Top 20 First Contact Movies

Based on a 1969 novel by Michael Crichton, this super high-tech sci-fi revolves around an alien organism that’s accidentally brought to Earth by a manmade satellite. The green crystal-like substance infects people like a virus, killing them almost instantly. A group of scientists must hurry to figure out what it is and how to stop it. “The Andromeda Strain” is more grounded and realistic than most alien movies. In fact, it was praised by the scientific community for how accurately it depicts the response to an unknown and extremely dangerous organism. Although much of it takes place inside a laboratory, it’s still packed with drama and tension.

Like “The Andromeda Strain,” this found footage movie is grounded in realism and actual scientific principles. It follows a group of astronauts searching for life on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Before they find what they’re looking for, the mission starts to go disastrously wrong. The film does an incredible job of depicting just how vulnerable humans are once we leave the Earth’s surface. The tension is punctuated by moments of heart-pounding action and intense terror. But there’s no hungry Xenomorph stalking the main characters – just the constant threat of asphyxiation, freezing, and all the other ways you can die in space.

After Alex Rogan beats the high score on a space shooter arcade game, he’s recruited by real aliens to join their battle against an evil empire. “The Last Starfighter” was one of the first films to use CGI for extended sequences, and considering how old it is, it doesn’t look half bad. The movie is mainly aimed at kids, but it has a ton of nostalgia value for anyone old enough to remember that era of arcade games. And the action and loveable characters mean people of any age can find something to enjoy in this 80s classic.

In this brilliant parody of “Star Trek,” the cast of a fictional sci-fi TV show is contacted by actual aliens who don’t understand that the show isn’t real. The Thermians are under threat from a reptilian overlord who wants to destroy them, and they seek out the help of the people who they believe to be the crew of an Earth starship. “Galaxy Quest” is more of an homage to classic “Trek” than a spoof, and it turned out to be a big hit with Trekkies. Even “Star Trek” actors like Patrick Stewart, Wil Wheaton, and George Takei loved it. The film brilliantly captures the power and optimism of the franchise, as well as the absurdity of obsessive fandom.

Although it was a pretty big hit the year it was released, “Cocoon” didn’t have the same staying power that other 80s sci-fi movies had. But this gorgeous film from director Ron Howard deserves to be rediscovered. When a group of retirees meet a friendly alien species, they discover that their old aches and pains mysteriously disappear. The aliens’ healing abilities give the elderly folks a new lease on life, but they’re also forced to make a difficult choice. The film is a celebration of life, love, and family – just be sure to keep the tissues nearby when you watch it.

After a train violently derails in a small Ohio town in 1979, strange things start happening. People begin disappearing, and mysterious government officials show up to quarantine the area. It’s up to a group of teenagers to figure out what’s going on. “Super 8” was a bit of a surprise hit. In an age of sequels and franchises, this stand-alone film made a splash at the box office and with critics. It manages to be tense and scary, yet simultaneously heartwarming and nostalgic. With impressive performances from the young actors, excellent special effects, and a thrilling score from veteran composer Michael Giacchino, “Super 8” is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

This movie isn’t for the faint-hearted. When a meteor lands in a Florida wildlife refuge, it creates a mysterious shimmer that distorts everything around it – and those who go in, never come out. The film follows a team of scientists who explore the bizarre phenomenon and find strange and unsettling things inside. The tension is off the charts throughout the entire movie, and it escalates as the characters start to lose their minds. It’s juxtaposed with gorgeous visuals that make the shimmer as beautiful as it is terrifying. By the end, the audience is left with more questions than answers – but that’s all part of “Annihilation”’s appeal.

David Freeman is just barely in his double digits when he’s plucked up by an alien spaceship. Picked up in 1978, David is offloaded in 1986 and finds – from his perspective anyway – that his 8-year-old brother has become 16 in the span of about four and half hours. Crazier still, somewhere along the way during his 1,120-lightyear round trip to Phaelon, young David’s brain has become jam packed full of data and star maps. Max, the ship’s robotic pilot, realizes he needs David’s maps and that he’s plunked the lad in the wrong decade but is unable to undo his mistake. But, as adventure unfolds, Max does find a way – and it’s a journey loved by so many that a remake has been discussed.

Directed by John Carpenter, and leading to a TV spin off and an Oscar nom for lead Jeff Bridges, “Starman” is a love story disguised as a sci-fi. When an alien race mistakes humanity’s invitation to visit Earth as sincere, they take us up on it – only to have their scout shot down over Wisconsin. As his people live as pure energy, Starman needs to take a physical form to try and salvage his vacay in the Midwest – and he becomes the spitting image of a widow’s recently deceased husband. Through good will and proof of peaceful intentions, the widow agrees to help the alien meet up with his rescue party. Along the way, Starman takes part in the finest of Earthly pleasures – driving a Ford Mustang, gambling in Vegas, and making sweet, sweet love.

Few will deny that the late David Bowie was a genius, and an equal few would likely deny that he was a little... odd. All of this made him a perfect casting choice for Thomas Jerome Newton – a charming, yet quirky alien who lands on Earth. On a mission to locate a source of water for his drought-plagued planet, Newton quickly learns to play the industrial game and files patents for his off-world tech, raking in millions in the process. The thin white duke from another sun plans to use the money to build a ride back home, but then the government has to railroad his plans as only the government can. Thanks to Bowie’s performance and its striking imagery, the sci-fi drama has since earned itself a cult following.

We probably don’t need to tell you why this movie is so great – if you’ve seen it, you already know. The Iron Giant is a massive robot of unknown origin that falls to Earth during the Cold War and befriends a young boy. Although the movie is family-friendly, it’s definitely not just for kids. The film explores powerful themes revolving around grief, loss, and personal choice. Gorgeously animated and featuring brilliant voice acting performances – especially from Vin Diesel as the Giant – it’s not hard to see why many critics called this movie an instant classic.

Directed and written by James Cameron, “The Abyss” is a first contact film unlike any other. Following a submarine accident, the U.S. government sends in a team of scientists and Navy SEALs. Soon the group discovers a society of aliens – dubbed NTIs or non-terrestrial intelligence – living under the sea. Known as much for the horrid filming conditions – 40% of the film was shot underwater at an abandoned nuclear power plant – as it is for its game changing effects, “The Abyss” mixes the wonders of off-world life forms with the highs and lows of the human condition, and sets it all against Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union.

In case you’re not fluent in the deep lore of “Trek,” let us fill you in. According to canon, Zefram Cochrane successfully tested the first warp drive engine in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with aliens, namely, Vulcans. This film starts in the 24th century and follows the crew of the Enterprise as they travel back in time to stop the Borg from changing the past and preventing first contact. It’s the eighth movie in the franchise and a major step up from the previous seven. With great action, drama, and a cast full of beloved “Next Generation” characters, you don’t have to be a Trekkie to enjoy this one.

Ridley Scott’s Xenomorph has become one of the most iconic alien designs in cinema history. It’s terrifying no matter what form it’s in, and it’s a great reminder that despite all our technological advancements, humans are still just part of the food chain. But this sci-fi horror masterpiece is more than just a good monster movie. It also deals with heavy themes, like corporate greed and human expendability, and it introduced us to one of the great sci-fi heroes of the 20th century, Ellen Ripley. It’s also really scary and fun to watch. No wonder it spawned an ultra-successful franchise that’s still going strong.

Based on a novel by Carl Sagan, “Contact” is the story of a really good day for the SETI. While the government works towards defunding and even ending the program, Dr. Eleanor Arroway picks up a series of prime numbers, a definite sign of intelligent alien life. Arriving with the numbers and a repeat of Hitler’s 1936 Olympic Address is 60,000 pages of data – all of which researchers determine came from the Vega system, 26 lightyears away. When Arroway is elected to make contact with the alien people, it raises questions of the merit of religion and faith in the face of scientific discovery and how far either side will go to defend its position.

Although remade in 2008 with Keanu Reeves in the lead role, it’s the 1950s original that has stood the test of time. Directed by Robert Wise, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is a sci-fi by which all others are judged. Based on the 1940 short story “Farewell to the Master,” the film sees an alien craft land in Washington, D.C. Its occupants – an alien named Klaatu and his robot guard Gort – have brought an important message for all of Earth’s leaders: play nice or be destroyed. When Klaatu goes native as “Mr. Carpenter,” the Jesus allegories stack up – but the film’s main thread of Earth’s need to toe the line remains clear.

Developed from Steven Spielberg’s stalled sci-fi horror project “Night Skies,” the more kid-friendly “E.T.” would become one of the biggest and highest grossing films of the decade. Essentially the story of an alien botanist stranded on Earth, E.T. shows himself to be able to restore life, but he also has seemingly Jedi-like powers – including telekinesis and a psychic bond with Elliott, the young boy who helps and looks after him. Its uplifting story of friendship and family, as well as its elements of sci-fi fantasy, have earned it critical acclaim, multiple awards and a spot in millions of hearts.

Based on a short story by Ted Chiang, “Arrival” tackles a question that most alien movies gloss over: if extraterrestrials make contact with humans, how will we talk to them? The film follows a linguist and a physicist as they struggle to decode the strange beings’ language before the rest of humanity launches an attack. It’s an intensely cerebral film that’s beautifully shot and brilliantly acted. “Arrival” wrestles with plenty of big ideas and the plot gets complex, but the movie stays grounded by keeping the focus on the central characters. You have to watch it at least twice to fully appreciate its twists, turns, and nuances.

It’s hard for anyone to say exactly what this 1968 Stanley Kubrick classic is actually about, but let’s try anyway. Although it’s easy to be distracted by the film’s signature dish, the sentient computer Hal 9000, “2001” is at its core about first contact, in the form of the ominous black monoliths that repeatedly change the course of the film. Kubrick did in fact consider putting aliens on screen but was advised against using humanoids by astronomer Carl Sagan, who consulted on the film, as well as by limitations of budget and special effects technology. The result, instead, is the mysterious and ambiguous monoliths that accelerate humankind’s knowledge and natural evolution with each encounter.

When lineman Roy Neary experiences a UFO flyby, it opens up a whole new world to him. Eventually uncovering government cooperation with extraterrestrials, Roy discovers not only a UFO landing zone but also witnesses an organized offloading of people from decades past. Finding the aliens to be peaceful explorers rather than hostile invaders, Roy ultimately decides to join them. Aliens aside, the critically and commercially successful “Close Encounters” has been forever etched into pop culture, from its distinct five note musical motif to the iconic image of an obsessed Roy sculpting Devils Tower in mashed potatoes.


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