With my latest episode drop of The Spiritual Skeptic, a comedy-paranormal podcast, it’s the perfect time to dive into some of my favorite alien movies. So strap on that ol’ tinfoil hat, my friends, and let’s get weird.
- District 9
Back in 2009, my college buddies and I saw District 9 in theaters. As the credits rolled, my friend Perry shot up and yelled, “Unbelievable, un-fucking-believable!” I was still processing the ending, so all I could do was stare at him, half in shock, half in awe, thinking, “What are you doing? This is a public setting.” But, honestly, he had a point. It was un-fucking-believable.
Perry’s antics aside, the plot of District 9 deliciously starts with a massive UFO parking over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Inside, a large population of aliens is discovered, struggling to survive. They’re initially relocated to the slums, labeled, you guessed it, District 9. Later, Wikus Van Der Merwe (yes, that’s really his name) is tasked with leading the charge to move them to their new home, District 10. You guessed it again—well done, you alien-loving son of a b. You didn’t actually guess it, did you? Are you even listening to me?
Anyway, this is a massive undertaking and District 9 is a weird, unpredictable place with a lot of tension between the aliens and South Africans. While helping with the move, Wikus confiscates a strange liquid canister from an alien, which accidentally sprays him in the face. This may or may not trigger his slow transformation into an alien. Yes, that’s actually what happens and honestly, that was a spoiler, but you had 16 years bruh. Suffice to say, District 9 is a wild movie and an incredibly unique entry in the paranormal genre.
- Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow is a high-octane flick featuring Tom Cruise trapped in a time loop, forced to relive a losing war against aliens. Each time he dies, he returns 1% better and eventually becomes a badass alien slayer. It’s an extremely entertaining, action-packed movie, and for a while, it was my go-to airplane watch. Mad Max: Fury Road currently takes the cake. I guess that says a lot about my typical airplane experiences. WITNESS ME!!! Sorry. Let’s move on.
- War of the Worlds
Tom Cruise at it again! Fun fact: this movie was based on a book that was read live on the radio in 1938, causing widespread panic as listeners thought it was real. What a fucking compliment to the author H.G. Wells. Life goals, amirite? Steven Spielberg decided to take that panic and package it into an epic, Hollywood blockbuster in 2005. The ending is admittedly lame, but if there’s any movie that nails the horror and intrigue of an alien invasion, it’s most definitely War of the Worlds.
- Signs
Signs is a slow building, chilling portrayal of an alien invasion. It’s also the worst sales pitch ever for living in a rural neighborhood because who knows, creepy aliens could be running around your corn fields. Signs is also responsible for an infamous found-footage scene in which a creepy alien crashes a child’s birthday party, and let me tell you, it scared the shit out of poor, widdle young Seth. That’s right—widdle young Seth.
- Arrival
Arrival, starring Amy Adams, is far different from the rest of this list. It’s mysterious, thought-provoking, and even spiritual. The film follows Adams as a linguist recruited to communicate with extraterrestrials called Heptapods after 12 of their ships inexplicably appear around the world, sparking a whole lotta hysteria. As she works to decipher their strange, circular written language, she begins experiencing mysterious visions. These visions slowly reveal the true purpose of the Heptapods’ presence. It’s a slow burn, but Arrival is a haunting, visually mesmerizing experience that’s absolutely worth a watch.
Honorable mentions: Annihilation, A Quiet Place Trilogy
Classic mentions: Alien, The Thing, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Seth Borkowski is a NYC-based writer, podcaster, and paranormal enthusiast. He’s the host of The Spiritual Skeptic, a comedy podcast exploring aliens, spirituality, and other weird shit too.
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