Movies about aliens never go out of style. From the early Atomic Age classics like It Came from Outer Space, to recent smash hits like Nope, alien movies have captivated audiences for decades. While some alien movies win Oscars, most are heaped onto the pile of science fiction schlock for only hardcore genre fans to sift through and enjoy. Hidden deep within that pile, however, are underrated gems that deserve more recognition. From the misunderstood and the critically reviled, to obscure low-budget wonders and beyond, here is a list of the most underrated movies about aliens ever made.
7 Creature (1985)
William Malone’s 1985 film Creature is an easy flick to write off as one of a plethora of cheap knock-offs of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Indeed, it shares many plot points and apes the overall aesthetic of Alien, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. Creature follows two crews from rival corporations sent to Saturn’s largest moon to search for raw materials. While there, they run afoul of an alien lifeform that has been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years.
Beyond the obvious allusions to Alien, Creature has many intriguing ideas of its own, including the creature’s ability to zombify humans and use them as slimy puppets in its plot to feast on them. Despite the low budget, the film looks great, with scene after scene loaded with either foggy, alien caverns or beautifully realized spaceship interiors. Sure, we’ve seen this kind of material before, but if you can’t get enough of aliens on the loose on blue-collar space vessels, Creature should be at the top of your watchlist.
6 Forbidden World (1982)
Forbidden World is one of a handful of Alien-inspired horror films produced by the legendary B-movie king Roger Corman. Much like Creature, this film begins as a by-the-numbers clone of Alien, but soon verges off into the unexpected. It centers around a group of researchers on an alien planet who develop an experimental life form in the hopes of preventing an intergalactic food crisis. Unfortunately, the experiment goes awry, the lifeform breaks loose, and the team of researchers is put on the menu. A once forgotten cult classic, reclaimed by Corman fans and given new life by Scream Factory, Forbidden World packs all the bloody alien carnage you could hope for. It’s not as classy or intelligent as Alien, but it is a ton of fun and highly underrated.
5 Without Warning (1980)
Without Warning is a low-budget horror film that follows a gas-station attendant and a Vietnam veteran fighting against an alien invader. Although the pacing falters at times, the film more than makes up for it with its gooey creature effects and charming moments of oddball brilliance. With a stacked cast that includes Martin Landau, Neville Brand, and Jack Palance, and cinematography by the great Dean Cundey, Without Warning is much better than critical reviews would have you think. Also of note, Without Warning is credited as being one of the chief inspirations for the 1987 hit Predator.
4 Nightbeast (1982)
With its slimy monster, heaps of gore, and music by a young, then-unknown J.J. Abrams, Nightbeast has, according to Daily Dead, “everything you could want in a sci-fi/horror/action thriller.” It’s about a carnivorous creature from outer space landing in and wreaking havoc throughout a small Maryland town. Make no mistake, this is B-movie schlock through-and-through, but it’s outrageously entertaining and loaded with great lo-fi special effects. The titular Nightbeast looks spectacular, and should have become an ‘80s horror icon like Jason Vorhees and The Thing. Alas, this underrated gem has yet to see such acclaim, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking it out and reveling in its cheesy glory.
3 The Green Slime (1968)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Decades before directing the infamous shocker Battle Royale, Japanese filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku made his mark on the kaiju film genre with his 1968 film The Green Slime. The movie follows two astronauts who destroy an asteroid and inadvertently take dangerous cells from the asteroid aboard their space station, which birth slimy aliens bent on devouring mankind. It’s a rubber monster action blast of cosmic proportions, slickly directed and set to the tune of an amazingingly campy rock and roll theme song. While it’s no 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s surely one of the most underrated movies about aliens ever made, and one you do not want to miss.
2 Lifeforce (1985)
Inexplicably lacking from many lists of Tobe Hooper’s best films, 1985’s Lifeforce is a truly underrated sci-fi spectacle about a beautiful but deadly alien-vampire who turns London into a city full of zombies. One of the biggest and best films by a trailblazing filmmaker, Hooper’s Lifeforce was initially met with negative reviews and poor box office earnings, but has slowly garnered a well-deserved cult fanbase.
1 The Deadly Spawn (1983)
The Deadly Spawn is a 1983 alien invasion film that tells the story of a crash-landed alien that hides in a family’s basement, feeds on the family members, and grows to gigantic size. It’s a special effects extravaganza, featuring a should-be iconic and entirely convincing creature, as well as some genuinely frightening scenes of the beast feeding on its prey. It’s ambitious and highly impressive for its low budget, which, according to Confluence of Cult, was “a mere $25,000.” This gory alien horror jam deserves to sit alongside the greatest extraterrestrial terrors of all time, and is easily one of the most underrated movies about aliens ever made.