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The sci-fi horror film directed by Ridley Scott in 1979 became a real phenomenon, having a huge impact not only on the genre, but on the whole of pop culture as a whole. Already in the late 80s, the first games based on Sega and NES began to be released, and comics and even books came out even earlier.
Since then, many directors have tried to shoot something at the level and are still trying, but not everyone succeeds. We decided to collect 10 films similar to Alien, which, although not quite up to the original, are good in their own way.
10 Apollo 18 (2011)
Pseudo-documentary sci-fi horror tells the story of a ship’s crew Apollo 18who went on a research mission to the moon.
Expecting to see a desert planet, the astronauts discover living creatures there. Unfriendly, deadly and bloodthirsty. Now the crew will have to think not about the successful completion of the mission entrusted to them, but about banal survival.
9. Last Days on Mars (2013)
The plot of the movie “Last Days on Mars” tells about a group of astronauts who have been exploring the red planet for six months. With less than 20 hours left until the end of their mission, they suddenly find an unknown life form in the collected soil samples. This microorganism is able to infect people, turning them into monsters, so flying home that seemed so close becomes impossible.
It is noteworthy that only 7 million dollars were spent on the production of the picture, which is not money at all for the science fiction genre. Nevertheless, the film turned out to be spectacular, and the story keeps in suspense until the last seconds.
8. Doom (2005)
The sci-fi action movie directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak is an attempt to transfer the cult computer game Doom on big screens. Despite a decent budget of $60 million and the presence of Karl Urban and Dwayne Johnson in the cast, the attempt was not the most successful. However, this is almost always the case with game adaptations, and the film itself is not so bad.
The plot is simple: a distress signal arrives from a research station on Mars and a detachment of marines is sent to figure out what is happening there. Trained fighters who have gone through more than one battle are completely unprepared for what awaits them on this planet.
7. Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Action horror “Alien vs. Predator” Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil director) is a crossover between two popular franchises. The idea to push these two alien monsters has long occurred to filmmakers, and in 2004 it was brought to life.
According to the story, a group of scientists and military men find themselves in an ancient city lost under the ice of Antarctica, and along with them, the Alien and the Predator find themselves there. The two decide to find out whose alien kung fu is stronger, and people become random victims of this meat grinder.
6. Something (2011)
Director John Carpenter was already a well-known figure in 1982, as he had the iconic “Halloween” to his credit.
Сюжет “Something” 1982 told about a group of polar explorers, at the station of which an alien creature appeared, killing people and taking on their appearance.
Paranoia, caused by the fact that anyone can be a monster, has become one of the main motives of the picture. The 2011 film, directed by an unknown director, is a prequel to the original The Thing and tells how the monster came to be.
Instead of the charismatic Kurt Russell, the new tape got the lead role of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who is invited to Antarctica to study the alien spaceship found there. Not far from the flying saucer, they find a guest from another planet, who begins to actively destroy people.
The main drawback of the picture can be called a lot of inconsistencies, but only those viewers who remember the events of the original will be able to notice them.
5. Captured by space (2013)
Movie action “Caught in Space” unfolds again on the Moon, where a group of scientists is studying the breed. Due to the meteor shower, several compartments of the research module are damaged, and while some repair the damage, others study the meteorite fragment. They find living microorganisms on it, which will subsequently begin to infect people.
4. Black Hole (2000)
“Black hole” – This is the first part of the sensational trilogy about Riddick with Vin Diesel in the title role. According to the plot, the hero Diesel is taken to prison in shackles, but the spaceship crashes on an unknown planet. It is illuminated by 3 stars at once, which rise in turn, so everyone is sure that night never falls here.
But, all these assumptions turn out to be erroneous and darkness envelops the planet, and monsters hide under its cover. Only Riddick, who can see in the dark and knows no fear, can help at least a few people survive.
3. Predator (1987)
John McTiernan’s film is no less iconic than Alien and has a lot in common. Yes, instead of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, here is the brutal Dutch, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but hardly anyone would dare to say that his character is much worse.
The action takes place not on board a spaceship, but in the jungles of Central America, but this is only good for the film – more realism.
Well, if you compare Alien and Predator, then it is also difficult to identify the winner here (not by strength, but by the level of interest for the viewer). Each of them is attractive in its own way, so if you like the Alien, then the Predator will definitely “drop in”. We do not consider continuations and attempts to restart: they are very far from the first part.
2. Aliens (1986)
Speaking of films similar to Alien, we couldn’t ignore its sequel, directed by James Cameron. The picture was only the third in the director’s career, but inexperience did not affect the quality at all. Not in vain “Aliens” included in the top 100 best horror films according to users of the iMDb aggregator.
Ellen Ripley, once again played by Sigourney Weaver, has been drifting in a closed orbit on a rescue shuttle for 57 years while in suspended animation. She is picked up by a search team who delivers Ellen to the management of the company that owned the Nostromo tractor.
They do not believe her that the Alien became the cause of the death of the crew, they blame her for everything and deprive her of her rank. It also turns out that scientists who have no idea about any Aliens have been working on that very planet LV-426 for a long time.
After some time, communication with the scientists is lost and they decide to send a detachment of soldiers to the planet, and Ripley is asked to fly with them as a consultant, promising in return to drop the charges against her and reinstate her as a pilot.
Agreeing, she tells the soldiers she flies with about the Aliens, but they don’t believe her either. And on LV-426, a whole colony of monsters is already waiting for them.
1. Prometheus (2012)
“Prometheus” was supposed to be a prequel to the original “Alien” and tell about the origin of monsters, but during the creation it was transformed into an independent project and became the first part of the subsequent trilogy.
The actors are all stars of the first magnitude: Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace. Directed by Ridley Scott. Not surprisingly, with such initial data, a worthy film turned out.