When Aliens Invade: 8 Great Invasion Movies

The alien invasion scenario is a common one in cinema – and for good reason. If movies are a mirror, reflecting social anxieties and regrets, then the alien invasion trope is one of the most adaptable allegories imaginable. For decades, filmmakers have used it to discuss military policies, fear of technology and concern over environmental abuses. Our scientific progress as a species, in conflict with the moral progress of our conscience, and our natural fear of change, are all to be found in the alien invasion movie. There are three main types of cinematic alien invasion – each serving a different purpose – although variations and combinations do occasionally appear. These are Occupation, Infiltration and Raid. The Occupation alien invasion movie addresses two main concerns about the human condition. First, are the films featuring aliens that want our planet, and are entirely disinterested in us. We are inconsequential, and serve no purpose. We are simply there to be eradicated – nothing more than a housekeeping chore to be completed – like a new homeowner dealing with a bug-infestation. This speaks to our natural fear of being pointless – of leaving this world, and this universe, without having made an impact. It also speaks to the fear of our own mortality – that we can be snuffed out of existence so easily, and what then? It speaks to our sense of vulnerability, as a species – that we are all just clinging to this lump of rock, hurtling through the vastness of space at immense speeds, and who knows what else is out there? The second concern addressed by the Occupation alien invasion movie is guilt about our misuse of our planet. Those movies that depict an invasion that is intended to be beneficial – to save us from ourselves, in effect - are about intervention from an alien force that is almost parental in nature. They strike the tone that – in the hierarchy of the universe – we are simply the moody teenager that doesn’t know what’s best for them. They are simultaneously about our of fear of the loss of control, and our arrogance that we have charged ahead in conflict with our planet – and ourselves – instead of working in harmony with both. The Infiltration alien invasion movie is all about trust. Aliens stage their attacks by possessing, or taking over human beings – or by taking on their appearance and mimicking their behaviours. This is the variation on the theme that hits closest to home. It’s about being attacked when we are at our most vulnerable, and when we least expect it. Those that are closest to us turning on us, and not being what we think they are. It is about self-doubt, and isolation – the sense that those around us are being won over and we are increasingly alone in the fight. The alien invasion Raid movie questions our sense of preparedness. It has alien forces staging what are essentially reconnaissance missions – testing the chinks in our armour, perhaps paving the way for a bigger force later on. This is more about strategy, and anxiety about what is to come – that fear of the unknown, and the sense that there is something bigger, and more terrifying just around the corner. Across all these variations, the constant theme is paranoia. We are unable to know how we are perceived by any other life forms that may be out there, nor what their intentions are. We are entirely self-involved – dealing only with each other in our delicate, atmospheric bubble, passing through the universe. This theme is one reason why alien invasion movies are often released in spates. For example, at the height of the Cold War, many alien invasion B movies were released, and in the mid-1990s, we saw numerous planetary onslaughts on the big screen – a reaction to conflicts such as The Congo, The Gulf, Chechnya, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Also, closer to home, there was the bombing of the World Trade Centre, the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Omagh Bombing. We felt vulnerable, and we made movies about it. The thing about the alien invasion trope is that it highlights another fundamental aspect of our collective psyche, which is that – just as Mary Poppins says – a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Making a big budget, action-based movie, about Earth under siege – full of special effects and explosions – has a greater appeal than a movie like Black Hawk Down, which actually tells a version of the events of the Battle Of Mogadishu. Instead of viewing these events as they actually happened, we would rather filter our discomfort through the lens of Roland Emmerich, M. Night Shyamalan, or Barry Sonnenfeld, for example. The alien invasion movie - perhaps most spectacularly depicted in War Of The Worlds - is borne of our desire to avoid looking ourselves directly in the eye, but such diversionary tactics do give rise to some awesome cinema. So, with both Edge Of Tomorrow and Transformers: Age Of Extinction now in theatres, let’s take a look at some great examples of alien invasion movies. Independence Day (1996) This all-star science fiction disaster movie features a good old fashioned occupation attempt – in which human beings are a nuisance, to be wiped out. When sinister intergalactic aggressors strategically position large ships over each of the world’s major cities, a variety of characters converge on a ‘secret’ military base in the Nevada desert, seeking refuge. As one man realizes that a repeating signal from the ships is a countdown, the cities are devastated by advanced energy weapons. Ultimately, a group of people – from the US President to a humble alcoholic crop duster – must work together to defeat the attackers. As an unabashed sci-fi action film, Independence Day ticks all the right boxes – it’s huge in scope, noise and swagger, and hits all the right notes from heartfelt sadness and terror, to light comic relief. The performances - from stars such as Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin and Randy Quaid – are admirably committed and fit the tone well. Often criticized for its poor characterization and gung-ho jingoism, it certainly is the case that this is a film that depicts – without apology or irony – America saving the entire world single-handedly. However, that fact aside, Independence Day still stands as an example of an alien invasion movie done well. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) Subjected to a mediocre remake in 2008, the 1951 version of this alien invasion movie was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Edmund H. North. Based on the 1940 short story Farewell To The Master by Harry Bates, the tale sees a humanoid alien – Klaatu – arrive on Earth, accompanied by a menacing, silent robot, named Gort. Klaatu brings a simple but haunting message – that the populations of other planets have become increasingly concerned for their own safety, as humanity have developed atomic weaponry, and taken their first steps toward space. If they continue their violence, “then Earth will be reduced to a burned out cinder.” In what is one of the most effective examples of an alien Raid type of invasion movie, Klaatu arrives as the ‘spearhead’ of a potentially larger force, warning of things altogether more terrifying to come. But it also incorporates an intervention, as humanity is given the opportunity to prove itself capable of something other than death and destruction. Capturing the fear of its time, The Day The Earth Stood Still highlights the combination of atomic development, the evolving space programme and excessive global violence as the cause of Klaatu’s visit – making it the perfect expression of the anxieties of a society less than a decade on from a brutal World War. Mars Attacks! (1996) Taking a comic approach to the alien invasion movie, Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! is based upon the controversial, short-lived Topps trading card series of the same name – originally released in 1962. The cards depicted Earth being invaded by evil Martians, who used torture and slaughter to wipe the planet clean. The film – written by Jonathan Gems – parodied B movies, and attracted an enviable cast, including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Natalie Portman and Sarah Jessica Parker. Skewering everything from Ed Wood’s back catalogue to Dr. Strangelove, Mars Attacks! works hard to strike a very specific tone and humour, while retaining an unsettling and scary atmosphere. Though it was released in the same year as the box office smash hit Independence Day, Mars Attacks! has found a larger audience in the years since it invaded cinemas. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) The archetypal alien invasion infiltration movie, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers quickly became a classic entry into the genre – occupying popular culture with themes that are instantly recognizable, almost 60 years later. Adapted from Jack Finney’s 1954 novel The Body Snatchers by Daniel Mainwaring, and directed by Don Siegel, the film tells of a secret invasion of a small American town. A local doctor discovers that aliens are replacing humans with duplicates grown in pods – although they lack the capacity for emotion and humanity. The film is a clear statement against conformity and the loss of individuality. Released at a time when fear of communism and McCarthyism was rife in post-war America, the ideas of dehumanization, secret infiltration and vulnerability to betrayal were upper-most in the minds of the audience at the time. As those concerns periodically re-surface, so does the film - with three remakes having been completed to date. The Thing (1982) With a considerably more gruesome take on the infiltration alien invasion movie, The Thing is directed by John Carpenter, from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster (The Bad News Bears). Starring Kurt Russell, the story is based on the 1938 science fiction novella Who Goes There by John W. Campbell (writing as Don A. Stewart), and features a group of American researchers in Antarctica discovering that a Norwegian group has been decimated by an unseen force. They soon find that a parasitic alien lifeform – which assimilates and imitates other organisms – has infiltrated their isolated research station, and a severe storm is coming. Deep paranoia spreads quickly within the group as the alien absorbs their fellow researchers. Though The Thing has found something of a dedicated following in the years since its release, it was poorly received in cinemas in 1982. Its gory body horror, as the alien makes itself known, sets the film as something of an oddity – being a monster movie without a monster really visible in its own right. The central theme is timeless, however - being about prevention of an apocalypse, as the team fight to contain the threat and to prevent it spreading to populated areas, where it would surely and quickly consume humanity. Men In Black (1997) Ed Solomon’s adaptation of Lowell Cunningham’s The Men In Black comic book series is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family), with all his distinctive tone and visual style brought to bear. Giving the unlikely pairing of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones room to spark, the film presents a comedic version of the alien invasion raid movie. Here, Earth is already gracious host to countless alien beings, as part of an intergalactic immigration policy. However, the planet becomes a battleground as a member of the dangerous “Bug” race kills and disguises himself as a farmer (the astounding Vincent D’Onofrio) in order to steal a galaxy that is hidden in a small jewel. As the battle lines are drawn, and the good guys hunt the “Bug,” Earth comes under siege from the alien race to whom the galaxy actually belongs – charging humanity with securing it for them, or otherwise risk the destruction of the planet. Men In Black is a fantastic update on the alien raid trope. Bringing the concept right up to date with current social issues such as immigration and involvement in clashes between other warring groups, it is truly an Earth under siege movie for the modern age. Predator (1987) In what is now widely regarded as a classic entry in the sci-fi action genre, directed by John McTiernan from a screenplay by Jim and John Thomas, Predator sees Arnold Scwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke and Kevin Peter Hall face an alien invasion of technologically advanced, battle-ready creatures from an unknown origin. As an elite special forces team, tasked with rescuing hostages from a heavily forested area of Central America, they are picked off one-by-one by the superior hunter, the Predator. Unbeknownst to The Governator and his crew, they are essentially being used as stock in a giant game park. This is the greatest impact of Predator – the alien is not here to brutally occupy, helpfully intervene or teach us about the evils of violence and environmental abuses. The alien is mounting a raid purely for the pleasure of hunting. Signs (2002) In what is arguably the last good movie that writer-director M. Night Shyamalan made (thus far), Signs depicts a highly effective and atmospheric alien invasion raid movie, in which the aggressors slowly build to a night invasion by leaving crop circles across the world. Seen only through the eyes of an isolated family – already grieving for their matriarch – Signs delivers something creepy and claustrophobic, while musing on themes of global conflict and destiny. With stellar performances from Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin, Shyamalan’s movie slowly cranks up the tension with lingering tracking shots and haunting sounds – only offering the briefest of glimpses of the monster until the very end, when destiny conspires to provide the family with all they need to defeat their intergalactic intruder, as humanity does the same outside.