The 411 Movies Top 5 08.14.09: Week 178 - Top 5 Alien Invasion Movies

Posted by Trevor Snyder on 08.14.2009

In honor of this weekend's District 9, the 411 crew takes a look at their favorite alien invasion movies of the past.




THE TOP 5 ALIEN INVASION MOVIES

TREVOR SNYDER

HONORABLE MENTIONS

War of the Worlds (2005) - Steven Spielberg's underrated sci-fi/horror brought some incredible and terrifying imagery to an already classic tale, making it even scarier in the process.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - Oh c'mon, do I even need to justify this one?

Signs - Say what you will about the ending (I don't mind it), but Signs is an excellent depiction of what a world-wide alien invasion might look like from the limited perspective of one small farm.

THE TOP 5

5. THE BLOB (1958)

I actually prefer the gorier remake, but since that movie re-wrote the blob's origin to make it a government created experiment, we'll stick to the original. After all, this one has its charms, as well. For instance, I think we can all agree that it's pretty awesome seeing uber-badass Steve McQueen doing battle with an alien. And then there's that catchy theme song. This is a movie that's more "fun" than "good," but man is it a lot of fun.

4. PREDATOR

Predator sure is getting a lot of Top 5 love lately. Not surprising, I guess, since it is one of the best "guy movies" ever made. Now, I'll be the first to admit that including it here might be a bit of a stretch, since this was less an "invasion" and more of a weekend hunting excursion for the titular alien. But still, he came to our planet and tried to start shit, so I feel like it belongs. Plus, like I said, this movie is just too darn awesome not to give love to whenever you have the opportunity.

3. THEY LIVE

Most alien invasion movies depict the very beginning of the attack. John Carpenter's cult classic gives us an invasion that has actually been going on for some time, and is actually going quite well. The only thing is, most of humanity doesn't even know it! I'm not exactly sure how or why special sunglasses are the key to actually seeing the disguised aliens and their hidden subliminal messages. All I know is, if something like this is really going on, thank heaven humanity has "Rowdy" Roddy Piper on its side.

2. MARS ATTACKS

There are too many cheesy "saucer-men" movies from the ‘50s to choose from, so instead I'll just go with Tin Burton's gleefully demented tribute to all of them. Some folks tend to think of this film as a low-point in Burton's filmography, but it's one of my personal favorites. Burton eschews the hard-core violence of the original "Mars Attacks" trading cards in favor of ridiculously goofy mayhem, but he still manages to lay waste to an all-star cast. This movie came out the same year as the bloated Independence Day. ID4 certainly was louder, but I'll always maintain this was the more entertaining of the two. Heck, of the solutions the two films offer, I'll take playing Slim Whitman records over uploading a computer virus any day.

1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)

The true testament to this story's power is how often it had been remade or paid homage to. While I love the original 1956 version and Abel Ferrara's underappreciated 1993 take (let's just ignore the horrible The Invasion), the 1978 version does the best job at nailing the sheer horror and hopelessness of the tale. The final scene is one of the most haunting in movie history.

LEN ARCHIBALD

I have my own personal caveat for my list – the films have to be outright INVASIONS (ie, Aliens COMING to us), and it needs to feature more than one alien. You can't really "invade" anything with one person/being/entity – you get the picture. Yes, I'm aware I'm missing Mars Attacks! and Signs - these movies were just better.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Alien - You would think that Alien, Ridley Scott's opus would make my Top 5. If it was just alien movies, this would be my #1 by a galaxy. But 1) there was only one alien, and 2) it didn't "invade" the Nostromo so as much as it was discovered by the humans (or was sent there according to Ash.) But, did H.R. Giger's creepy invention do some serious damage.

John Carpenter's The Thing - Again, a kick ass alien movie, but not an outright invasion since it was more "discovered". John Carpenter's response to Ridley Scott – a group of workers in the Antarctic discovering a shape-shifting life-form is a wet, sloppy, gory suspense-filled ride with an antagonist that dishes out its fair share of mayhem. But not an "invasion". Oh, KEITH DAVID FTW~!

Predator - A tie-in to last weeks Top 5 Badass Military Units; One badass group of military commandos hooks up with one badass alien game-hunter. Two Governors and Carl F'n Weathers. They all get their asses handed to them in the worst way (Hell, even Ah-Nuld doesn't completely win, per se), but this wasn't an outright "invasion" – Dude was just looking to collect some skulls. Actually – Predator 2 is almost…Almost – closer to an outright invasion movie than this.

THE TOP 5

5. THEY LIVE

So, not sure if your current President is human? (C'mon, we all think he's the Anti-Christ, right? RIGHT…?) Well, just put on these shades, man and decipher for yourself. John Carpenter hooks up with Roddy Piper and KEITH DAVID FTW~! for a yarn that is hilarious, ahead of its time and ballsy in the subtlety of the alien's invasion – as they're already on Earth as the film begins. Iconic fight scene notwithstanding, this is a great, modern spin of Invasion of the Body Snatchers that only John Carpenter could put together.

4. WAR OF THE WORLDS

There are two types of alien invasions in my mind: the kind that is subtle and unnoticeable with the exception of a few with some sense and foresight (a la They Live and Invasion of the Body Snatchers and there's a balls-out "let's just blow everything up and MAKE them humble" (tm, The Iron Sheik) way of doing things. Steven Spielberg's remake of the H.G. Wells classic is about as subtle as a Triple H/Peter Gabriel SLEDGEHAMMER to the face, but the imposing invasion is a feast of the eyes (and ears – if you can take it.) Just keep running, Tom Cruise…That Scientology church you were just at is as good as Katie Holmes dancing – non-existent.

3. INDEPENDENCE DAY

I saw this film on opening night – so it has a sense of strange sentimental value for me. I remember being OBSESSED with this film when the trailers were first released. The Whitehouse gets blown up? I'm THERE! ***note: do not interpret that statement as an endorsement of a coup d'etat of our government*** But this film perfectly captured what it may be like if aliens with big-ass ships hell-bent on galactic domination could be like. The visuals of the shadows looming over every major landmark still gives me goosebumps – and the impending destruction…You think Watchmen was the first film to effectively blow up Manhattan? You ain't seen nothin' yet, baby! I will ignore the part of uploading a computer virus (if that was real-life, Bill Gates would be the freakin' hero and he'd effectively have MORE of a monopoly on current technology) because that 10-15 minute sequence of out-and-out destruction was a glorious thing to behold.

2. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

Now we're cooking with gas! Don Siegel's opus (and possible hidden cautionary tale of Communism – I'm still waiting for someone to make a film about the hidden motives of Obama's SOCIALISM) is perhaps the most frightening fictional invasion ever filmed. How the hell would I react if I came home and found that my wife looked, talked and walked like my wife, with all her memories – but something about her was "off"? What if I found out she was a FREAKING POD??? This was an invasion that seems more like (if I was going to invade another planet, anyways) the most realistic possibility. The world doesn't end on a bang, but on a whimper. That's some scary shit, right there.

1. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE

It's time to let the cat out of the bag…I have a terrible and unhealthy obsession with all things Ed Wood. I have studied the history of the man who I feel suffers from the "Salieri Complex" – meaning he KNOWS his craft but isn't able to apply it as well as others. My obsession started right here, with what I feel is the single greatest unintentionally great movie ever made – and has my favorite "invasion" scene of all time. The flying saucers are quickly on the move (held by fishing wire) and the U.S. military is in pursuit. It seems as if the saucers that have arrived are cornered and the military (through various stock footage) unleashes the FURY OF HELL on the saucers as the General (standing in front of a wall) looks through a pair of binoculars. Between the cuts of fishing wire, the General (who is SUPPOSED to be outside) and his binoculars and the stock footage of almost every weapon imaginable sounding off, this is the greatest – and funniest "invasion" ever caught on film. Solemenite – Solanite – Solarinite…Be damned.

STEVE GUSTAFSON

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kronos (1957) - A huge asteroid crashes into the ocean and a giant robot appears and begins heading toward Los Angeles. Seems like it's the creation of an alien race, attempting to siphon energy from earth and it's up to the good guys to stop it. Alien invasion at its cheesy best.

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) - This movie is wild! A couple of crazy teenagers go off for some "neckin" and run over an alien. The alien's hand falls off and goes after the couple. They should have just gone to the malt shop instead.

Teenagers from Outer Space (1959) - The title alone makes you shiver, don't it? Take teenagers and aliens and you have a cocktail of two of the biggest threats to civilization! The aliens make plans to invade Earth and use it as a food source but seems one of the aliens falls for an Earth girl and we got us Romeo and Juliet in space! Hey, why hasn't anyone green-lit THAT movie project yet?

THE TOP 5

5. TARGET EARTH (1954)

If you haven't guessed it already, I'm going for a theme in my Top 5. All my choices are from the 1950s! The decade that I consider to be the golden age of invasion movies. Even with my honorable mentions and Top 5, I had to leave off several deserving flicks from that era. I don't know, they just knew how to make them. Take Target Earth. An alien force of robots comes down and invades Chicago. Their goal is simple. Eradicate mankind. What does the general population do? Run. Run for their lives. What else is there to do? But that gives our heroes a chance to rise to the occasion. They start off as strangers but they comes together to fight the robots bent on ending their very existence. So far it sounds like a by-the-numbers invasion flick, right? WRONG! Turns out we don't know as much about this group as we should. Secrets start to come out. That's when it gets real. Real interesting, that is. It's a cool little twist that I'm surprised hasn't been ripped off by a big studio. And I'm not talking about the 90s television remake they did.

4. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)

You know the story. Klaatu, a humanoid alien, arrives on Earth by way of a flying saucer with his insanely ominous robot, Gort. They're here with a message of peace, but that doesn't mean they can't cause some ruckus if they need to! Still, it brought a message to the audience, meaning this movie was preaching before preaching in movies was cool! While it doesn't have the whiz-bang special effects that most invasion movies rely on, it doesn't need them to still hold up after all these years. It crafts an intense experience through mood that numerous other movies have tried to copy, but haven't come close. Klaatu barada nikto, ya'll! (For those keeping count, that's TWO weeks now that I've quoted an alien language.)

3. IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)

A couple sees a meteor crash and find out that it's really an alien spaceship. Guess what, it's not carrying Kal-El. They try to tell everyone but for some reason, no one is believing them. Pretty soon people start disappearing then coming back and acting different. Almost as if they are possessed by some off-world creature. Pretty soon the sheriff notices and they team up to beat back the aliens in cheesy glory!

2. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)

Whenever you mention alien invasion, this is usually the first movie that pops into your head. Unless YOU were abducted by aliens, the probing would be the first thing. Regardless, War of the Worlds stands among all others as one of the best (and famous) radio broadcasts in the history of the world. This film adaptation of the infamous HG Wells trick actually isn't bad at all. Like other movies during the 50s, this carried a message that was hidden under metaphors and probably flew over the average theatergoers head. Even today people would miss it while complaining that the special effects "suck". I'll give you a hint though. Whenever someone in the movie says "alien", replace that with "Russian". Get it now? As far as story goes, Martians invade the planet with an army of indestructible ships taking and destroying major cities. Not even the atomic bomb can stop them. I won't ruin the end for you but this movie has been done over and over and ripped off more than I can count, which means it must be really, really good.

1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)

CLASSIC! All future filmmakers should watch this and take notes. This movie proves so many things, among them that you don't need huge budgets, loud explosions, and overdone special effects to craft a horrifying and gripping alien invasion. Miles Bennell is a small-town doctor who learns that his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. Director Don Siegel is truly effective and created a story that still holds up today. My favorite is at the end when Bennell runs onto the highway frantically screaming about the alien force to the passing motorists and yells, "They're here already! You're next! You're next!" looking right into the camera, right into your soul! Yes, it too has a message through metaphor (Communism) but this story about aliens that take over human bodies left audiences in the 50s anxiously watching every minute. And it still does today.

BRYAN KRISTOPOWITZ

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ghost of Mars (2001) - It's actually more like a "reinvasion" of the planet Mars by the beings that used to live there. Remember the big ass swirling dust cloud that showed up after the doctor touched the hidden cave wall? Yeah, imagine seeing that as a human on a foreign planet.

Alien Nation (1988) - We only get to see it on TV in the background, as old news footage. A bunch of flying saucers hovering above Los Angeles. We then get to see what was on those ships. One of them is now a bartender.

I Come in Peace (1990) - There are only two aliens in this Dolph Lundgren flick, one a good guy, the other a bad guy (naturally). It's the bad guy we see first, all nine feet of him. He appears after a meteor like crash landing into a Christmas tree lot and tells a hapless yuppie scumbag "I come in peace." We all know that's not the truth at all.

THE TOP 5

5. STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)

I am, of course, talking about the invasion of the Arachnid "planet P" by the Mobile Infantry (humans). The humans show up armed to the teeth and with extreme malice in their eyes. They fly over the "desolate" planet, dropping high explosives anywhere and everywhere, killing bugs wherever they may be. And when the humans actually land, with their boots on the ground, they try to solidify their illegal presence on the planet by taking over an already destroyed human settlement. The natives, the bugs, decide they're not going to stand for it and attack. It's quite the battle.

4. WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)

I'm talking about the "cheesy," 1953 B-movie that everyone laughs at now because it's so cheesy. It looks like a bunch of giant lamps are taking over the Earth. But let's face it, those alien ships appear and do some major damage. Those weird green lights, that light thing on the top that shoots out what appears to be fire, and all of the vaporized soldiers. And the massive, world wide panic helps show just how dangerous the aliens really are. That's one of the things the sci-fi movies on the 1950's did very well. They took themselves seriously, regardless of how silly they happened to be or look. If only more modern movies took that technique and ran with it.

3. THE BLOB (1958)

Yeah, the 1988 version of The Blob with Kevin Dillon is pretty cool (I loved it when that annoying kid gets eaten by the Blob in the sewer. And that hand thing that comes out of the sink is very cool, too), but the 1958 with Steve McQueen is just so much better. For one, it's got Steve McQueen in it acting like a nerd (well, sort of. He is Steve McQueen). It's also got a purplish colored gooey monster that just won't stop consuming things (like movie theatres full of people). But we're talking about alien invasions here, so, with the Blob, it's a very simple invasion. One comet crash landing in the woods, and then just waiting for some rube to show up and start consuming. And that's exactly what happens.

2. INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)

Big goddamn spaceships enter Earth's atmosphere, go to all of Earth's major cities, hover for awhile, and then blow the crap out of everything. And they do it in spectacular fashion. I don't know what more to say. Yeah, there's plenty of back and forth amongst the humans as to what these spaceships are, where they're from, and why they're there, and it's all kind of interesting, but, come on, does anyone remember any of that stuff? Heck no. It's all about that giant green laser obliterating the Empire State Building. Holy hooey that's amazing. And kind of scary.

1. THEY LIVE (1988)

John Carpenter's sci-fi classic gets the nod for "best invasion" mostly because it's so subtle. It's not big and ostentatious like ID4 or some of the other alien invasion movies out there. No one even knows about it (well, some people know about it, but they're all Commies trying to overthrow the government). And then John Nada (Roddy Piper) finds those discarded sunglasses, puts them on, and finds out what's really going on. They're everywhere. And they have the world by the balls. They own everything, they control everything, and they've got pretty much everyone in the world under their control. What is someone with knowledge of the truth supposed to do? Chew bubblegum and kick ass?

SHAWN S. LEALOS

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Predator - What did I say last week about a movie with two future governors and Apollo Creed?

Signs - I don't care what anyone says, M. Night Shyamalan has made more good movies than bad ones.

Superman 2 - Yeah, Superman must protect Earth from 3 invading Kryptonians in the best Superman movie of them all.

THE TOP 5

5. BAD TASTE

Is it a great movie? No, but it is a hell of a lot of fun. I won't say much more here but check out my Alternate Takes this week for the full story.

4. MEN IN BLACK

This movie is a hell of a lot of fun. Will Smith is on his top comedic form here but the man who steals the show is Tommy Lee Jones. The two have such a great chemistry that all the cool aliens and creatures are just an added attraction. Of course, the movie is based around the fact that aliens are allowed to come to Earth and live among us but there is an alien trying to wreck havoc, and that is the invading alien that makes this movie fit the idea behind this Top 5.

3. THEY LIVE

I love everything about this movie. It is maybe Roddy Piper's only great movie role and John Carpenter hit all the right notes in this conspiracy sci-fi thriller. What makes this movie live so dearly in my mind is that fight. It has been parodied over and over, including a great reenactment on South Park, but the original is still awesome. This movie includes everything that is fun about alien invasion movies.

2. JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING

Once again, it is one alien invading that makes me place it on the list but this movie is one of the greatest horror movies of all time. That one alien attacks a space station and can take the form of anyone it attaches to. John Carpenter, with his second entry on the list, creates a movie as scary as Alien and Kurt Russell turns in the best performance of his career. I love everything about this movie.

1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

I am going with the 1978 version here. No offense to the original but this remake was simply awesome. Donald Sutherland was on top form and Jeff Goldblum was fun to watch as always. I loved the nods and homages to the original movie as this remake paid a good tribute to the classic. The best part of the movie was the final scene with Sutherland letting out that piercing scream. It was haunting and a perfect end to a perfect sci-fi/horror film.