48 Movies Like Alien (1979) You Need to Watch Next
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs
Updated June 2026
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Ridley Scott's 1979 landmark traps the crew of a commercial spaceship with a perfect predator after a distress call goes horribly wrong. Slow, dread-soaked and impeccably designed, it fused science fiction with pure horror and gave us one of cinema's great survivors in Ripley. If its claustrophobic terror gripped you, seek out sci-fi horror and survival thrillers where an isolated crew is hunted in the dark.
If you loved Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott, here are 48 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Alien³, Alien Resurrection, Alien: Covenant. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
48 Movies Similar to Alien
Alien³
1992 · David Fincher
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Alien Resurrection
1997 · Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Alien: Covenant
2017 · Ridley Scott
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Cloverfield Paradox
2018 · Julius Onah
Orbiting above a planet on the brink of war, scientists test a device to solve an energy crisis and end up face-to-face with a dark alternate reality.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Nope
2022 · Jordan Peele
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Prometheus
2012 · Ridley Scott
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Purge
2013 · James DeMonaco
Given the country's overcrowded prisons, the U.S. government begins to allow 12-hour periods of time in which all illegal activity is legal. During one of these free-for-alls, a family must protect th
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Land of the Dead
2005 · George A. Romero
The living dead have taken over the world, and the remaining humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they cope with the situation.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
2021 · Johannes Roberts
Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surfac
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Resident Evil
2002 · Paul W. S. Anderson
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military tas
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
A Quiet Place: Day One
2024 · Michael Sarnoski
As New York City is invaded by alien creatures who hunt by sound, a woman named Sam fights to survive with her cat.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Signs
2002 · M. Night Shyamalan
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Faculty
1998 · Robert Rodriguez
When some very creepy things start happening around school, the kids at Herrington High make the chilling discovery that confirms their worst suspicions: their teachers really are from another planet!
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Species
1995 · Roger Donaldson
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil,
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Critters
1986 · Stephen Herek
Carnivorous aliens arrive unannounced at a Kansas family farm; two intergalactic bounty hunters soon follow, determined to blow them off the planet.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
District 9
2009 · Neill Blomkamp
Thirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth. Not to conquer or give aid, but to find refuge from their dying planet. Separated from humans in a South African area called District 9, the aliens are manage
In common: Science Fiction
Dune
2021 · Denis Villeneuve
Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his
In common: Science Fiction
Life
2017 · Daniel Espinosa
The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expecte
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Zathura: A Space Adventure
2005 · Jon Favreau
After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring
In common: Science Fiction
Project Hail Mary
2026 · Phil Lord
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the rid
In common: Science Fiction
Alien: Romulus
2024 · Fede Álvarez
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Brightburn
2019 · David Yarovesky
What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister?
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Splice
2010 · Vincenzo Natali
Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Dawn of the Dead
1978 · George A. Romero
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shop
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Dawn of the Dead
2004 · Zack Snyder
A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
2004 · Alexander Witt
As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice finds out that the people that died from the previous incident at the Umbrella Corporation have turned into zombies. She then joins a small band of e
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
World War Z
2013 · Marc Forster
Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zo
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
War of the Worlds
2005 · Steven Spielberg
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerf
In common: Science Fiction
The 5th Wave
2016 · J Blakeson
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
In common: Science Fiction
AVP: Alien vs. Predator
2004 · Paul W. S. Anderson
When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting gro
In common: Horror
After Earth
2013 · M. Night Shyamalan
One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind's new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige returns from an extended tour of duty to his e
In common: Science Fiction
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem
2007 · Colin Strause
After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to "clean up" the infestation.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
They Live
1988 · John Carpenter
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
In common: Science Fiction
Riddick
2013 · David Twohy
Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from
In common: Science Fiction
The Invasion
2007 · Oliver Hirschbiegel
Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien vi
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Slither
2006 · James Gunn
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Lifeforce
1985 · Tobe Hooper
A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, commencing an apocalyptic descent into chaos.
In common: Horror
Edge of Tomorrow
2014 · Doug Liman
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with hi
In common: Science Fiction
A Quiet Place Part II
2021 · John Krasinski
Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threa
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
Dune
1984 · David Lynch
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on
In common: Science Fiction
Gattaca
1997 · Andrew Niccol
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveli
In common: Science Fiction
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
2017 · Luc Besson
In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission
In common: Science Fiction
Moon
2009 · Duncan Jones
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off
In common: Science Fiction
Aliens
1986 · James Cameron
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met wit
In common: Science Fiction
Star Trek Into Darkness
2013 · J.J. Abrams
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world
In common: Science Fiction
Jason X
2001 · James Isaac
In the year 2455, Old Earth is now a contaminated planet abandoned for centuries -- a brown world of violent storms, toxic landmasses and poisonous seas. Yet humans have returned to the deadly place t
In common: Horror · Science Fiction
The Bad Batch
2017 · Ana Lily Amirpour
After being exiled to a fenced-off wasteland, Arlen is kidnapped by a group of cannibals and goes on a journey to reunite a missing girl with her father.
In common: Horror
Pandorum
2009 · Christian Alvart
Two crew members wake up on an abandoned spacecraft with no idea who they are, how long they've been asleep, or what their mission is. The two soon discover they're actually not alone – and the realit
In common: Horror