The 10 Best Alien Movies On Netflix

Beyond “Aliens” and “Predators,” the alien movie subgenre is debatably the crown jewel of cinematic science fiction. It allows visionary filmmakers and effects designers the chance to show audiences creatures they never would have imagined. Sometimes they’re meant to strike terror into the hearts of moviegoers afraid of the unknown, but they can also be used to inspire a profound sense of empathy and wonder about the greater universe that surrounds our little blue planet.

Finding a good alien movie can be tricky, even on a streaming service like Netflix, despite its seemingly infinite offerings in nearly every genre (even though physical media is where the goods truly are). Admittedly, they don’t have what many consider to be the best alien movies ever made, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few hidden gems, forgotten masterpieces, and workable misfires in the catalog to fuel your next intergalactic movie night. From killer Pac-Man and talking spiders to vengeful plants and deadly laser tag enthusiasts, these are the 10 best alien movies on Netflix right now.

The most recognizable alien film on Netflix is likely the 2015 Adam Sandler sci-fi-comedy “Pixels.” The “Saturday Night Live” alum stars as a burnt-out arcade whiz who is tasked by friends in the U.S. government (including the president himself, played by Kevin James) with fending off an invasion from aliens who have taken the form of various ’80s arcade monsters. A throwback to films like “Ghostbusters” and “Gremlins,” it will offer Sandler apologists enough dumb fun and nostalgic visuals to be worth the ride.

/Film spoke to director Chris Columbus at the Las Vegas CinemaCon in 2015, ahead of the film’s release. After Sandler gave him a copy of the script on a whim, the “Harry Potter” and “Home Alone” filmmaker saw his chance to revive the tone found in the projects of production studio Amblin Entertainment. Founded by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall, Amblin produced such films as “E.T.,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” and “Back to the Future.” To Columbus, these films were special to audiences of all ages because the unique spectacle was merely a backdrop for drama that trusted the intelligence of its audience. “You weren’t being talked down to,” he told /Film. “The movie was made not only for the kids, but for their parents.”

Despite the passion, star-power and money behind it, “Pixels” was a critical failure when it debuted in 2015. It earned an embarrassing Top Critics Score of just 6% on Rotten Tomatoes and is widely considered to be far outside Sandler’s best cinematic effort. It did, however, manage to rake in a decent box office haul (over $244 million worldwide against a budget of $88 million) and topped Netflix’s most-watched charts in October of 2024. “Pixels” was Sandler’s last live-action film before he joined the streamer for a slate of projects starting in 2015 — a decade later, that very film ironically continues to prove detractors of their prosperous partnership wrong.

If you aren’t a fan of “Pixels,” don’t let it completely turn you off from Adam Sandler’s extraterrestrial collaborations with Netflix. In fact, he stars in another alien movie that was distributed on the streamer, and it’s not too bad. In “Spaceman,” Sandler plays an astronaut sent into space by the Czech space program as he wrestles with growing estrangement from his wife (Carey Mulligan) back on Earth. As the cold isolation of space forces him to confront the loneliness that threatens to consume him, he finds an unlikely — and admittedly terrifying — companion in a giant, kindly, psychic spider who happens to sound a lot like Paul Dano. The somber sci-fi saga was released in 2024 to polarized reviews, but its original concept and compelling leads make a solid argument for giving it a chance.

That said, “Spaceman” isn’t the traditional sci-fi action and/or horror flick one might usually expect of the alien movie subgenre. Its narrative action is motivated entirely by the emotional journey experienced by Sandler’s drifting cosmonaut, and his interactions with the nigh-incomprehensible alien being voiced by Dano are strangely tender and psychologically probing. 

To director Johan Renck, the film is better understood as an exploration of how human relationships evolve when forced to confront conflict. As he told NPR, “[W]hat this film is doing is obviously just kind of dragging [this exploration] to its extreme by having one part of the relationship 500 million kilometers away on a solo mission in space and the other one being on Earth trying to figure out, you know, a reasonable future of their relationship and so on and so forth.” Though it’s neither scary nor particularly thrilling, “Spaceman” is a strangely moving space oddity.

A sequel to the sleeper hit 2018 film directed by “The Office” star John Krasinski, “A Quiet Place Part II” may be slightly orphaned without its predecessor available to stream on Netflix (as of writing). For many, both films work together to tell one story that is neither fully satisfied by the completion of the first piece alone nor adequately set up by the second. However, especially for those who have already seen the first movie at some point, “Part II” offers enough context to get viewers into the next chapter of the story, and it introduces several engaging supporting characters (including one played by future Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy) who will compel audiences who have yet to see a single frame of “A Quiet Place.”

Both films boast some of the most unique aliens featured in popular science fiction projects in recent years. The Death Angels of “A Quiet Place” are animalistic hunters from a yet unknown planet who descend upon Earth with the intent to conquer it. Thrillingly, “A Quiet Place Part II” finally shows audiences what it was like when the Angels first arrived on the planet, making for one of the film’s most memorable sequences (it’s also something of an appetizer for the 2024 standalone prequel film “A Quiet Place: Day One”). The film overall does an exceptional feat of balancing further exploration of these monsters with the need to preserve some of the mystery surrounding them that maintains the series’ distinct sci-fi-horror vibe. This, combined with the grounded spectacle and performances seen throughout the film, make “A Quiet Place Part II” an arresting finale to this tale — at least, for now.

McG is, understandably, a somewhat polarizing filmmaker when it comes to science fiction. From 2009’s “Terminator Salvation” to 2024’s “The Uglies,” the director has proven to be less of a visionary and more a craftsman making do with whatever nondescript, visually joyless CGI assets a studio wants to throw at him. That dynamic is certainly still at play with Netflix’s “Rim of the World,” an original film for the streamer written by Zack Stentz that follows a group of young scout campers who find themselves at the center of an alien invasion. When we first saw the trailer, it seemed obvious to us that Netflix was attempting to take advantage of its in-built “Stranger Things” fanbase. But while plenty of similarities exist between the two projects, “Rim of the World” has a goofier tone that’s surprisingly effective at evoking the spirit of its young team of heroes.

There’s also plenty of charm brought to the project by Stentz, whose screenplay was largely inspired by the films of his childhood from the 1980s — what he refers to as “the golden age of kid-teen-centric adventure movies.” His experience writing for lower-budget genre TV shows such as “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Fringe,” and The CW’s “The Flash” also informed how much emphasis he put on his characters and their relationship to one another. “When we go full ‘Independence Day,’ we do go big– we have alien dogs, Marines, flipping Humvees, and at one point a 2-minute, Children of Men-style continuous take,” he told Dread Central. “But for most of our running time, the movie is four kids on the run, talking to each other, solving problems, and becoming the heroes they never thought they could be at the beginning.”

It’s hard to make a case for “Extinction” outside it being one of the few alien movies available to watch on Netflix. Michael Peña stars as a man who believes he can see a future alien invasion on the horizon, and the actor does what he can to anchor a story that feels largely aimless, even after the passably stimulating action commences.

For director Ben Young, “Extinction” was his first studio project after breaking out with the indie thriller “Hounds of Love” in 2016. While on set, his lack of experience and confidence inhibited his ability to fight back against studio executives who were constantly surrounding him and demanding changes to his original vision for the film. In interviews after the film was released in 2018, he likened the experience to making a TV commercial, and admitted that he learned quickly that seeing the project through wasn’t necessarily about bringing his ideas to life. Though he was given the chance to present a cut of the film he personally oversaw to executives at Universal Pictures, the distributor was apparently so unimpressed that they sold the rights to Netflix — a fact which Young didn’t find out about until it hit the news.

In the end, however, the sale was ultimately beneficial for “Extinction” from Young’s point of view, as he doesn’t feel it could have realistically competed in the 2018 theatrical environment, which was decisively dominated by Marvel Studios. Netflix also invited Young back to help with the final final cut of the film, though he still found himself mostly in agreement with critics who panned it.

One of our favorite alien movies available on Netflix is also one with relatively little alien action. Released to much praise in 2013, “Europa Report” is an indie science fiction thriller about a group of astronauts who venture to the titular moon of Jupiter in search of any proof of alien biological organisms. With its hyper-realistic approach to the subject matter, “Europa Report” keeps audiences in constant suspense about what the nature of their discovery will be — and whether or not the crew will be able to return the evidence to Earth with their ship and lives intact. The ensemble cast offers meaty roles to several actors you’ve likely seen pop up in smaller but no-less memorable roles over the years, including Sharlto Copley (“District 9”), Daniel Wu (“Love Hurts”), and Christian Camargo (“Dexter”).

Though director Sebastián Cordero was a casual fan of classic science fiction literature at one point in his life, he never considered himself a sci-fi filmmaker by any means. When producers approached him about taking on “Europa Report,” it seemed to him they were more interested in hiring a skilled dramatic storyteller with a talent for working with actors rather than someone with an established foothold in the genre. In hindsight, he has expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, as it allowed him a rare chance to defy industry expectations. His vision for the film — more intimate than your usual space epic and intensely focused on the relationships between characters while stoking empathy for each of them individually — also wound up being the key to its success. 

“It sounds obvious, but in this genre you can have directors who emphasize and put all their energy into the visual effects and the form, and ultimately this is a story about six characters in an enclosed space,” he told Collider. “The way they saw it was that, for me, that would be the priority and ultimately the characters are the heart of the film. You have to root for them.”

If you’re looking for an alien movie on Netflix that offers blockbuster action spectacle as well, look no further than the Chinese sci-fi epic “Warriors of Future.” Set in a dystopian future where mankind has collectively pushed the Earth toward the brink of total environmental collapse, sentient vegetation from outer space threatens to conquer what remains of humanity. The planet’s only hope is a squadron of soldiers armed with high-tech exoskeletons and advanced weaponry.

“Warriors of Future” was at one point the highest-grossing domestic film in Hong Kong, and it remains the city’s most financially successful domestic science fiction film. This is a huge achievement for star Louis Koo, who helped produce the film via his production company One Cool Film in order to help push the genre forward in China. Though he is a lifelong fan of sci-fi thanks to American imports like “Star Wars” (the Hong Kong box office is still fascinatingly dominated by a mix of U.S. blockbusters and smaller, domestically-produced adult dramas), Koo says Asian artists like himself at large still face massive roadblocks to making their own mark on the genre.

“In Asia, we face the problem of [a lack of] knowledge about the technology it takes to make such movies,” he told the blog 5D. “They also require a big capital investment.” The hope is that “Warriors” will be the first step not only in a cinematic universe for Koo’s One Cool Film Production company, but toward more Hong Kong artists taking chances on sci-fi projects.

For a relatively unknown film about office workers selling rare materials, it’s a bit hard to describe “Office Invasion” as a hidden gem. Hidden? Certainly — information about the South African “sci-fi” comedy is scant, and chances are, this is your first time reading about it. But its ludicrous pacing, thin characters, and uneven attempts at humor will have many viewers reaching for their phones long before the credits roll. That said, for those who can get on the same weird wavelength as “Office Invasion,” it may just be the cinematic surprise you’ve been hoping for.

Right away, we can do the film a massive favor its trailers don’t — this isn’t much of a sci-fi movie at all, and anyone going into it expecting 90 minutes of alien battles will be sorely disappointed. Instead, it’s an unpredictable, borderline absurd workplace comedy, the first hour of which plays like an extended episode of an NBC sitcom. When the wheels do start to come off, it’s because a trio of put-upon employees hatch a scheme to sell their company’s raw assets on the black market, which does eventually put the story on track toward true sci-fi spectacle (unimpressive as it may ultimately be). “Office Invasion” is indeed an alien movie technically, but any potential viewers should definitely go in with their expectations tightly managed.

Is “Blasted” a great or even good movie? No, not really. It is, however, arguably a forgotten masterpiece of what cinema academics would call the “Dudes Rock” subgenre (source: trust us). This is to say, it’s a gleefully dumber than dumb action-comedy about a bunch bros being bros, specifically during a nightmarish bachelor party that reveals the presence of an ongoing alien invasion. Because “Blasted” is presumably smart enough to know it shouldn’t try to outsmart an easily comparable “Bros Vs. UFOs” movie like “The World’s End,” it throws any semblance of logic to the wind and makes its aliens fatally vulnerable to laser tag guns. Because, ultimately, dudes do indeed rock.

The fun to be had in “Blasted” is similar to what you might get from a higher-budget YouTube sketch (albeit with talented, professional Norwegian comedic actors). The plot and characters are relatively thin, the premise only extends far enough to create whatever gags or spectacles the filmmakers have in mind, and the themes are almost nonexistent. But “Blasted” is neither soulless nor cynical at any point, and for that alone it stands out from many contemporary streaming offerings you might choose otherwise. It also draws some inspiration from the real life phenomenon of the Hessdalen lights, which may interest our more conspiracy-inclined readers.

The last alien movie on Netflix we can recommend is the Philippine-Ilocano animated science fiction mystery-drama “The Missing.” It follows a mouthless and emotionally isolated animator who discovers that his uncle’s unexplained disappearance may be connected to an extraterrestrial entity that haunts him. The film’s animation style shifts between childlike drawings and rotoscoping, the latter style being chosen to evoke a sense of confusion within the audience. “As the story progresses, there are a lot of things that are happening to [the protagonist], and for him, he’s also questioning whether things are real or not,” director Carl Joseph Papa told the entertainment site 25YL. “So, I think rotoscope perfectly captures that feeling.”

“The Missing” is certainly one of, if not the most, psychologically and emotionally challenging movies included on this list, using science fiction tropes largely to subvert an audience’s sense of comfort as characters try to keep their grip on reality. But those same characters are so carefully distilled within this unusual framing that Papa has no trouble connecting it all to a deeper, shared humanity that transcends even the most alienating of experiences. And at the end of it all, what are great alien movies like “The Missing” for if not to give audiences a chance to experiment with our empathy — to understand why an otherworldly presence terrifies us, or to see who or what we can connect with even when they look nothing like us.