5. Prometheus (2012)
Expectations were through the roof following news that Ridley Scott was finally being tapped to return to the series he kickstarted 30 years prior with a long-in-the-works prequel that promised to delve into the origin myth of the mysterious Space Jockey, Xenomorphs, as well as the human race at large.
In recounting the story about a crew of Weyland-backed archaeologists including Naomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba who journey across the cosmos to meet their makers (known as Engineers), “Prometheus” can be said to have raised even more questions than provided clear-cut answers about the greater mythos of the “Alien” universe. That open-endedness in addition to a noticeable lack of Xenomorph-vs-human action was something of a tough pill to swallow for a large number of fans at the time who quickly dismissed it as the last in a long line of belated legacy sequels that turned out to be disappointments in the 2010s.
Does everything stick together? Not really, there is some valid criticism about the film that suggests Scott might have been a bit out of his depth this time around and some rougher edges that keep “Prometheus” comfortably a tier or two below the series’ finest. But for sheer boldness and vision, it’s hard not to appreciate Scott swinging for the fences, essentially delivering an expansive Shakespearian tragedy that reckons with faith, mortality, hubris, free will, death, and human folly all in the guise of a populist summer blockbuster. And let’s be honest, Alien doesn’t get much more memorable than that gnarly C-section scene.
4. Alien: Covenant (2017)
One of the most common criticisms leveled against “Prometheus” upon release was that amidst all the grand philosophizing, info dumps, and extensive world-building, director Ridley Scott seemed to have lost sight and/or interest in the series’ horror-slasher roots and had sidelined its titular monsters to too great a degree. Though not exactly the action-packed splatter-fest most hardcore fans had been waiting for, the second installment in his since-abandoned prequel trilogy was a necessary course-correction in that regard that found far steadier footing than its polarizing predecessor in juggling high-minded ideas with good old-fashioned Xenomorph mayhem.
Michael Fassbender gives another inspired performance as David, a rogue man-made android with a god complex, while pulling off double duties as his submissive doppelgänger Walter, who lands on an unfamiliar planet after picking up a signal on board of the human colony ship Covenant. It’s sort of a deep-space gothic haunted house thrill fest wherein David lays vengeance on his creator’s race in increasingly gnarly fashion while contemplating his place in the cosmos. In conclusion, Scott tries to have his cake and eat it too by trying to appease horror and lore Alien aficionados alike — only to end up failing to fully satisfy either.
3. Alien 3 (Assembly Cut, 1992)
The third entry in Ripley’s saga endured heavy studio interference and no shortage of drama behind the scenes with 20th Century Fox notoriously shuffling between several screenplays and directors before settling on a then-unproven, 27-year-old music video producer by the name of David Fincher to hopefully steer a sinking ship in the right direction.
Though the creative decision to nonchalantly kill off two fan favorite sidekicks and put Ripley through the wringer squaring off against Xenomorphs for the umpteenth time (now, in the gloomy prison planet Fiorina 161) would alienate a large portion of the series’ fanbase and be later be disowned outright by Fincher himself, we never subscribed to the notion that Alien 3 — even in its butchered theatrical version — was an irredeemable trainwreck of epic proportions. But a recent Assembly Cut that restored the film into something closer to the director’s original vision was later to redeem some of its reputation among fans and turn countless detractors into believers. It’s that superior version that holds up surprisingly well today and feels in most direct conversation to Scott and Cameron’s movies.
2. Aliens (1986)
If you somehow haven’t heard the story by now, showbiz legend has it that James Cameron waltzed through 20th Century Fox headquarters, wrote “Alien” on it and then added a “$” to the end without further elaborating in hopes of getting a potential sequel greenlit by the studio. Needless to say (we’re talking about Cameron here, lads), the gambit worked big time, and the mastermind behind “Terminator” would eventually prove to be just the right kind of guy with a clear vision and strong authorial stamp you could trust calling the shots to breathe a much-needed new life into the series.
Though obviously revered as an undeniable genre touchstone today, it was perfectly reasonable at the time to be a little skeptical about the potential follow-up to an instant classic that had set what many considered to be an unreachable bar to cross when it changed what a horror movie could be in 1979. How do you even top that? As it turns out, you can’t. But truth be told, putting together what is now considered one of if not the single greatest action-war movie of all time ain’t too shabby either.
Replacing Scott’s simmering tension and atmospheric slow burn for an all guns-blazing, adrenaline-pumping shoot- ’em-up, “Aliens” finds lone Nostromo survivor Ripley teaming up with a squad of buffed Marines to wipe out an entire colony’s worth of Xenomorphs wreaking havoc in the planet LV-426. It’s loud, brass, and outrageously over-the-top, but also an absolute blast no matter how many times you catch it on cable.
1. Alien (1979)
Not surprised? At the end of the day, sometimes the obvious, boring pick is, well, precisely that for a reason. Often imitated but never replicated, the original 1979 “Alien” stakes a legitimate claim to the title of greatest sci-fi horror movie ever and along with “Blade Runner” remains the capstone achievement of Ridley Scott’s prolific career. It’s such an inescapable piece of pop culture by now — you must have seen the film’s famous chest-burster scene referenced and spoofed across media a gazillion times — that it can be easy to forget just how groundbreaking, utterly terrifying, and essentially flawless the film is.
You know the drill: A crew of blue-collar workers including Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, in her breakout role) set out on an interstellar mission only to find themselves trapped and viciously hunted down one by one by a slimy, acid-spraying alien predator on board of the commercial spaceship USCSS Nostromo. Claustrophobic, genuinely scary, and without an ounce of narrative fat, the original “Alien” is still head and shoulders above any film on this list and can only be described as a perfect organism.