Every Alien Franchise Movie Ranked: Worst to Best

Every Alien Franchise Movie Ranked

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re ranking all the films in the “Alien” franchise. While not strictly canon, we will also be including the “Alien vs. Predator” movies. Our whole video’s gestating spoilers, so make sure you’ve seen all the movies before cracking open this egg.

#9: “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem” (2007)

“Alien” and “Predator” are two legendarily beloved sci-fi classics, but mixing their flavors together left a bitter aftertaste. This sequel to “Alien vs. Predator” aspires to beef up the alienverse’s titular baddies with more numbers and a Predator/Alien hybrid. Unfortunately, the story mostly revolves around a small town and some dimwitted high school teens. It plays like a tired slasher flick, with the recognizable extraterrestrials just tacked on for brand recognition. To its credit, there are a few genuinely surprising deaths and breaks in the formula. And the final showdown against the predalien does try to honor the spirit of its predecessors...albeit unsuccessfully. But we must be critical of the franchises we love, and even the well-intentioned installments can turn out as duds.

#8: “Alien Resurrection” (1997)

However you might compare “Alien Resurrection” to its brothers and sisters, it’s certainly different. Taking place two hundred years after the events of “Alien 3”, “Resurrection” sees Ellen Riply cloned back to life, along with the xenomorph parasite that she’d carried. She battles her familiar adversary alongside a rugged band of hired guns, who provide some unevenly tempered but welcomed personalities. It feels decidedly like an action movie, mostly dropping the ominous foreboding that was ever present in its precursors. It’s intriguing to see Ripley’s ambiguous moral transformation, but some other eccentricities in Joss Whedon’s screenplay are just too weird. And at the time, the muddy reception from viewers seemed to indicate that this then-tetralogy had unimaginatively run out of gas.

#7: “Alien 3” (1992)

Brainstorming the third chapter of the “Alien” legacy was plagued with indecision. Producers juggled several writers and troubled story concepts, eventually settling on a remote prison for the scenario and a rookie director named David Fincher. “Aliens” fan-favorites Hicks and Newt were immediately killed off in the opening act, and the movie’s stagnant plot and recycled fear factor failed to impress audiences. Its aesthetic and visual effects were praised, along with Sigourney Weaver’s reliably fierce performance as Ripley. An extended cut was later released, providing greater character depth for the prisoners and more effectively suspenseful build-up. [1] But it’s ultimately just a glimpse into what could have been. “Alien 3” remains a lackluster episode that even Fincher himself has since disowned.

#6: “Alien vs. Predator” (2004)

What started as a comic and a video game would eventually chest-burst its way to a theater near you. “AVP” matches up the Yautja and xenomorph species in an epic interstellar battle royale…with disparate results. After discovering a pyramid that’s straight outta “Ancient Aliens”, a team of explorers ends up caught between the space beasts. Though the human characters are forgettable, you might be surprised by all the moments of bloody fun hiding in these one-hundred minutes. Even the negative reviews use phrases like “a surprisingly good time” and “great creature punch-ups.” True, it’s a mostly brainless monster flick. But it owns its status as pure popcorn entertainment. Though not for everyone, “AVP” delivers exactly what the movie poster teases. Whose side are you on?

#5: “Alien: Covenant” (2017)

“Prometheus” opened the door to a prequel-verse, but people were left wondering: “where are the aliens?” Seemingly in response, “Covenant”’s plot further explains how the xenomorphs came to be, and it reveals the fate of its forerunner’s final survivors. In search of a new planet to establish a colony of human life, the eponymous ship “Covenant” stumbles across David, “Prometheus”'s dangerously curious android. David has his own ideas about what type of “life” he wants to promote. The sharp screenplay learned from “Alien”’s expert writing, including subtly complex people with multilayered points of view. It doses out just the right balance of philosophy, thrills, scares and gore. Ridley Scott claims he’s not finished with his “Alien” mythology, and we’re ready for more!

#4: “Prometheus” (2012)

As “Alien” fans may have wondered about the origins of the xenomorphs, the scientists in “Prometheus” speculate about the origins of man. Director Ridley Scott returns to the fictional world that he birthed, where 20th-century astronauts follow prehistoric clues to a significant extraterrestrial moon. Once there, they uncover nightmarish biological weapons and learn that our (possible) creators didn’t like us very much. Critical response was on the upswing, as moviegoers appreciated the series’ return-to-form with artistic design and expertly paced storytelling. Others quickly pointed out its debatably unintelligent characters and were unsatisfied with its mound of unanswered questions. For better or worse, “Prometheus” respects the franchise’s flagship chapter and bravely dares its watchers to ponder…even if they never arrive at an easy conclusion.

#3: “Alien: Romulus” (2024)

[To be updated when film releases]

#2: “Alien” (1979)

The thinking-man’s horror movie, “Alien” has a simple premise that sees the crew of spaceship Nostromo discover a violent extraterrestrial predator that gestates inside of living hosts. As it preys, the elusive specter simultaneously morphs into the movie’s antagonist, a shapeshifting sculpture of metaphorical imagery, and a chilling allegory for unknown terror. The quiet pacing masterfully builds a sense of dread and lets the audience become acquainted with the ship’s doomed souls, who each believably speak with a unique voice. Discussions of the film’s cinematic relevance seem to be as immortal as H.R. Geiger’s brilliant monster design. Forever studied, often parodied, but never duplicated: “Alien” stands as a Ridley Scott masterpiece and one of the great sci-fi/horror movies of all time.

#1: “Aliens” (1986)

A council of A.I. synthetics could endlessly debate our winner, and they’d still never agree. “Aliens” might be just as perfect as the original, and both of their stories even share a similar dramatic structure. Each outlines a disastrous investigation to the same desolate planet, though James Cameron’s direct sequel follows a squad of marines and multiplies the xenomorph enemies. Sigourney Weaver earned an Oscar nomination and solidified Ripley as an enduring feminist icon. While it’s arguably more of a war film than horror, the follow-up to “Alien” still shares the thoughtful apprehension and thematic subtext. But with its likable protagonists and emotional subplots, “Aliens” is accessible to those uninitiated with the genre. It’s a triumph of cinema.

Which “Alien” movie still haunts your dreams? Discuss in the comments below!!!