A Complete, Chest-Bursting Ranking of Every 'Alien' Movie
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
THE FACT THAT the Alien series—rooted in the idea of quiet, horrifying dread, being stuck alone, and the idea that our corporate overlords will throw us out with some murderous monsters in exchange for a couple extra bucks—has been as successful as it has, still running strong 45 years into its existence, is unbelievably impressive. But guess what? When you're making movies that come with fleshed-out characters, incredible production value, and, you know, some of the most tense thrills and gory violence you'll find in any studio film, you're going to be able to get away with a lot of interesting and potent stuff thematically. And creating one of the most iconic, singular, and striking monsters in history—the Xenomorph, created by famed Swiss artist H.R. Giger—certainly doesn't hurt.
The Alien series returns in 2024 after a 7-year break with Alien: Romulus, set between the events of the first Alien and Aliens; Evil Dead (2013) and Don't Breathe director Fede Álvarez comes on board to direct and co-write the script, while the legendary Ridley Scott (who directed three films in the series himself) gives his cosign as a producer.
Romulus doesn't completely reinvent the series and its lore in the same way that Scott's two mid-aughts prequels (Prometheus and Alien: Covenant) did, but it still plays like one of the most exciting entries. It looks absolutely amazing, the overarching themes of reproduction, dread, and corporate greed are as present as ever, and it even tacks on something new near the end. Plus, the cast of up-and-comers—including Cailee Spaeny and Industry's David Johssson—prove to be game for the difficult task of bringing a new film in a beloved series to life.
But as we talk more and more about Romulus, it also makes now as good a time as ever to revisit the entire Alien franchise—including the Alien vs. Predator films, which shouldn't really count, but we're going to talk about them anyway. This is a series that rarely misses; some are certainly better than others, but on a movie-by-movie, director-by-director, star-by-star level, we're ready to declare the Alien franchise one of our very best.
So, without further ado, get your face-huggers and chest-bursters ready. Because we're about to rank every movie in the Alien franchise.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Heads up—this movie is not good. It's not! But after the first Alien vs. Predator (more on that one below) made a nice chunk of change at the box office in 2004, it was decided that a sequel was needed, and we needed more Aliens and Predators going at it. If that's what you want? Sure, you may get what you came for. But at what cost?
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
A Weyland-funded expedition for resources (and a 20th Century-funded hunt for money) led to this clash of two iconic horror creatures. While Sanaa Lathan does her best as the film's lead, it hardly compares to some of the heady concepts and impressive art that comes in the rest of this series. Still, if you want to see an Alien go up against a Predator...well, it's hard to go wrong considering the options.
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Set 200 years after the events of Alien 3, scientists do their science (a staple of the Alien universe!) to clone and revive Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in hopes of crafting her into an ultimate, Xenomorph-killing weapon and stopping the creatures from reaching earth. The movie is the weakest of the main Alien series, but that doesn't mean it's not fun; this very '90s film includes a great cast (Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman are among those joining Weaver) and is nothing if not entertaining. Like every film in the main Alien series, you won't be bored.
Alien 3 (1992)
David Fincher had a famously difficult time working on Alien 3 (his first movie!), and has never been happy with the final cut of the film. In fact, in a 2009 interview he came as far as disowning the movie. "No one hated it more than me," he said. "To this day, no one hates it more than me."
And while the film is certainly bleak—several fan favorite characters from Aliens are killed off in the opening minutes of the movie, and it doesn't get rosier from there—it's not that bad. If you're coming for Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ripley, and being a badass, and lots and lots of dark Xenomorph action... you won't be disappointed. Just don't expect a feel-good movie at all. Seriously, don't!
Alien: Romulus (2024)
The newest entry in the Alien franchise comes from director Fede Álvarez, and is kind of a greatest hits Alien movie, until the last 20 minutes which are totally bonkers and may win some fans over. Think of this like Star Wars: The Force Awakens; if someone were to say it was derivative, or playing on familiar franchise beats, they wouldn't be totally wrong. But it's doing those things extremely well, everything looks great, and those are the things we love about this series. Outside of one poor decision involving a returning character played by a deceased performer, this is a super fun movie, built on the back of great lead performances from Cailee Spaeny (who already was off to a great 2024 with her work in Civil War) and David Jonsson, who audiences may know from his work in HBO's Industry. Would recommend seeing on a big screen whenever you can.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien: Covenant marked the second film in a planned trilogy of Alien prequels that saw Ridley Scott return to the director's chair, and it's a whole lot of fun. Combining the sci-fi horror and weighty dread of the originals with some of the existential themes of life and death that have become core to the franchise, the movie is a blast and holds up really well. It's also got a fantastic cast—led by Katherine Waterston but also including Danny McBride, Billy Crudup, and a generationally good Michael Fassbender, who continues the role he begins in Prometheus.
Prometheus (2012)
Prometheus was the first in Ridley Scott's planned Alien prequel trilogy, and while Noomi Rapace doesn't quite match the final girl energy that Sigourney Weaver brings, the rest of the movie is beyond exceptional; for some reason Prometheus had a mixed, polarized reaction upon release, but it's hard to imagine any fan of the original Alien thinking it's anything other than a masterwork these days. Led by an absolutely incredible Michael Fassbender performance as David the android (a role he builds on in Covenant), Prometheus has all of the quiet dread and horror that Alien fans love. It doesn't reach the heights of Aliens, but it's the truest and best pure sequel to Alien out there. Now, if only someday we can get the third film in this mini-series.
Aliens (1986)
Don't need to analyze too much: Aliens, written and directed by James Cameron, is one of the best blockbusters of all time. Sigourney Weaver, who was already excellent in Alien, goes full action icon in the sequel; kicking ass, dropping catch phrases, and way more. She got an Oscar nomination for this! That hardly ever happens in these types of films, and it's just a testament to how great she is. Further, Aliens allows the franchise to evolve in a way that just completely builds on what Alien did: if you like the quiet terror of Alien more, then that's going to be your preference; if you like a big, loud action epic, then hell yeah, Aliens is going to be your bag. You can't go wrong with either—both are absolute classics for a reason.
Alien (1979)
At the end of the day, though, you can't get better than the original Alien, one of Ridley Scott's masterpieces and the movie that every film in the franchise has since had to measure up to. From its unique structure to its wonderful set design and groundbreaking effects, Alien is a perfect movie, and one that stands the test of time in an unbelievable fashion. This movie is forty-five years old, and is still as exciting and thrilling as anything you'll ever see. And the way Sigourney Weaver emerges heroically as Ripley throughout the film—slowly and surely, and not telegraphed from the start—is a totally unique way to build this kind of story. It is just, to put it simply, great, and will be hard for anything to ever top.
You Might Also Like
