- 5/18/2025
They're here, they're terrifying, and they're not from Earth! Join us as we count down our picks for the most bone-chilling extraterrestrial invaders in cinematic history. From slimy parasites to shape-shifting nightmares, these cosmic horrors will make you think twice about looking up at the stars. Which alien menace gave you the most sleepless nights? Let us know in the comments below!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00There's only one way off of this planet baby and that's through me.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the 50 most terrifying
00:08blood-curdling extraterrestrial nightmares in the history of film.
00:11I know this thing is hunting us all of us.
00:17Number 50 Harvesters Independence Day
00:20You know this was supposed to be my weekend off.
00:23If aliens ever pull up with a vibe like this, we're toast.
00:38The Harvesters don't come in peace. They explicitly rebuke peace altogether.
00:43To them, introductions involve showing up in city-sized ships to blow up every
00:47major city on Earth in one fell swoop. Underneath their biomechanical exosuits,
00:51these evil space locusts are slimy little telepathic horrors.
00:55They don't want to rule Earth. They want to strip it clean and move on to the next one.
00:58Independence Day might be full of quippy one-liners, but the Harvesters represent
01:02everyone's greatest fear when it comes to interstellar terror.
01:12Welcome to Earth.
01:13Number 49 The Land Sharks Battle Los Angeles
01:161446 Pacific Standard Time. Twelve different locations across the globe were breached
01:23in what appears to have been a coordinated attack by an unknown enemy.
01:26In real life, snakeheads were one of the worst invasive fish to ever reach Los Angeles' shores.
01:32Aggressive, fast-spreading, and nearly impossible to wipe out.
01:36Now, imagine they had legs, incendiary machine guns, and a whole army behind them.
01:40That's basically what hits the City of Angels in Battlefield Los Angeles.
01:44These unnamed extraterrestrial invaders don't come with saucers or speeches.
01:47Instead, they crash land in the ocean and immediately start wrecking everything in
01:52their path. They're here to plunder Earth's water and exterminate us in the process.
01:56Think less little green men and more military-grade seafood.
02:00The film is gritty, chaotic, and honestly way too realistic for comfort.
02:14Number 48 Krites The Critters Franchise
02:30Do our 90s kids out there remember Furbies? Well, let us introduce you to the Gen X version.
02:35An alien Furby that went feral and developed a taste for human flesh.
02:39That is the Krites. Deadly little furballs from space with rows of razor-sharp teeth
02:44and a bad attitude. These aliens escape from an asteroid prison,
02:47crash land on Earth, and immediately start chewing their way through the countryside.
02:51Sadly, they're not dumb. They're cunning, can regenerate, and can even use technology.
02:56If you manage to escape them individually, don't worry, they can join into some kind
03:01of twisted furry Voltron. Their big finishing move is combining into a rolling buzzsaw of death.
03:14Number 47 Aliens No One Will Save You
03:37These aren't your average greys. They're taller, faster, and outright looking to terrify.
03:42In No One Will Save You, the aliens come with telekinesis, freaky, spindly limbs, and zero
03:47chill. They break into your house, levitate you like a ragdoll, and mess with your memories like
03:52it's nothing. What starts as classic alien abduction horror turns into a silent psychological
03:57nightmare, with zero dialogue and maximum dread. And just when you think it's over,
04:02it gets weirder. These beings don't just want a probe. They want to own you, body and mind.
04:12Number 46 Alien Agents The Arrival
04:33About a month before Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum were taking down an alien threat,
04:37Charlie Sheen was fighting a secret invasion. Unlike Independence Day,
04:41The Arrival serves up a different kind of extraterrestrial threat. The aliens are already
04:45here, hiding in plain sight, terraforming Earth from the inside out. These reverse-jointed
04:50shapeshifters pose as humans, rig the climate, and silence anyone who gets too close to the truth.
04:55Charlie Sheen plays a radio astronomer trying to blow the lid off it all, but the aliens are
05:00always one step ahead. They're not flashy, but they're smart, secretive, and terrifying in a
05:05we're-already-screwed kind of way. Number 45 Necromorphs Dead Space Downfall
05:35Hey, I don't mind shooting the living dead as long as I get to shoot something.
05:39Fans of the award-winning video game Dead Space were hyped to see their favorite space-faring
05:43zombies finally hit the screen. The animated Dead Space Downfall certainly delivered the gore in
05:48buckets. Necromorphs aren't just reanimated corpses. They are twisted, mutated nightmares
05:54brought back to life by a mysterious alien artifact called the Marker. Limbs stretch into
05:58scythes, spines bend backwards, and flesh becomes a weapon. This animated prequel doesn't pull
06:04punches. It's claustrophobic, gruesome, and soaked in blood. Once these things get loose
06:09on a spaceship, surviving more than a few minutes becomes a luxury. Number 44 Aliens Night of the
06:26Creeps This one kicks off with alien slugs, a zombie outbreak, and a straight-up 80s B-movie
06:42vibe. Night of the Creeps is truly ridiculous, and that's why we love it. It all begins with
06:46a deadly alien experiment gone awry, crashing into Earth. The experiment starts turning frat
06:51guys into brain-munching corpses. These slug-like parasites crawl into your mouth, hijack your body,
06:57and multiply like crazy. It's part sci-fi, part horror, and all splatterfest. Sure, it's campy,
07:03but the concept is still creepy. Aliens that weaponize the undead and make your head literally
07:08explode. Number 43 Puppet Masters The Puppet Masters
07:21are like if body-snatchers got slimier and way more hands-on. In the Puppet Masters,
07:32they're creepy starfish-like parasites. They take control by latching onto your back,
07:36digging straight into your brain stem. When the process is complete, you're no longer human.
07:41You're a personal custom meat puppet. Once attached, they control everything. Your voice,
07:46your thoughts, your memories are all stolen, and you're just a passenger for the ride.
07:51Based on a Heinlein novel, the 90s cult sleeper leans hard into the paranoia. The all-star cast
07:56of character actors tell a harrowing tale of government agents, mass infections,
08:00and spine-chilling mind control. It's too quick. It went up through there.
08:05I want that thing found tonight. Turn this building upside down, but find it.
08:10Number 42 Kaiju The Pacific Rim Franchise
08:13Haven't you heard, Mr. Beckett? The world is coming to an end.
08:21Where would you rather die? Here or in a Jaeger?
08:26They're big, they're angry, and they're not just giant monsters. The Kaiju in the Pacific Rim
08:31franchise are bioengineered weapons. Sent by their alien overlords from another dimension,
08:36these beasts are on a mission to eradicate humanity. They're part of a coordinated
08:40invasion effort by interdimensional conquerors known as the Precursors. They look at Earth
08:44through an extra-dimensional rift with hungry eyes. Their beasts of war come in predictable
08:49waves, each one bigger and nastier than the last. Acid spit and EMP pulses are just some of the
08:55upgrades the Kaiju bring to the table. With them, they have a real talent for leveling entire
09:00coastlines. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them.
09:07Today we are canceling the apocalypse!
09:10Number 41 Edgar Men in Black
09:13Your skin is hanging off your bones.
09:22Oh yeah.
09:27Is that lemon?
09:28If Men in Black taught us anything, it's that we are right to fear cockroaches. Edgar,
09:33a giant space roach in a human skin suit, is pure nightmare fuel. He crash lands on Earth,
09:39kills a farmer, and wears his body like a Halloween costume that's three sizes too small.
09:43Every movement he makes is awkward and hilarious. From his twitchy neck to that wet,
09:48crunching voice, Edgar is violent but played for laughs. The hilarity vanishes the instant
09:53he discards his human guise, when in full space roach form, Edgar is a giant killing machine.
09:59Keep him on this planet.
10:01Number 40 The Rancor – The Star Wars Franchise
10:10You never forget your first movie monster. For many Millennials and Gen Xers, that beast was
10:15the Rancor. True to its name, this towering, slobbering creature is anything but friendly.
10:20Luke Skywalker meets one the hard way, dropped into a pit beneath Jabba the Hutt's palace with
10:25nothing but a bone and a prayer. Jabba's prized pet sits in the shadows, waiting for snacks to
10:30fall from the ceiling. And somehow, despite all the talons and teeth, its death still hits hard.
10:35It's just an animal, after all. Maybe its rage was just a reflection of how poorly it was treated.
10:40Decades later, the Book of Boba Fett gave us a battle-ready Rancor. It turns out,
10:44even a beloved alien monster can still be terrifying.
10:47Why does it wear blinders? This one is a calf. It was bred from champions for fighting.
10:54I saved this one for myself to train.
10:57Number 39 White Spikes – The Tomorrow War
11:00Listen, you and your team seem to be the only people out here who know what the hell they're
11:04doing. I could really use your help. If you try to save your friends, you're gonna get eaten.
11:09We're team not-eaten. Did he just say they'd eat us?
11:13They're fast. They're hungry. True to their name, they are festooned with deadly projectile spikes.
11:18They're like bone darts from hell. The White Spikes are the kind of alien you would hope
11:22gets wiped out by the time you arrive. Sadly for Chris Pratt and all of humanity,
11:27these world-killers are on the verge of wiping out Earth. The catch? They're doing it 30 years
11:32in the future, and people today are getting drafted for the fight. These pale insectoid
11:36nightmares may be intelligent, but negotiation isn't on the table. They are bred for one thing,
11:42global conquest. They're nearly impossible to kill, even with future technology.
11:47The president just placed the armed forces on high alert. They're rioting at the border,
11:52Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Istanbul, London. NATO's disbanded.
11:58Number 38 Jellyfish Aliens – Europa Report
12:03If space exploration is scary to you, Europa Report may explain why. It features an
12:21international crew of astronauts looking for life and liquid water on the surface of Jupiter's
12:25smallest moon. In truth, if life exists in our solar system beyond Earth, Europa is maybe our
12:31best bet. The journey is harrowing, and not all of the intrepid explorers make it. Those who do,
12:36don't fare much better. There is life on Europa, and it hungers. Glowing, jellyfish-like beings
12:42exist in the water below the frozen surface. These deep-sea-looking creatures are equal
12:46parts mesmerizing and menacing. Like a cosmic anglerfish, their lights, while potentially
12:51used for communication with each other, just mean certain death for anyone else.
12:55Number 37 The Borg – Star Trek First Contact
13:26The Borg are scary in the same way as the onset of night. It's inevitable, and you're bound to
13:31get lost in the darkness. They first creeped onto the scene in The Next Generation, appearing in
13:35subsequent Trek television. Star Trek First Contact portrays the Borg at their frightening peak. The
13:40film opens with an attack on Earth. At the edge of defeat, they travel back in time to assimilate
13:46humanity. The introduction of the Borg Queen cranks the dread factor to 11. She gives a face
13:51and voice to the cold terror of assimilation. The threat is so traumatic that even Captain Picard,
13:56Starfleet's best captain, still suffers PTSD. Resistance isn't just futile. It's the prelude
14:02to losing everything that makes you, you. Number 36 The Creature – Sputnik
14:22It lives inside him. That's the first and worst thing you learn in Sputnik,
14:27a slow-burn Russian horror. It just gets more deranged the longer you sit with it.
14:31After a Soviet cosmonaut crash-lands back on Earth, doctors realize he brought something back.
14:36Some kind of creature slithers out of his mouth at night to feed, returning before dawn like it
14:40never left. The alien is fast, grotesque, and shockingly intelligent. But the real terror?
14:46The military sees it as a weapon. Sputnik doesn't rely on cheap scares.
14:51It's a deeply disturbing psychological thriller about losing your body,
14:54your autonomy, and maybe even your soul.
15:08Number 35 Thanos – The Marvel Cinematic Universe
15:17Sure, he's got memes, chin lines, and a weirdly calm voice, but make no mistake. Thanos has a
15:23higher kill count than any other alien in cinematic history. This isn't just a big purple
15:27alien with a god complex. Thanos is a genocidal true believer. He thinks that life has grown
15:32beyond its ability to self-sustain. His solution? Wipe out half of it. What makes him so scary
15:38isn't just his power, but his conviction. He truly sees himself as a merciful god.
15:43Somehow, that makes it worse. At the end of Infinity War, he's achieved his life's work.
15:48Earth's mightiest heroes are left either broken, traumatized, or dusted.
15:53Number 34 Lovecraft Monsters – The Mist
16:19You never really see where they come from. You barely even see
16:22what they are. What you know as the audience of The Mist is that once it rolls in,
16:26it's already too late. The Frank Darabont-helmed adaptation of Stephen King's novella is dark,
16:31even for the master of suspense. The film is populated by an entire host of Lovecraftian
16:36monsters. They're grotesque, otherworldly things with too many limbs, too many teeth,
16:40and no right to exist in our reality. Tentacled horrors, spider creatures that cocoon people alive,
16:46and towering godlike beasts that make humans feel like ants. The Mist doesn't name them,
16:51explain them, or offer much hope. They're just there, like some divine punishment from
16:55a dimension that doesn't care about you. Number 33 The Blob – The Blob
17:21It has no face, no voice, no motive. It is just the personification of insatiable hunger.
17:30The Blob starts as a little gooey glob from space. Unfortunately for its victims,
17:35it grows fast and melts through everything in its path. Walls, cars, and especially people.
17:40The 1958 original is a sci-fi classic, sure, but the 1988 remake turns up the terror hard.
17:47This version is meaner, faster, and absolutely vile. If you could imagine if a jello cup were
17:52possessed by the devil, you'd be in the right ballpark. Victims of the Blob are not just eaten,
17:57they're dissolved alive in full screaming detail. You can't reason with it, you can't outrun it,
18:02you can only hope it doesn't find you.
18:04We need a schematic of the sewer system. We'll contain it down there.
18:08I want that organism alive. What about the civilians?
18:17They're expendable. Number 32 King Ghidorah – Various
18:22Three heads, no mercy. King Ghidorah isn't just Godzilla's arch-nemesis,
18:37but an apex predator from another world. Ghidorah's breath is living lightning. Ghidorah's
18:42wings straight up level cities with a scream that feels like a demonic bellow ushering in
18:47the apocalypse. First introduced in 1964, Ghidorah has been wrecking Earth ever since.
18:52Godzilla King of the Monsters gave us Ghidorah at its golden height. To call Ghidorah a kaiju
18:57is to do it a disservice. Ghidorah is a terraforming force, altering the planet's
19:02ecosystem just by existing. Each head thinks independently, regenerates when severed,
19:07and works like a brutal hive mind. If Godzilla is nature's wrath,
19:11Ghidorah is its cosmic executioner, and doesn't come in peace.
19:17Number 31 Calvin – Life
19:37Calvin starts out looking like a squishy little starfish baby. It's almost cute,
19:41until it evolves way too fast. What begins as a microscopic Martian life form turns into a
19:47hyper-intelligent, ever-growing killing machine. Calvin picks off the astronauts who found it one
19:51by one, growing with each human meal. It crushes bones, slithers into mouths, and adapts to every
19:57threat thrown its way. There's no time to mourn, no time to rest. Calvin is a thinking being,
20:02using tools and intelligence as it grows. At times, he seems more like a person trying to
20:07survive than a monster. In the end, the difference is academic. When it crash-lands in the Pacific,
20:13it's clear that Calvin could mean trouble for the entire planet.
20:24Number 30 The Mimics – Edge of Tomorrow
20:27The stakes in Edge of Tomorrow are epically high. An unstoppable alien army has crash-landed in
20:32Europe, threatening to spread across the globe. The Mimics are incredibly
20:43intimidating. Their biomechanical design gives them an otherworldly presence,
20:47and the ability to burrow through the ground like a hedgehog made of knives.
20:51In battle, the armies of humanity have suffered one defeat after another.
20:55As it turns out, that's because these alien killing machines have control over time itself.
21:00But this is the brain. It controls them all. And this is the Omega. And the Omega has the ability
21:11to control time.
21:12The Omega Mimic can pull a groundhog day when its Alpha Generals are killed.
21:16That knowledge of the future allows the Mimics to repeat battles over and over
21:20until victory is achieved.
21:22Number 29 Aliens – Communion
21:26This lesser-known sci-fi horror film is based on a book by Whitley Strieber about his own
21:30alleged encounter with aliens and subsequent flashbacks.
21:33The film stars Christopher Walken as Strieber at his unhinged best.
21:37You look like you're dressed for your first communion.
21:47It straddles the line between slapstick and horror. On the one hand,
21:51Walken's spending a surprisingly large amount of time dancing with the aliens he meets.
21:55On the other hand, there are truly frightening scenes like the one where
21:59he removes the face of a grey to reveal the slimy creature underneath.
22:03All in all, the film feels like a bad 1980s acid trip,
22:06leading the viewer to share in Strieber's confusion and uncertainty.
22:10Is there something under that? Because I don't believe that one.
22:13Number 28 Alien Beasts – Attack the Block
22:17Humans have been encountering creatures from outer space since Georges Méliès
22:20introduced us to his moon creatures in 1902. Given that aliens have been part of motion
22:25pictures throughout cinematic history, it can be tough to come up with an original concept.
22:29Enter writer-director Joe Cornish in Attack the Block.
22:32You brought it in the end. I don't want no trouble. You brought Fed in the end.
22:38Listen to me, bruv. You brought an alien invasion.
22:42A meteor crashes into a public housing council estate, releasing a horde of alien beasts.
22:48The residents of the block, including a teenage street gang,
22:51must defend themselves and their neighbors from the threat.
22:53Imagine spiky, eyeless space wolf-slash-gorilla hybrids with glow-in-the-dark jaws,
22:59and you'll have the right idea. The beasts are killing machines,
23:03and only the ingenuity of the residents helped them survive the night.
23:06No. I know them. They're my neighbors. They protected me.
23:1127. The Strangers – Dark City
23:14Dark City is one of the most underappreciated films of the 1990s. As protagonist John Murdoch
23:20navigates the city and his own distorted memories, he discovers the truth. The pasty white men The
23:26Strangers chasing him over this noir landscape are not men at all. They are psychic aliens using
23:32their powers, hive mind, and machines to run experiments on human test subjects.
23:36And this man Murdoch is more powerful than we thought.
23:40He's becoming like us. So we must become like him.
23:46The city isn't a city, either, but a giant vessel in space. The creatures are dying from
23:51an unknown cause and hope that extracting the secret of human individuality will cure them.
23:56The Strangers are the unseen power behind the world of the film,
23:59manipulating events and people for their own dark ends.
24:03They mix and match our memories as they see fit, trying to divine what makes us unique.
24:09One day, a man might be an inspector. The next, someone entirely different.
24:1426. The Shimmer – Annihilation
24:17We humans tend to anthropomorphize everything in fiction, including aliens. We ascribe human
24:23thought and motivations to characters so that the audience can better understand what's happening.
24:27But in Alex Garland's 2018 adaptation of Jeff Vandermeer's novel Annihilation,
24:32the alien presence at the center of the story is alien in both mind and body.
24:37I don't know what it wants, or if it wants, but it will grow until it encompasses everything.
24:46The Shimmer's motivations are completely unknown, so the audience is left only with
24:50the results of its actions. The Shimmer is a catalyst of change,
24:54warping and altering everything it touches. Change can be terrifying,
24:58especially when it's a change that results in the annihilation of what existed before.
25:03I attacked it. I'm not sure it even knew I was there.
25:08It came here for a reason. It was mutating our environment. It was destroying everything.
25:14This more existentialist horror is what makes The Shimmer scary on a literally cellular level.
25:2025. Cooper – Super 8
25:23What if E.T. were a horror film? That seemed to be the question J.J. Abrams chose to answer with
25:28his kids-on-bike classic Super 8. A group of teens from Lillian, Ohio witness a violent train
25:34derailment. The crash was no accident, however. The U.S. Army was transporting a large alien
25:40monster, and it escaped. Soon after, the residents of Lillian began to go missing.
25:44Send units over to their houses immediately. You copy all that?
25:47Copy. Jack, we're getting a lot of unusual calls.
25:52The creature is barely seen, allowing the audience's imaginations to run wild.
25:57In truth, though, Cooper isn't a monster at all. He's just a wrongfully detained interstellar
26:02traveler trying to return home. No Ohioans were harmed during the making of his spaceship.
26:08He has been desperate to reconstitute his ship since it crashed here in 58.
26:14But instead of giving him the help he needs, we've held him as a prisoner.
26:1824. Skin Thief Alien – Under the Skin
26:22The Skin Thief Alien from Under the Skin is easily one of the weirdest roles in Scarlett
26:26Johansson's filmography. Part road trip, part acid trip, Under the Skin shows the
26:31journey of her alien as she hunts men across the Scottish countryside.
26:34I saw you on the road.
26:35What, you saw me?
26:37No, no, no.
26:37I saw you. Are you having a laugh with me?
26:40No.
26:40You saw me?
26:41Why, I thought we were going to strike a dance.
26:42You alone?
26:43No.
26:44Yeah, I'm all alone, huh?
26:45Once captured, the men are harvested, leaving only their skin.
26:49She is methodical and seems devoid of emotion, although this changes as she begins to identify
26:55with the humans she was sent to prey on. Both her origins and motives are left unclear,
27:00resulting in an incredibly unsettling cinematic experience. Her cold, calculated actions and eerie,
27:06otherworldly presence make her a truly haunting and iconic cinematic alien.
27:11It's a nice place if you want some solitude, you know, to gather your thoughts and all that.
27:17Yeah, so enjoy yourself anyway.
27:2023. Jean Jacket – Nope
27:23Jordan Peele's Nope is a complex film examining our culture's obsession with spectacle and violence.
27:29My family and I have bore witness to an absolute spectacle,
27:36one that you'll be seeing here today.
27:39It's also just an incredible horror movie. By looking up at this flying object,
27:43humans on the ground make themselves vulnerable to attack. It's ranch owner O.J. who realizes
27:48that the object is not a spaceship, but a wild animal. He and his sister M. observe its behavior,
27:54learn its weaknesses, and use that knowledge to kill it.
27:57What did you see?
28:01It was big.
28:03How big?
28:04Big.
28:05What'd it look like?
28:06I don't know.
28:07In the interim, however, the creature, dubbed Jean Jacket, is a blight on the countryside.
28:12When its true form is revealed, Jean Jacket appears to be some kind of
28:16giant flying carnivorous jellyfish. It consumes dozens of people and animals,
28:21creating a spectacle to lure in its prey.
28:2422. Owl Aliens – The Fourth Kind
28:28The online UFO community has believed in the connection between aliens and owls for a long time.
28:34This was an idea that the science fiction thriller The Fourth Kind picked up and ran with in 2009.
28:47Wow. Had you ever seen it before?
28:50For the uninitiated, the idea is that many people who have been abducted by aliens
28:55remember seeing owls right before or after their experience. These are implanted memories that
29:00aliens have been using to hide their appearance. The film is shot in documentary style, with
29:06reenactments used side-by-side with faux found footage. The aliens are never actually seen on
29:11film, lending them an air of unknowable menace.
29:14The FBI have paid them 353 visits.
29:17In the end, what you believe is yours to decide.
29:20In the end, what you believe is yours to decide.
29:2421. Clover – Cloverfield
29:27A found footage kaiju film was a great idea, putting the audience right there in the middle
29:32of the action. And that's a big part of what makes Cloverfield so memorable and terrifying.
29:37The film sees a gigantic extraterrestrial wreak absolute havoc in Manhattan.
29:41We are getting some truly extraordinary live images here in the studio.
29:45For those of you just joining us, lower Manhattan is in an absolute state of siege.
29:49While the monster isn't often seen, the small glimpses we do get are more than enough to
29:54scare the heck out of us. The entire setup makes you wonder, would we survive a giant
29:58monster attack? And the answer is, probably not.
30:02Those aren't gonna hit us, are they?
30:05Oh my god, they hit it!
30:06Conversely, the second film in the franchise, 10 Cloverfield Lane,
30:10is a slow-burn psychological thriller that ends with the reveal of a full-blown alien
30:15invasion. The quadrupedal figure we see there is honestly pretty scary too.
30:2020. Death Angels – The A Quiet Place Franchise
30:24There's not a whole lot that we know about these mysterious predators,
30:27but they sure know how to make an entrance.
30:32After being carried to our unsuspecting planet by meteors,
30:37the terrifying creatures quickly brought society to its knees.
30:41Incredibly fast and hypersensitive to any sort of noise, they've essentially forced the remnants
30:46of humankind into quiet mode. With their long limbs, elaborate and slimy auditory systems,
30:53along with wickedly sharp claws, these creatures seem tailor-made for hunting humans.
30:59And their lack of eyes only adds to their creep-out factor.
31:0919. The Greys – Dark Skies
31:12While this film got generally mixed reviews from critics,
31:15the aliens at the center of the story still made a lasting impression on audiences.
31:20With their wispy arms, hunched backs and oversized heads,
31:24the Greys are by no means the most fearsome-looking extraterrestrials on our list today.
31:28But their thoroughly alien anatomy is definitely strange enough to make your skin crawl.
31:33The real reason they earn a spot here is how the filmmaker decided to portray them in the story.
31:38Subscribing to the less-is-more philosophy of horror,
31:41the Greys are never fully revealed to the public.
31:44Subscribing to the less-is-more philosophy of horror,
31:47the Greys are never fully revealed to the audience and appear in silhouettes and shadows.
31:59And when you add a penchant for kidnapping vulnerable humans to the mix,
32:02they go from creepy to downright horrifying.
32:0518. Brandon Breyer – Brightburn
32:09In terms of alien anatomy, it doesn't get much more unassuming than this.
32:13Brandon Breyer looks like your run-of-the-mill young boy.
32:15What he's capable of, however, is anything but ordinary.
32:23Produced by James Gunn, Brightburn essentially asks the question,
32:27what is the most dangerous thing you've ever seen?
32:30Produced by James Gunn, Brightburn essentially asks the question,
32:34what if Clark Kent had turned out bad?
32:36Brandon Breyer's origin story mirrors that of Superman,
32:39right down to the spaceship, incredible powers, and rural upbringing.
32:43When Brandon's powers awaken, however,
32:45the spaceship he arrived in gives him a crash course in villainy and global domination.
32:55Creepy kids always bring an extra scare factor to horror films.
32:59But, Brandon's mannerisms, predatory nature,
33:02and awe-inspiring abilities take it to a whole new level.
33:05We're very glad Superman is historically on humanity's side.
33:1517. The Aliens – Signs
33:18The mention of M. Night Shyamalan ignites more jeers than cheers these days,
33:22but the once-promising director gave us some unforgettable scares in the sci-fi thriller Signs.
33:29Although simplistic in design,
33:31these outer-space foreigners left a lasting impression on moviegoers.
33:35Who could forget the intense kitchen scene,
33:37or the jaw-dropping birthday interruption footage?
33:43The horror came from what we didn't see,
33:46and Shyamalan built upon the tension to create some truly memorable moments.
33:50Let's hope those splashes of water were enough to keep them from coming back.
33:5916. Syl – Species
34:09Created by genetically splicing human DNA with that of alien DNA,
34:14the attractive Syl is one alien that isn't shy about her intentions.
34:26With an unstoppable desire to reproduce,
34:28she searches for a mate, often with extremely deadly results.
34:32Strong, smart, and possessing incredible regenerative capabilities,
34:37Syl is as dangerous as she is sexy.
34:4915. Aliens aka Ghouls – They Live
34:54It's a question that's plagued many an alien enthusiast and conspiracy theorist.
35:00What if they already walk among us?
35:02In this 1988 sci-fi action horror flick,
35:05the extraterrestrials take advantage of their humanoid anatomy to pass as earthlings,
35:09albeit with plenty of help from elaborate disguises.
35:18Like many of filmmaker John Carpenter's movies,
35:21They Live took time to find its fanbase.
35:23Negative reviews of the film be damned.
35:25Today, these extraterrestrials are recognized for what they really are,
35:29yet another masterclass in monstrous aliens courtesy of a horror legend.
35:34With their blue skin, buggish eyes, and lipless mouths,
35:38these alien invaders also earned the name they were given in the credits.
35:42There, they were called Ghouls.
35:5114. Mr. Grey – Dreamcatcher
36:04Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name,
36:07Dreamcatcher follows a group of friends that comes across a parasitic alien species
36:11that has the ability to possess an unwilling victim's body
36:14as well as use telepathy to control their victims.
36:17What do you want?
36:19The main alien antagonist, given the name of Mr. Grey,
36:22along with several sharp-toothed alien worms,
36:25seeks to populate the planet with their larvae.
36:33But it's his methodical and gruesome methods that make Mr. Grey stand out
36:37and make him one of the fiercest aliens this side of the Milky Way.
36:4213. The Bioraptors – Pitch Black
36:47Before he became Dominic Toretto,
36:51this sci-fi film gave Vin Diesel a huge leading role.
36:55A blend of sci-fi, horror, and action,
36:57Pitch Black sees Diesel playing a surgically enhanced ex-soldier turned criminal named Riddick.
37:02The hardened warrior and master of survival barely earns the label anti-hero.
37:07When you suddenly find yourself being swarmed by Bioraptors, however,
37:10there's really no one else you'd rather have around.
37:17Bioraptors are the apex predators of the barren wasteland that is planet M6117.
37:23These creatures look like a blend of a hammerhead shark, a dragon, and a very twisted imagination.
37:29With their massive teeth, razor-sharp claws, and prehensile tails,
37:33they've got multiple ways to take down prey.
37:36Thankfully, they're sensitive to light.
37:38But honestly, that's only a small comfort.
37:4012. The Killer Clowns – Killer Clowns From Outer Space
37:49Is this movie cheesy? Absolutely.
37:52But it's also a testament to just how effective practical
37:55effects can be when it comes to terrifying your audience.
38:02Now, clowns in general tend to freak people out.
38:04And this was true long before the clown panic of 2016.
38:08There's just something so inhuman about all that makeup and the outfits.
38:11In this case, however, the titular clowns from this movie are literally from outer space.
38:16And that isn't white face paint, it's their skin.
38:25Armed with all manner of weaponized clownish accessories,
38:28these extraterrestrials live to cause mayhem and are hungry for humans.
38:32Though this movie is a horror comedy,
38:34the practical effects used to bring the clowns to life are truly grotesque.
38:4611. The Pod People – Invasion of the Body Snatchers
38:55They might not have the most intimidating label,
38:58but these extraterrestrials make up for it with their world-conquering ways.
39:02After originating in the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers,
39:05The Pod People have appeared in a number of film adaptations.
39:08The scariest ones appear in the 1978 version starring Donald Sutherland.
39:14The film treats us to the sight of this extraterrestrial race in their natural
39:18gelatinous form, and it's pretty weird. What really earns them a place on our list
39:23is the way they assume the form of humans and take their place. As they spread,
39:27The Pod People systematically identify the unassimilated in a bid to replace
39:31all of humankind. That scream? It will haunt you long after the credits roll.
39:4610. The Grey Aliens – Extraterrestrial
39:49When a group of friends decides to get together for a party at a cabin in the middle of the woods,
39:53horror movie 101 dictates that treacherous events await them.
39:58The group, an extraterrestrial, finds themselves confronting some absolutely
40:07vicious otherworldly beings that happen to crash land nearby. If these aliens weren't
40:11menacing enough to begin with, killing one of them certainly did not help the
40:15friend's chances of survival. The sheer brutality that these aliens unleash upon
40:22these unfortunate victims is one for the record books, and makes us second-guess
40:27the idea of exploring other planets. 9. The Arachnids – The Starship Troopers
40:34Franchise No, the CGI in this franchise
40:37is not the best. While the films can feel a bit dated, Starship Troopers achieved something that
40:45you never really could have using practical effects – a swarm of aliens. Honestly,
40:54the Arachnids would have snagged a spot on this list simply by virtue of their size and numbers.
40:59What lands them in the top ten, however, is the fact that they're extremely organized and,
41:04though they might not look it, remarkably advanced. The Arachnids have seemingly gotten
41:08equivalent for just about every human technology. Their alternatives just happen to be organic.
41:14And it's this impressive range of abilities that makes these bugs so damn terrifying.
41:19Oh, and don't even get us started on Brain Bug.
41:328. The Aliens – War of the Worlds This tale of alien invasion is so terrifying
41:37that in 1938, just the radio drama was enough to send some listeners into a panic.
41:42H.G. Wells' iconic story has been adapted a number of times over the years,
41:46but The Aliens made their biggest impact yet in the 2005 adaptation.
41:57Directed by Steven Spielberg, the 2005 War of the Worlds is truly epic in scale,
42:03with extraterrestrials to match. Though the invaders were labeled Martians in earlier
42:08versions of the story, Spielberg decided to obscure their origins to help add to their
42:12scare factor. Not that they need it. From their creepy design to their massive machines of war
42:19and the way they repurpose human bodies, these aliens are Earth's worst nightmare.
42:317. The Long One – Slither James Gunn strikes again on this list,
42:36this time with a race of alien parasites. These creepy, slithering, otherworldly creatures have
42:42various forms in which to inspire fear. In their most rudimentary, slug-like form,
42:47these creepy red creatures are fairly vulnerable. But when they work together,
42:52it's only a matter of time until one of them finds a way into the host.
42:55The parasite at the heart of this alien race is the most grotesque of all.
42:59Known as the Long One, it takes possession of a host and quickly causes them to mutate
43:05into a mass of tentacles, weird growths, and pus. Eventually, the original host becomes all
43:15but unrecognizable. This is one close encounter we'd rather not have.
43:216. IT – The IT Franchise
43:23We bet you didn't expect to see clowns appear again on this list.
43:34Or maybe you did. In which case, congratulations, you really know your space clowns.
43:44This iconic Stephen King creation, known simply as IT, is best known for taking the form of
43:49Pennywise the Dancing Clown. With its vast assortment of abilities and near-limitless power,
43:54IT has terrified more than one generation of moviegoers. But this monster is more than
44:10just a shape-shifting clown. An entity that dates back millions of years, IT came crashing down to
44:16Earth either carried by a spatial body or in the form of one. Since then, IT has plagued the people
44:21of Derry and their predecessors and lives on a diet of fear and unlucky victims.
44:345. The Extraterrestrials – Fire in the Sky
44:38One would hope that our first contact with aliens will be nothing like this.
44:46The extraterrestrial beings in Fire in the Sky are somewhat plain-looking and don't appear very
44:51menacing. But what makes them utterly terrifying is the way they conduct horrific and intensely
44:56painful experiments, such as the ones Travis Walton goes through. This is exactly the sort
45:01of abduction that nightmares are made of. Let's hope that if the aliens actually want to study us,
45:06that it's through more of a face-to-face conversation and not a brutal game of operation.
45:164. The Grey Aliens – VHS2
45:21What starts out as a fun get-together with a group of teenagers strapping their camera
45:25to their lovable Yorkie quickly turns into a nightmare in the sequel to VHS.
45:35The camera captures every terrifying second as the kids are abducted one by one.
45:40Tricked by flashing lights and sirens, the kids head towards the police,
45:45but ultimately fall right into the Grey Aliens' trap. We're given one last haunting image of
45:50them being taken away while their dying dog takes one last breath. And it all leaves us
45:55speechless, with thoughts of space travel seeming less and less appealing with every passing moment.
46:103. Predator – The Predator Franchise
46:21Aliens in film often fit into one of two categories. You've got your snarling,
46:26aggressive, animalistic creatures. And you've got your mysterious, technologically advanced
46:31abductors. The Predator, or Yautja, however, is cut from a different cloth.
46:40True to their names, they are master predators who live to hunt. But they do it with super
46:46advanced technology that puts humans to shame. It's this combination that makes them such a
46:51formidable force to reckon with. Their code of honor won't stop them from going after their prey.
46:56The Yautja often use cloaking technology and keep themselves masked. When a predator
47:01eventually reveals its true face, however, well, it's rather hard to forget.
47:062. The Thing – The Thing John Carpenter did something special with
47:13the aliens in They Live. But his greatest gift to sci-fi is without a doubt The Thing. And that
47:19statement can equally apply in reference to the film itself and the titular extraterrestrial.
47:24The Thing is a shape-shifting creature that can not only emulate other life forms,
47:39but also actually assimilate them into its biomass. One moment it's posing as your friend,
47:44the next moment it's mutated that familiar face into something twisted, unimaginable,
47:49and extremely lethal. Worst of all, it has the ability to live on
47:53even after being severed into multiple pieces. Even when you think you've destroyed it,
48:08some portion of the extraterrestrial threat may very well live on,
48:12just waiting to restart the cycle of violence.
48:15Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
48:19about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
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48:311. The Xenomorphs – The Alien Franchise
48:38This extraterrestrial species is so iconic that it's managed to maintain its monopoly
48:42on the word alien for its franchise. It's inspired countless notable imitators,
48:46like the Faculty Alien. But honestly, no other creature comes close. Designed by Swiss artist
48:58H.R. Giger, the Xenomorph is an unholy amalgamation of humanity's biggest fears and anxieties.
49:03It's serpentine, resembles human anatomy, and is capable of implanting its host with a deadly
49:09parasite. This primal and predatory species seemingly exists only to cause pain. Although
49:18these aliens are terrifying in all its forms, the Xenomorph is the purest and most disturbing
49:23creation found in a Ridley Scott-directed film. Its place in horror history, cinema,
49:28and our nightmares has been rightfully earned. It doesn't get scarier than the Xenomorph.
49:34Did we leave out your favorite fearsome freak from space? Beam your pick into the comments below.
49:45Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
49:49and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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