Every Alien Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
With 'Romulus' joining the 'Alien' anthology, we figured now's as good a time as any to place where films like 'AVP,' 'Covenant,' 'Resurrection,' and more rank in the science-fiction, monster-horror franchise that debuted in 1979.
When Alien hit the big screen on June 22, 1979, nobody was prepared for the horrifying journey the world was about to embark on. Set in the claustrophobic confines of space where no one can hear you scream, hunted by an unstoppable breed of killing monstrosities known as the Xenomorphs, the Alien franchise revolutionized the way we feel fear at the movies. The franchise started off with a screech with two amazing movies, but the quality has certainly flip-flopped over the years as more entries came out. Still, there’s no denying its longevity as a crowd-captivating series. No matter how good or bad of an entry we get, the world always wants more of those terrifying space creatures. Since we are getting another movie in the form of Alien: Romulus from horror heavyweight Fede Álvarez, we bring you a complete ranking of every Alien movie and its varying spinoffs, sequels, and prequels. Don’t worry, this is a spoiler-free countdown, so let’s break down the worst and best Alien films.
9.Aliens Vs. Predator (2004)
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1h 40m
Rotten Tomatoes: 22% (Critics), 39% (Audience)
Let’s start off with what’s easily the weakest entry in the series, Paul W. S. Anderson’s Alien Vs. Predator. Initially teased at the end of Stephen Hopkins’ Predator 2 in 1990 when Lt. Michael Harrigan boards the Predator’s ship and sees a Xenomorph skull trophy, and after a series of comic books and video games, we didn’t get a live-action, big screen face-off between the two extraterrestrial titans until 2004. Needless to say, it wasn’t the epic confrontation we were hoping for. It had its moments of bloody battles between the Aliens and Predator, sure, but the movie was dragged down by a laundry list of problems: It took far too long for the Aliens and Predator to fight, the characters simply were not interesting, it wasn’t scary, and we were given a human/Predator team up nobody wanted or asked for. It just wasn't a satisfying entry, all things considered.
8.Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Director: Greg and Colin Strause
Cast: Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 34m
Rotten Tomatoes: 12% (Critics), 30% (Audience)
Greg and Colin Strause’s Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, the sequel to AVP, was an improvement. Not a huge one, but it was an improvement nonetheless. The terror level was amped up and the gore increased tenfold, but the film still had characters that were extremely hard to care about, poor editing, bad lighting (it’s hard to see anything at various points in the movie), and a lot of things that happened for no good reason. The first two Alien movies weren’t just slasher pictures, they had expertly developed and engaging characters, something the Alien Vs. Predator movies sorely lacked. What these movies showed us is that it simply isn’t enough to pit these two monsters against each other. You still need competent storytelling.
7.Alien 3 (1992)
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Brian Glover
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 55m
Rotten Tomatoes: 44% (Critics), 46% (Audience)
Easily the weakest of the Sigourney Weaver-led Alien movies, David Fincher’s Alien 3 was the first sign of the dip in quality the franchise would endure. The movie suffered from a lack of originality as it was essentially the same story as the previous movies but with different characters and much less efficient directing and writing. Visually, the movie is interesting, but this was also when CGI was more heavily used in the films and the Xenomorphs were no longer practical effects but computer generated images that aged terribly. Apparently, this film was riddled with studio interference, reshoots, and rewrites, and the end result shows. It also has a dirty and grungy feeling compared to the first two films, and the scares—or lack thereof—are incredibly repetitive. The film was originally a pretty tepid way to send-off Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley, but really, all it did was put us to sleep both in theaters and at home.
6.Alien: Resurrection (1997)
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 49m
Rotten Tomatoes: 55% (Critics), 39% (Audience)
Ripley returns! Well, sort of. 200 years after Alien 3, director Jean- Pierre Jeunet brings our heroine back as a human/Xenomorph clone hybrid because why not? Sigourney Weaver is the strongest part of the movie, but even she can’t keep afloat a ship of who-cares characters, nonsensical plot points, and at times, insufferable dialogue. This movie is better than Alien 3, but that’s not saying much. Like previously stated, Weaver and her escapades are worth the price of admission alone. But much like Alien 3, the movie isn’t so much scary as it is gory and filled with action that pushes aside any real sense of terror. If this was a self-contained movie, Resurrection would have probably been received better. However, by the time it came along, the audience had Alien fatigue, and a much needed dose of something different and new was sorely needed.
5.Alien: Covenant (2017)
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 2m
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% (Critics), 55% (Audience)
After the initial fan complaints about Ridley Scott’s horror/thriller epic Prometheus not having enough connective tissue with the rest of the franchise, Covenant was an attempt to not only continue the tale of Prometheus but also bring the series back to its roots. In some ways, it succeeds. Unfortunately, in most other ways, it fails to recapture the magic. Covenant's plot is rife with odd creative choices that didn’t go over well with fans, plus some awkward, sometimes unintentionally hysterical dialogue (“I’ll do the fingering,” as Michael Fassbender's David says to his clone he's teaching to play the flute). It was a welcome sight to see the Xenomorphs return, but director Ridley Scott’s effort to make Prometheus have more to do with the Alien franchise as a whole seemed forced. The movie has tons of scary moments, but it lacks any innovation in a series that was suffering from a lack thereof.
4.Alien: Romulus (2024)
Director: Fede Álvarez
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi,
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 59m
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% (Critics), 86% (Audience)
Fede Álvarez’s Romulus is a much welcomed return to the fright fest established in the early Alien films. For the first time in what’s felt like a long time, Álvarez brought the horror back to the forefront and successfully made the audience fearful of the Xenomorphs all over again. Taking place between Alien and Aliens, Romulus gives us a lot of fun as we connect various Easter eggs that ultimately please even the most diehard fans. Without spoiling anything here, there are a lot of moments that made us point fingers like Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as well as other instances that seemed a little offer, making us wonder why their placement was necessary in the first place. Still the tension is real, the scares are plenty (especially in the jump-scare department), and for the first time in a while, the characters have depth, garnering interest in the viewer. While certainly not perfect, and by no means is it the greatest entry into the franchise, Romulus gives the fans what they paid for and leaves open a lot of possibilities should Álvarez’s entries continue in the saga.
3.Prometheus (2012)
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 3m
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% (Critics), 68% (Audience)
Despite not exactly being the story everyone asked for, Ridley Scott’s visually gorgeous and deeply profound semi-prequel Prometheus nevertheless gave us a compelling narrative that provided background on not only the Alien franchise but the human race itself. Featuring strong performances from a strong cast—most notably Michael Fassbender—fascinating visuals, and tense moments, Prometheus did something the series desperately needed: journey in a new direction that told a different story in the universe. Despite all that Prometheus tried to do, fans felt that there was not enough connective tissue to the Alien anthology, which resulted in the Xenomorphs coming back in Covenant. While the movie is a bit of a departure from the familiar formula, Prometheus gave us a compelling story while showcasing the courage to go against the grain. That alone makes it well worth viewing.
2.Aliens (1986)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: R
Runtime: 2h 17m
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Critics), 94% (Audience)
James Cameron’s Aliens is the direct sequel to Ridley Scott's previous movie, which took everything that made the original great and amped it up to 11. The first movie was definitely more horror orientated, mostly focusing on scares, while Aliens ratchets up the action and showcases more characters for us to root for or enjoy their demise at the hands of the Xenomorphs. Oh, and those pesky Xenos? There was only one in the previous movie, so how about a whole hive of them this time around? (Scared yet?) Aliens is one of the rare cases where the sequel shines just as much as, if not more than, the original in a lot of ways. Sigourney Weaver is back as Ellen Ripley and gives a supremely badass performance as someone who has been through the hell of the Xenomorphs to become our only hope of ever eliminating these terrifying killers. She’s joined by a ragtag team of marines this time who pose more of a threat but end up being mere cannon fodder. It’s whatever, though, because isn’t violence what we all came here for?
1.Alien (1979)
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (Critics), 94% (Audience)
The movie that started it all. Our introduction to Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorph was a game changer to the horror genre. During an era run by killers in hockey masks, striped sweaters, and butcher aprons, Alien brought us to the cold, inhabitable darkness of space. The legendary H. R. Giger gave us an incredibly terrifying monster that instilled a sense of awe and fright in the viewer. The movie takes place in the confines of a spaceship, so there is a deep sense of claustrophobia to add to the unease the film emits. This alien creature was something audiences had never experienced before: it had no clear motive to kill, it bled acid, it multiplied by fatally implanting eggs into its victims, and it was able to crawl through vents while blending in with the ship's machinery. There was no part of the movie where the audience felt safe, and that’s what makes it so effective. Alien is a must watch for any fan of horror or film in general, and is a great way to kick off your Alien franchise marathon.
