Space: the last frontier. When it comes to creating space stories, it is largely inspired by our imagination. Throughout history, humanity has contemplated the possibility of life beyond our planet, and those thoughts have translated into various depictions of extraterrestrials onscreen.
Some alien representations are funny - Galaxy Quest, Paul, Men in Black - while others depict the real horrors of an alien invasion - The Tomorrow War, The 5th Wave, Edge of Tomorrow -
Nope (2022)
OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) are ranch owners who care for horses for film productions. However, life on the secluded ranch is interrupted by a cloud that hasnt moved for six months, strange electronic disturbances, and debris falling from the sky, all things that OJ and Emerald believe to be caused by an unidentified flying object.
Jordan Peeles Nope is an alien film that knows how to keep you watching. At its heart, it's a film about spectacle and humanity's awe-inspiring fascination with it, as well as the dangers it presents. It's a titillating and tragic tale of obsession and spectacle that has been ingrained throughout cinema's history.
Starship Troopers (1997)
Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) is a soldier serving in the United Citizen Federation, an interstellar conflict between humans and an arachnoid alien species known as the Bugs.
Paul Verhoeven, well-known for his social satire, was ahead of its time in 1997, satirizing themes of patriotism, authoritarianism, colonialism, and xenophobia. With propaganda advertisements interspersed throughout the film, Verhoeven critiques the notion of nationalistic fascism, highlighting its inherent absurdity and dangers to society.
Alien (1979)
The crew of the Nostromo spaceship discovers a planet filled with tens of thousands of alien eggs after answering a distress call from a distant planet during their return to Earth. The rest of the crew are unaware of the danger they have just brought aboard.
Alien by Ridley Scott combines science fiction with horror to create a chilling body hijacking film. With the ability of parasitic aliens to infiltrate the fleshy barrier of the human body, its a film about the abject - the notion of the breakdown of conventional borders - that confronts humanity's inherent fragility.
Under the Skin (2013)
The Female (Scarlett Johansson) is an alien who wanders the streets of Glasgow seeking prey, capable of enraging unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
Under the Skin, a dark science fiction film released by A24, is a haunting experience that requires multiple viewings to fully comprehend what it is trying to say. With heavier themes like contemporary feminism, objectification of women, and rape culture, it gives an unique perspective on the human experience from an outsider's viewpoint.
Arrival (2016)
After 12 alien ships arrive around the world, the military recruits expert linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to assess whether they are suitable for use in peace or pose a threat to humanity.
Denis Villeneuves Arrival is a more nuanced exploration of interterrestrial intelligence, examining the ways in which alien intelligence should not be presented with fear, but instead with curiosity.
Contact (1997)
Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) works for the SETI program, which is looking for alien life by listening to radio emissions from space. One night, Arroway detects a signal from the Vega star system, which she after many months decodes into schematics for a teleportation machine.
Contact explores the interdependence between science and religion that has plagued humanity as a result of the exponential advancement of technology. All of Arroway's own beliefs are challenged, highlighting the importance of faith in the human experience.
They Live (1988)
John Nada (Roddy Piper) discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of uncovering the hidden identities in society. Nada is confronted by the revelation of subliminal messages hidden in media and government messages that keep the population subdued, and soon discovers that behind the social elite who are dictating society are skull-faced aliens bent on world dominance.
They Live, the John Carpenters cult film, is a political commentary created by US President Ronald Reagan. It explores the hidden messages embedded in every aspect of society and calls into question who is at the core of these ideologies.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
When a spacecraft arrives in Washington D.C., the world is spellbound by its mystery, and out comes a humanoid alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and a robotic robot named Gort, who have arrived to fulfill their message of peace and goodwill; your choice is simple: continue your current path and be obliterated.
Robert Wises The Day the Earth Stood offers a more nuanced interpretation of the term, revealing that sometimes the real threat to humanity is itself.
The Iron Giant (1999)
In 1957, a giant alien metal machine known as the Iron Giant (Vin Diesel) befriends a nine-year-old boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) in Rockwell, Maine. During his time on Earth, the Iron Giant saves the residents of the town from danger as well as their own prejudices.
The Iron Giant, a Brad Birds animated film, critiques the xenophobic anxieties of the time in its focus on belonging and identity. The Iron Giant poses the question of what if a gun had a soul and didnt want to be a gun?
District 9 (2009)
Aliens have arrived on Earth not to conquer or provide assistance, but to seek refuge from their demise. They are separated from humans in a controlled area called District 9, where they are held as prisoners, interrogated for their motives, and probed for their advanced technology.
Neill Blomkamps District 9 is influenced by historical events during the apartheid period that saw the establishment of racial segregation in Cape Town in 1966. These themes of racism and xenophobia play out against a science fiction backdrop enhanced by found footage sequences throughout the film.