Alienwas a worldwide sensation and it was followed by James Cameron’s Aliensin 1986, which brilliantly swapped horror for full-on action and made Sigourney Weaver’s character Ripley into a feminist icon.
John McTiernan’s Predator[1987] was a vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, then at the height of his stardom. But the wonderfully designed Predator, an alien big-game hunter on Earth for sport, was far too interesting to disappear after just one movie. Sequels followed until, in 2004, Alien vs. Predator[Paul W. S. Anderson] attempted to become a contemporary Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man[Roy William Neill, 1943]. I’m sure that if Abbott and Costello were still alive, they too would have eventually met the Predator and the Alien!
Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day[1996] and 2011’s Battle: Los Angeles[Jonathan Liebesman] clearly demonstrate that our planet is still not safe from alien invasion; however 2011 also brought us another gentle (if foulmouthed) alien in Paul[Greg Mottola]. So I think it’s wise to remember the last words broadcast from that Arctic station at the end of The Thing From Another World[1951]: “Watch the Skies!”
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Invaders From Mars [William Cameron Menzies, 1953]
A tightly constructed, nightmarish scenario, in which all the authority figures—teachers, policemen, even your parents—are working for the Martians! The ending completely freaked me out when I was a child.
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The Green Slime [aka Gamma 3: Operation Outer Space, Kinji Fukasaku, 1968]
Shot at Tokyo’s Toei Studios with an entirely Caucasian cast. Luciana Paluzzi is pictured here being harassed by one of the Green Slime. With a great title song!
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Mars Attacks! [Tim Burton, 1996]
Based on the infamous and gruesome Topps bubblegum trading cards by Mad Magazineartist Wallace Wood. The Martians kill indiscriminately and speak in a language that consists entirely of the word “Ack.” Burton fills the film with homages to 50s and 60s sci-fi movies, specifically Ray Harryhausen’s Earth vs. the Flying Saucers[Fred F. Sears, 1956].
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The Thing From Another World [Christian Nyby, 1951]
The indelible ad art for The Thing. George A. Romero once described this film as “a movie about doors,” because you are never sure what is lurking behind each one.
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The Thing [aka John Carpenter’s The Thing, 1982]
Bill Lancaster’s screenplay and Rob Bottin’s astonishing make-up effects, coupled with Carpenter’s dynamite direction, make this picture a modern classic.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!”
Palmer (David Clennon), The Thing[1982]
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Starman [John Carpenter, 1984]
Carpenter’s nicealien movie (almost like an apology for his malevolent The Thing). This baby is Jeff Bridges’ Starman! Karen Allen falls in love with him when he gets a little more mature.
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Le Voyage dans la lune [aka A Trip to the Moon, Georges Méliès, 1902]
One of the first, if not thefirst, sci-fi movies, this image of the rocket ship stuck in the Moon’s eye is unforgettable.
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20 Million Miles to Earth [Nathan H. Juran, 1957]
A spaceship returning from Venus crashes into the sea off the coast of Sicily bringing with it the Ymir, one of Ray Harryhausen’s most unique creations.
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Forbidden Planet [Fred M. Wilcox, 1956]
Ad art showing Walter Pidgeon as Dr. Edward Morbius, Leslie Nielsen as Commander John J. Adams, Robby the Robot, and Anne Francis as Altaira, Morbius’ beautiful daughter.
“My evil self is outside that door, and I have no power to stop it!”
Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), Forbidden Planet
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The Blob [Chuck Russell, 1988]
A remake of the 1958 classic, with the addition of villainous government operatives and better special effects.
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Alien [Ridley Scott, 1979]
The Alien about to be blown out of the open hatch of the escape pod by the intrepid Ripley (Sigourney Weaver).
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Poster for Alienwith the fantastic tagline, “In space no one can hear you scream.”
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The Alien as it bursts from the chest of Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), in a truly shocking sequence.
“This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.”
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), before putting herself and the cat into a hibernation pod, Alien
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Planet of the Vampires [Mario Bava, 1965]
Alienscreenwriter Dan O’Bannon and director Scott say they have never seen it, but it is hard to avoid this film’s influence on Alien. With little budget and, literally, smoke and mirrors, Bava created a marvelous, other-worldly quality to the planet’s exteriors. When the astronauts explore the ruins of another ship containing the skeletal remains of its giant alien pilot, it’s hard to accept Dan and Ridley’s denials. Regardless, Alienand Planet of the Vampiresare seminal sci-fi films.
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It! The Terror From Beyond Space [Edward L. Cahn, 1958]
Ray “Crash” Corrigan as It, a stowaway on the first spaceship to land on Mars. An obvious influence on Alien, down to the opening of a hatch to blow It from the ship.
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Predator [John McTiernan, 1987]
Another variation of The Most Dangerous Game[aka The Hounds of Zaroff, 1924] a short story by Richard Connell in which a big-game hunter hunts human prey. This time, it’s an alien who travels the universe hunting the local species for sport. An elite unit of soldiers finds itself being hunted by the Predator in the jungles of Central America. Kevin Peter Hall plays the Predator in a creature suit by Stan Winston. An entertaining action picture that ends with Arnold Schwarzenegger surviving an atomic blast! Eventually, the Predator ended up fighting the Alien [ Alien vs. Predator, Paul W. S. Anderson, 2004] just like King Kong vs. Godzilla.