When Ridley Scott made Alien in 1979, he in all probability by no means imagined that it might spawn such a big franchise. The movie — a few crew of astronauts who examine a misery sign from a mysterious planet, solely to be attacked by a wierd creature — is taken into account one of many most interesting sci-fi productions ever made. Thus far, there have been 9 movies within the collection, every of which has carried out pretty nicely. Out of those, three have been directed by Scott.
Alien
- Launch Date
-
June 22, 1979
- Runtime
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117 Minutes
Subsequent within the pipeline is the tv collection, Alien: Earth, set to premiere on FX and FX on Hulu on August 12, 2025. Set two years earlier than the occasions of the 1979 movie, it should observe an unnamed girl and a gaggle of particular operatives as they take care of a brand new risk shortly after the house vessel Maginot crash-lands on Earth. As followers look ahead to it, they will get pleasure from just a few outdated sci-fi motion pictures which have the identical vibe as the primary Ridley Scott film.
Listed here are 10 different outdated sci-fi motion pictures which might be similar to Alien.
10
‘The Factor from One other World’ (1951)
The Factor from One other World
- Launch Date
-
April 5, 1951
- Runtime
-
87 minutes
- Director
-
Christian Nyby
- Writers
-
Charles Lederer
-
Kenneth Tobey
Captain Patrick Hendry
-
-
Robert Cornthwaite
Dr. Arthur Carrington
-
Douglas Spencer
Ned ‘Scotty’ Scott
In The Factor from One other World, we observe the intertwined fates of a motley group of U.S. Air Pressure crew members and scientists after they uncover a crashed spacecraft buried in ice. As they’re determining what to do, a humanoid creature emerges, and it has an enormous urge for food for blood.
An Alien Molded Like Frankenstein’s Monster
Directly graphically brutal and darkly clever, The Factor from One other World has one hell of a chunk. Director Christian Nyby peppers his movie with fast cuts, salty dialogue, and haunting music that not solely heighten the suspense but in addition pump up the eerie temper. Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, and Robert Cornthwaite actually run with their roles, making their characters really feel precisely like these of the 1938 novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell, which the alien film relies on.
9
‘The Inexperienced Slime’ (1968)
The Inexperienced Slime
- Launch Date
-
December 19, 1968
- Runtime
-
90
- Director
-
Kinji Fukasaku
The Inexperienced Slime is Michael Bay’s Armageddon, solely with extra issues within the aftermath. After bombing an asteroid that was hurtling in the direction of Earth, a crew of astronauts unknowingly brings again a wierd inexperienced substance that ultimately mutates right into a one-eyed, tentacled alien creature at their house station. A battle for survival thus ensues.
They By no means Anticipated This
A superb, brutal Japanese sci-fi movie dwelling on characters who can’t catch a break, The Inexperienced Slime stays one of the crucial auspicious flicks of the ‘60s, delivered to life by way of the efforts of MGM executives, who often took bets on unconventional scripts from overseas nations. The visuals look unhealthy, judging them by what we get pleasure from immediately, however the story will seize you and hold you hostage. Simply image your self as a simple-minded grownup within the ‘60s to get pleasure from it.
8
‘It! The Terror from Past Area’ (1958)
It! The Terror from Past Area
- Launch Date
-
July 31, 1958
- Runtime
-
69 minutes
- Director
-
Edward L. Cahn
- Writers
-
Jerome Bixby
- Producers
-
Robert E. Kent
-
Marshall Thompson
Carruthers
-
Shirley Patterson
Ann Anderson
-
-
In It! The Terror from Past Area, a crew is despatched to Mars to retrieve the lone survivor of a earlier failed expedition. The person is suspected of murdering his fellow astronauts, however he insists an alien creature did it. As all of them return to Earth, they unknowingly deliver the murderous alien aboard as a stowaway. As anticipated, hell breaks unfastened.
No Escape Route
Director Edward L. Cahn’s nuanced indie sci-fi film takes flight largely on the vim and spirit of star Marshall Thompson, who’s excellent within the lead function. Certainly not wholly pitiable, his character is stressed, often annoying, but resourceful. It! The Terror from Past Area‘s plot has usually been cited as a significant inspiration for screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s screenplay for Alien.
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7
‘The Andromeda Pressure’ (1971)
The Andromeda Pressure is a few group of scientists investigating a weird case the place residents of a rural city all died when their blood crystallized into powder, shortly after a satellite tv for pc crashed within the space. They then uncover a lethal extraterrestrial microorganism, however bringing it to the lab to check it seems to be the most important mistake they make.
A Crichton Adaptation By no means Fails
Based mostly on the 1969 novel of the identical identify by Michael Crichton (greatest identified for Jurassic Park), The Andromeda Pressure feels achingly mental — and that’s a superb factor. The movie educates audiences concerning the “odd man speculation,” amongst different ideas, and has a slightly fascinating plot revealing {that a} man survived as a result of his blood was too acidic from ingesting an excessive amount of alcohol. The Infectious Illness Society of America additionally labeled this as one of the crucial scientifically correct sci-fi motion pictures. And there’s a good little cameo by Crichton.
6
‘Planet of the Vampires’ (1965)
Planet of the Vampires
- Launch Date
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September 15, 1965
- Runtime
-
86 minutes
- Director
-
Mario Bava
- Writers
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Ib Melchior, Alberto Bevilacqua, Rafael J. Salvia, Antonio Román, Callisto Cosulich, Mario Bava
- Producers
-
Fulvio Lucisano
-
Barry Sullivan
Captain Mark Markary
-
-
-
Two interplanetary ships on an area expedition obtain a misery sign from an unexplored fog-encased planet. Sadly, a crash-landing occurs. Quickly, disembodied extraterrestrials possess the our bodies of crew members who died through the crash and use the animated corpses to search out the remaining survivors. Which species would be the final one standing when Planet of the Vampires involves an finish?
Not Our Ordinary Vampires
Based mostly on an Italian-language science fiction quick story, Renato Pestriniero’s “One Evening of 21 Hours,” Mario Bava’s movie mostly excels due to its wonderful VFX. The ray weapons, the alien craft, and the creatures all look nice for a Nineteen Sixties film. Many years later, Alien‘s screenwriter admitted in J.W. Rinzler’s guide, The Making of Alien, that he “stole the large skeleton from the Planet of the Vampires.”
5
‘The Quatermass Xperiment’ (1955)
The Quatermass Xperiment
- Launch Date
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June 1, 1956
- Runtime
-
82 Minutes
- Director
-
Val Visitor
-
Brian Donlevy
Bernard Quatermass
-
Jack Warner
Inspector Lomax
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Richard Wordsworth
Victor Carroon
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Margia Dean
Judith Carroon
The Quatermass Xperiment (launched in America as The Creeping Unknown) follows Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) as he appears to be like into the crash of a rocket that returned to Earth with solely a single crew member. Earlier than Quatermass can work out what’s happening, the surviving astronaut begins mutating, remodeling right into a monstrous determine. What now?
Not for the Faint-Hearted
Beneath the frantic efforts to cease the mutating astronaut, a biting story of professionalism and responsibility. As the one who spearheaded the launch of the crewed rocket to outer house, Quatermass stays on the frontline with regards to cleansing up the mess. Total, the physique horror movie is a well-honed, punctiliously directed nail-biter. However watch out whereas watching. A nine-year-old boy died of a ruptured artery at a cinema in Illinois. The Guinness Ebook of Data subsequently filed the incident as the one identified case of an viewers member dying of fright through the screening of a horror movie.
4
‘Queen of Blood’ (1966)
Queen of Blood
- Launch Date
-
March 1, 1966
- Runtime
-
81 minutes
- Director
-
Curtis Harrington
-
Basil Rathbone
Dr. Farraday
-
Florence Marly
Alien Queen
-
-
Judi Meredith
Laura James
It’s the ‘90s in Queen of Blood, and house journey is well-established. At some point, Earth receives a misery sign from an alien ship caught on Mars, so a group is distributed to test it out. There, they discover a lone survivor— a girl with inexperienced pores and skin — and convey her on board. Dangerous transfer! She begins draining the blood of the crew members, and it’s as much as the remaining ones to cease her earlier than the spacecraft lands on Earth.
Like an Evil Gamora
Lushly photographed and that includes a particular soulful rating by Leonard Moran, this fascinating sci-fi flick (launched as a double-feature with Blood Bathtub) takes loads of dangers on its winding path to security, however the huge strikes all pay dividends. Like each different Roger Corman manufacturing, the budgetary constraints are generally evident, particularly relating to the props, however different manufacturing points compensate. Director Curtis Harrington would later speak in confidence to Terror Lure, saying, “Ridley’s movie is sort of a vastly enhanced, costly and elaborate model of Queen of Blood“.
3
‘Forbidden Planet’ (1956)
Forbidden Planet
- Launch Date
-
March 15, 1956
- Runtime
-
98 Minutes
- Director
-
Fred M. Wilcox
-
Walter Pidgeon
Altaira Morbius
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Anne Francis
Dr. Edward Morbius
-
Forbidden Planet is ready within the twenty third century, and opens with a starship arriving on the distant planet Altair IV to find out the destiny of an expedition crew that was despatched there 20 years earlier than. They uncover Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) are the only survivors, however earlier than they will work out what’s happening, unusual forces start attacking them.
Groundbreaking in A number of Methods
This unrivalled, weird entry from world-class filmmaker Fred M. Wilcox attracts a lot of its aesthetics and really feel from CinemaScope; the result’s a harmonious marriage of visible and sound that is in contrast to something you have ever seen. It was the primary sci-fi movie to depict people touring in a man-made faster-than-light starship, the primary to be set completely on a planet orbiting one other star, and the primary to make use of a completely digital rating.
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2
‘Darkish Star’ (1974)
Darkish Star
- Launch Date
-
April 1, 1974
- Runtime
-
83 Minutes
-
Brian Narelle
Lt. Doolittle
-
-
Dan O’Bannon
Sgt. Pinback alias Invoice Fruge
-
It’s been 20 years because the crew of the starship Darkish Star was despatched to destroy unstable planets which may threaten future galactic colonization. Now everyone seems to be bored. However issues are about to get much more sophisticated when an alien “seashore ball” pet begins performing mischievously, and one of many sentient bombs develops an existential disaster. How will the people in Darkish Star deal?
Extra of O’Bannon’s Magic
Darkish Star is each a terrific alien movie and a terrific AI movie. The bravura performances of the solid elevate the chaotic, sordid points of the story, and John Carpenter showcases his magic as all the time. Cinematographer Douglas Knapp matches him with genius: one of many film’s nice pleasures is watching how the characters, opposites in lots of respects, hold falling again to let audiences benefit from the environment. Carpenter wrote the movie with Alien’s O’Bannon, so the similarities make sense.
1
‘2001: A Area Odyssey’ (1968)
Stanley Kubrick made many nice motion pictures, however 2001: A Area Odyssey will get talked about probably the most. The movie follows a group of astronauts as they journey to Jupiter aboard the Discovery One spacecraft to look into alien exercise. All’s nicely till the spacecraft’s AI system, HAL 9000, malfunctions, leading to a lethal human-machine confrontation.
Kubrick’s Magnum Opus
2001: A Area Odyssey appears to be like so good that it triggered a conspiracy, with some events claiming that the moon touchdown wasn’t actual… the filmmaker shot the complete factor in a studio utilizing the identical technical prowess he used right here. Fairly an outrageous declare, however nonetheless fascinating. The movie received Kubrick his solely Oscar (for visible results). Moreover that, it is simple to see why the plot is sensible. Kubrick co-wrote the script with legendary science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke.