROOKE ADAMS, JEFF GOLDBLUM, VERONICA CARTWRIGHT, LEONARD NIMOY

DIRECTED BY
PHILIP KAUFMAN

A remake of the 1956 movie of the same name, this Philip Kaufman directed sci-fi thriller took the concept of  aliens cloning the human race and combined it with a healthy dose of late 1970s paranoia. A gut wrenching conclusion still induces goose bumps. 

CAST
KURT RUSSELL, KEITH DAVID, WILFORD BRIMLEY, RICHARD MASUR, T.K. CARTER

DIRECTED BY
JOHN CARPENTER

In the pedigree of alien infiltrators, the shape shifting creature found in The Thing stands tall. Without conscious or reason, it literally rips through the inhabitants of an Antarctic military base to the horror of Kurt Russell’s helicopter pilot. John Carpenter expertly combines thrills with groundbreaking SFX to make a one of a kind sci-fi horror.