Recently, I randomly decided to watch all of the “Alien” movies as I am a huge SYFY nerd. I quickly realized that I had not viewed all of the films. I was happily surprised by what I found. One of the most well-known and successful movie-monster franchises is Alien. Spanning 6 decades of cinema, the movies started in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s original film. It’s one of the best horror movie franchises ever to exist.

The original film shocked movie viewers everywhere, as nobody had ever made a science fiction movie quite like it before. The first film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and featured some incredible acting performances, which included breakout superstar Sigourney Weaver. To me, the Alien franchise has stood out so strongly because of how realistic the plot could be.

The Alien Films and the Fear of the Unknown

In the films, everything in the franchise takes place in the future, when Earth is decaying and deprived of natural resources. In the movie, Earth deteriorated until there was pretty much nothing left. Pollution, Xenomorph infestations, and major loss of life cause all of humanity to cease to exist or leave the planet.

(Photo by Bob Penn/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

While the timeline is unclear, this is an inevitable reality for us as well. One day, whether it’s 500, 2000, or 2 million years, we will run out of natural resources and will need to make drastic changes in order to survive. This is exactly what transpires in these movies. Research teams are heading out looking for new worlds to colonize and inhabit with thousands of people aboard gigantic spaceships.

During their travels through the endless universe, they encounter an extraterrestrial species referred to as the “Xenomorph,” which threatens humanity’s entire future. While this is, of course, science fiction, we truly have no clue what mysteries exist in the deep, unexplored spaces of the universe. This is what makes these films so compelling and yet terrifying at the same time.       

(Photo by Rolf Konow/Sygma/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Role of The Predator

The infamous Predator is often thought of in conversation when discussing the franchise, and there is a good reason for this. The franchise took a very interesting turn in the early 2000s with the Alien Vs Predator films. They’re important because they forever linked the two species in the franchise.

The 2 movies essentially cemented that the Predators have been hunting the ultimate prey, the Xenomorphs, for hundreds of years if not thousands. Which also connects the previous Predator movies. That being said, there is an official watch order for all the films if you’d like to watch them for the first time.

(Photo by Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images via Getty Images)

Official Watch Order

The list is as follows:

Without any more delays, let’s dive into the nine films in the Alien franchise and properly rank them from worst to best! For fans of the Xenomorph, I recommend checking out this piece on the “Most Powerful Movie Monsters.”

• 9. Alien Vs Predator Requiem

  First, I am a super fan of the Alien and Predator franchises. While I enjoyed watching Alien Vs Predator Requiem, I can clearly label this as the worst movie of the franchise. This film doesn’t give off the same suspense or intrigue as others. But at the end of the day, the action shots were still incredible, and you get to see the sole surviving Predator do some pretty badass things against the horde of Xenomorphs.

• 8. Alien 3

  I don’t have many bad things to say about this one. The only real downfall of Alien 3 is that it fell victim to the trap of trying to be crazier and more creative than the last two movies. It was not nearly as good as the previous two installments.

• 7. Alien Resurrection

  I have to put Resurrection above Alien 3 because they improved upon “thinking outside the box” on this one. The whole concept of cloning Ripley and the U.S. Military tries to breed Xenomorphs to study and research. While, of course, that goes horribly wrong, it was an incredibly well-executed plot.

• 6. Alien Vs Predator

  People hate on Alien Vs Predator, but I will always defend it. Part of the reason I love it so much is that it delivers precisely what every true fan was expecting to see. It was an epic monster-clash that featured a compelling backstory. Sure, it’s ridiculous at times, but that’s the point!

• 5. Alien Romulus

  The latest installment in the Alien franchise, Romulus, was successful because it emulated the original 1979 film incredibly well. You even meet one of the original shipmates on board the ship. This film is by far the most visually spectacular and has a compelling enough plot to keep you invested.

• 4. Aliens

  Aliens is easily one of the best sequels ever made and isn’t often discussed. This film uses the original recipe and expertly adds its unique flavor to make it different and still compelling.  The creativity of the original two films is fantastic, and I commend the creators for it. They added one of the most iconic movie monsters ever in this film… The Xenomorph Queen!!

• 3. Alien: Covenant

  Alien Covenant is in the top 3 because the writers didn’t get sloppy; they got that much better with time. Sometimes, when technology advances, storytelling is lost in the process. That is not what happened with Alien Covenant. A true return to where it all started. While Prometheus is technically the true prequel, Covenant is a follow-up to where Prometheus left off. Absolutely worth watching for any fans of the franchise.

• 2. Prometheus

  Sometimes prequels are not well done. In the case of the Alien franchise the prequel is one of the most compelling films I have ever seen, science fiction movie or not. What really stands out to me with this movie is that it makes you think a lot. Also, I believe that this film tells the story of how humans first came across the Xenomorph species. I also enjoy the creativity of the movie’s name, as Prometheus was technically a Titan of creation. Prometheus gave humanity fire even though Zeus forbade it, which ultimately had extremely negative consequences.

• 1. Alien

  This list would be invalid if I didn’t place the original film in the number 1 spot. The amount of creativity and guts it takes to make this film in the first place is commendable. As I explained in the first part of this post, the dark fact that the film’s concepts are not so beyond a possible reality is chilling to the core. In the future, we could use our world until it has nothing left to give. This would then force us to either go extinct or leave Earth searching for a new home. The research team encounters a hazardous life form in deep space in the movie. Again, humanity has not discovered all of space, as it is truly endless. Therefore, there is a possibility that something as crazy as the events of “Alien” could occur. This film is one of the top 10 all-time best horror films and deserves the number 1 ranking on this list!

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