After I realized there are eight films in the “Alien” franchise ahead of the newest, “Alien: Romulus,” I figured it was too coincidental not to write about as I’m trying to keep my lists to eight. Why eight? I don’t know. It looked nice on the page.
‘Til next month!
“Alien” (1979), directed by Ridley Scott
There’s not much I could add to what’s already been said about Scott’s sci-fi horror masterpiece, “Alien,” except that there are few perfect movies and “Alien” is one of them. A perfect haunted house movie. A perfect space horror movie. A perfect “bad-ass heroine” movie. A perfect workers’ rights and corporate greed metaphor. If you watch no other movie ahead of “Romulus,” watch this one.
“Alien” is available to stream free with ads on Hulu, Fubo and FX Now. You can also catch it for rent or purchase across most streaming platforms.
“Aliens” (1986), directed by James Cameron
James Cameron’s rollicking sequel keeps the spirit of Scott’s horror classic but channels it through a 1980s-action-movie filter instead. Results are an endlessly watchable movie that stands on its own while also deepening the franchise mythos. Weaver’s Ellen Ripley has probably never been better in any “Alien” movie and the story — the loss and reclamation of her motherhood — has never suited the character’s emotional conflict this well again. If there had never been another “Alien” movie after this one, that honestly would have been fine.
“Aliens” can be streamed for free with ads on Hulu and Max. It can also be rented or purchased across most platforms.
“Alien3” (1992), directed by David Fincher
Alright, well, let me just say this is my least favorite main-timeline “Alien” movie. While David Fincher is among my favorite directors, even he couldn’t save his debut feature. “Alien3” is widely hated (even by Fincher himself) but that’s not to say it isn’t without interesting ideas. The execution is just too serious, too dour, too ugly to be salvaged. “Alien3” finds Ripley on a prison planet that’s also… kind of a monastery. It’s all very odd and had potential but there’s just no fun to be had here. Even if the film gets some emotional arc-things right for the character, it’s ultimately unfortunate this is Ellen Ripley’s final proper space outing.
“Alien3” can be streamed for free with ads on Hulu and Fubo. It’s also available to rent or purchase on most other platforms.
“Alien Resurrection” (1997), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Halfway through a person’s first watch of “Alien Resurrection” they may start to wonder: Why is this movie so garish? Why is it so weirdly horny? Why is Ellen Ripley back as a cloned human-alien hybrid who has a somewhat sapphic relationship with an android played by Winona Ryder? All of these questions disappear upon learning that the director is French.
“Resurrection” is not much more popular than “Alien3,” but where that movie is hard to watch, “Resurrection” is very watchable because it’s such a fun mess.
“Alien Resurrection” can be streamed free with ads on Hulu, Fubo and FX Now. It’s also currently available to rent or purchase across most platforms.
“Alien vs. Predator” (2004), directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
Look, I know this movie is probably very bad. And yet, it’s so much damn fun. Me describing this movie to someone at a bar at 2 a.m.: A team of explorers go into an Antarctic ice shelf where they find an ancient pyramid — and danger ensues.
This movie shouldn’t work as well as it does. Also, shoutout to Vulcan Video in Austin, Texas, which forgave my final late fine on this movie when they closed.
“AVP” can be streamed for free with ads on Hulu, Fubo and Starz. It’s also available to rent or purchase across all major video streaming platforms.
“Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem” (2007), directed by Greg & Colin Strause
Honestly, I’ve only seen this once and it was very, very bad. Everything is somehow worse than the first film but the the fatal flaw of “Requiem” is that it’s kind of boring, too.
“AVP: R” can be streamed free with ads on Hulu, Fubo, and FX Now. It’s also available for rent or purchase across other platforms.
“Prometheus” (2012), directed by Ridley Scott
I’m so glad this wonderful prequel has been re-evaluated by the internet since its tepid-to-hostile initial reaction. “Prometheus” manages to skirt some of the problems with prequels in general — lack of mystery and surprise — by answering questions from the original “Alien” with new questions.
Unlike some other IP prequels we’ve gotten in the past few years, “Prometheus” isn’t cynically holding up things you liked from the first movie and hoping you like them. Finally, an extra special pat on the back to its screenwriters, who found a way to mirror the original’s iconic chestburster scene in a new (and terrifying) way.
“Prometheus” can be streamed free with ads on Hulu, Fubo, and FX Now. It’s also available for rent or purchase across other platforms.
“Alien: Covenant” (2017), directed by Ridley Scott
I kind of hated “Alien Covenant” at first — as did many. Whereas “Prometheus” manages to escape typical prequel mistakes, “Covenant” steps right into a bunch of them. But over time, I’ve softened on this flawed-but-fun prequel sequel. “Covenant” is louder, dumber and more overt than “Prometheus,” but I ultimately don’t think that’s a terrible thing. What works here really works and it’s much weirder than you’d expect, even knowing it’s an “Alien” movie. Elevator pitch: What if an evil gay robot enacted a genocide in the name of science?
“Covenant” may be the last glimpse into this timeline we ever get and that might be for the best.
“Alien: Covenant” can be streamed free with ads on Hulu, Fubo, and FX Now. It’s also available for rent or purchase across other platforms.
IF YOU LIKE “ALIEN”:
“Life” (2017) — Don’t ever let anybody tell you Daniel Espinosa’s 2017 space horror film “Life” is an “Alien” knockoff. It’s an alien knockoff that RIPS. Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds discover a rapidly evolving life form above a space station and nothing goes well at all.
“Annihilation” (2018) — Alex Garland’s adaptation of sci-fi genius Jeff Vandermeer’s first “Southern Reach” series novel is also genius. So much of Vandermeer’s book (one of few books I’ve ever read in a single day) would present any filmmaker with a challenge. Vandermeer’s images are often drawn for feeling, not for conjuring a perfect description. “Annihilation” retains much of the spirit of Vandermeer, while also adding some interesting (and deep) Garland-originated ideas. Also, Natalie Portman uses a machine gun.