Every Alien movie, ranked from worst to best

Key Takeaways

The Alien films have been inconsistent in quality, ranging from exceptional to disappointing over the years.
Some films, like Alien Vs. Predator, struggle with clunky plots, weak characters, and underwhelming action sequences.
The original Alien movie stands out for its tense horror atmosphere, oozing style, and intriguing mysteries.

There are a select few horror franchises that manage to not only survive for decades but remain as popular as the Alien films. We were first exposed to the world of face huggers, Xenomorphs, and androids in 1979 with the first film, and sequels have been appearing for over 40 years since. The lore has been widely expanded and even integrated with another iconic extraterrestrial menace, The Predator. We’ve had plenty of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs set in this dark and terrifying universe that makes it a bit hard to keep the timeline straight.

What everyone can agree on is that the Alien films have not been very consistent. While some are considered some of the best movies of all time, others are in the running for some of the worst. We decided to grab our motion trackers and see if we could survive watching every Alien movie to give them a definitive ranking.

We are only including movies that are explicitly in the Alien timeline or contain a cannon Xenomporph in this list.

5 indie horror games that made me sleep with a light on

I love horror games, but these indie titles made me afraid to turn the lights out.

8 Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem

The worst of both worlds

Is there anything good to say about Requiem? This movie has no redeeming factors that would appeal to fans of either franchise. Yeah, there are a lot of deaths, but what does that matter when you don’t care about anyone or anything? Oh, and the big selling point of the “Predalien” is a crime against both franchises wrapped into one mistake of a creature. It feels like a loose string of scenes tied together between gorey scenes meant to shock you until it mercifully ends.

8 Fire TV apps for streaming free movies and shows

Forget cutting the cord. It’s time to cut down your streaming bill. But with these free Fire TV streaming apps, you’ll have plenty to watch.

7 Alien vs. Predator

Chasing trends

I will never understand the odd obsession in the early 2000s with horror movie crossovers. We had Freddy Vs. Jason, Sadako Vs. Kayako, and, of course, this. The whole idea is getting to see who would win in a fight between two movie monsters, but ends up being huge disappointment. For one, the new cast is as flat as cardboard, and we’re stuck with them for the majority of the film. When the action does ramp up, it’s excruciatingly underwhelming compared to what you could imagine for yourself. It is kind of interesting to see how this movie retcons the lore of both movies together, but you could get more enjoyment reading the wiki than wasting your time watching the whole thing.

0:38

This little Kodak projector is my secret to the best movie nights and presentations

Despite limited resolution, I can see myself using the lightweight Kodak Luma 150 portable projector all summer long.

6 Alien Resurrection

Better off dead

You know a film is scrapping the bottom of the barrel when it brings a character back from the dead. Not even Joss Whedon at his best could turn this script into anything senseical. It tries so hard to stay fresh with new Xenomorph types and the whole twist with Ripley’s return, but it all ends up being such a slog to watch. There are no stakes you feel invested in, the characters are flat and clearly just there for fodder, and is lacks the style and atmosphere the series is known for.

Deadpool and Wolverine highlighted in green against a pink and purple background.

The 10 X-Men movies you should watch before Deadpool & Wolverine

Before Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters, there are some X-Men movies to watch in order to get fully caught up.

5 Alien: Covenant

Lost the plot

Does anyone even really know what Alien: Covenant was about? David was back and doing more shady stuff, and Xenomorphs showed up, but why was any of that happening? Was anything accomplished in the end? This entire movie feels more like an excuse to give us more of David the android, but shoves in some gorey Xenomorph scenes every now and then to remind you that it is still an Alien movie.

How to watch every Godzilla movie in order, including Godzilla x Kong

Want to know how Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters both fit into the MonsterVerse? We break it down.

4 Prometheus

An unneeded origin

There was a lot of hype for Prometheus when we learned Ridley Scott would be back in the director’s chair. While the film certainly has the look and feel of a movie in the Alien universe, the plot and characters are a jumbled mess. The worst thing you can do to a horror franchise is explain too much, and Prometheus spends its entire runtime explaining everything we didn’t need to know about Xenomophs and their creation.

How to do a Hulu Watch Party with friends on movie night

Hulu offers a Watch Party feature that allows all subscribers to simultaneously watch a show or movie while in a group chat room.

3 Alien 3

Better than it got credit for

I know a lot of people absolutely hate Alien 3, but I don’t think that’s a fully fair assessment. Most of the hate comes from the fact that it kills off two characters from Aliens off-screen, which feels cheap and invalidates basically everything that happened in that film. I completely agree that was a terrible call, but if you can look past that, Alien 3 isn’t a terrible idea. Being trapped in a prison with an Alien? It’s a bit close to the original, but with enough different parts to be interesting. It is far from perfect, but in retrospect shines compared with what we got later.

Two high schoolers falling through the sky.

5 anime movies that perfectly capture the summer vibe

There’s nothing better on a warm summer night than settling in with one of these great anime movies.

2 Aliens

Game over, man

I couldn’t imagine the pressure I would feel having to make a sequel to one of the best horror movies ever made. Instead of trying to recreate the same magic, Aliens made the wise decision to completely change the stakes. It is still a horror film at its heart, but less in the slasher style and more in the vein of a zombie movie where the fear stems from an overwhelming force instead of a single entity. The marines were fantastic characters and made it feel like the protagonists had a chance to survive, but never win. Ripley’s new role as a survivor and growth into a full-on action star felt natural and earned. By nature of being a sequel, it could never fully recapture the freshness of the original, but was about as great as a sequel could be.

How to watch all the Star Wars movies and shows in order

Disney+ is expanding the Star Wars Universe. So it’s never a bad time to start a rewatch the entire series.

1 Alien

More than nostalgia

The top slot can easily shift between Alien and Aliens, and not just because they’re only one letter apart. However, I personally find the structure and pacing of the more traditional horror in Alien over the horror-action of Aliens. Besides those differences, there’s something so intriguing about all the mysteries and surprises in Alien. The entire film just oozes atmosphere and style, but keeps you guessing at every turn. This is before we have any idea what the Xenomorphs are, how they work, or what they can do. In fact, we barely even understand them by the end except for the fact that a single one is terrifying and deadly.