10 Best Old Sci-Fi Movies Like ‘Alien’

When Ridley Scott made Alien in 1979, he probably never imagined that it would spawn such a large franchise. The film — about a crew of astronauts who investigate a distress signal from a mysterious planet, only to be attacked by a strange creature — is considered one of the finest sci-fi productions ever made. So far, there have been nine films in the series, each of which has performed fairly well. Out of these, three have been directed by Scott.

Next in the pipeline is the television series, Alien: Earth, set to premiere on FX and FX on Hulu on August 12, 2025. Set two years before the events of the 1979 film, it will follow an unnamed woman and a group of special operatives as they deal with a new threat shortly after the space vessel Maginot crash-lands on Earth. As fans wait for it, they can enjoy a few old sci-fi movies that have the same vibe as the first Ridley Scott movie.

Here are 10 other old sci-fi movies that are very similar to Alien​​​​​​.

10

‘The Thing from Another World’ (1951)

The Thing from Another World

Release Date

April 5, 1951

Runtime

87 minutes

Director

Christian Nyby

Writers

Charles Lederer

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  Kenneth Tobey

  Captain Patrick Hendry

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• 

  Robert Cornthwaite

  Dr. Arthur Carrington

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  Douglas Spencer

  Ned ‘Scotty’ Scott

In The Thing from Another World, we follow the intertwined fates of a motley group of U.S. Air Force crew members and scientists after they discover a crashed spacecraft buried in ice. As they are figuring out what to do, a humanoid creature emerges, and it has a huge appetite for blood.

An Alien Molded Like Frankenstein’s Monster

At once graphically brutal and darkly intelligent, The Thing from Another World has one hell of a bite. Director Christian Nyby peppers his film with quick cuts, salty dialogue, and haunting music that not only heighten the suspense but also pump up the eerie mood. Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, and Robert Cornthwaite really run with their roles, making their characters feel exactly like those of the 1938 novella “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell, which the alien movie is based on.

9

‘The Green Slime’ (1968)

The Green Slime

Release Date

December 19, 1968

Runtime

90

Director

Kinji Fukasaku

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The Green Slime is Michael Bay’s Armageddon, only with more problems in the aftermath. After bombing an asteroid that was hurtling towards Earth, a crew of astronauts unknowingly brings back a strange green substance that eventually mutates into a one-eyed, tentacled alien creature at their space station. A fight for survival thus ensues.

They Never Anticipated This

A brilliant, brutal Japanese sci-fi film dwelling on characters who can’t catch a break, The Green Slime remains one of the most auspicious flicks of the ‘60s, brought to life through the efforts of MGM executives, who occasionally took bets on unconventional scripts from foreign countries. The visuals look bad, judging them by what we enjoy today, but the story will grab you and keep you hostage. Just picture yourself as a simple-minded adult in the ‘60s to enjoy it.

8

‘It! The Terror from Beyond Space’ (1958)

It! The Terror from Beyond Space

Release 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

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• 

In It! The Terror from Beyond Space, a crew is sent to Mars to retrieve the lone survivor of a previous failed expedition. The man is suspected of murdering his fellow astronauts, but he insists an alien creature did it. As they all return to Earth, they unknowingly bring the murderous alien aboard as a stowaway. As expected, hell breaks loose.

No Escape Route

Director Edward L. Cahn’s nuanced indie sci-fi movie takes flight largely on the vim and spirit of star Marshall Thompson, who’s outstanding in the lead role. By no means wholly pitiable, his character is restless, occasionally annoying, yet resourceful. It! The Terror from Beyond Space‘s plot has often been cited as a major inspiration for screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s screenplay for Alien.

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7

‘The Andromeda Strain’ (1971)

The Andromeda Strain is about a team of scientists investigating a bizarre case where residents of a rural town all died when their blood crystallized into powder, shortly after a satellite crashed in the area. They then discover a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism, but bringing it to the lab to study it turns out to be the biggest mistake they make.

A Crichton Adaptation Never Fails

Based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton (best known for Jurassic Park), The Andromeda Strain feels achingly intellectual — and that’s a good thing. The film educates audiences about the “odd man hypothesis,” among other concepts, and has a rather interesting plot revealing that a man survived because his blood was too acidic from drinking too much alcohol. The Infectious Disease Society of America also labeled this as one of the most scientifically accurate sci-fi movies. And there is a nice little cameo by Crichton.

6

‘Planet of the Vampires’ (1965)

Planet of the Vampires

Release Date

September 15, 1965

Runtime

86 minutes

Director

Mario Bava

Writers

Ib Melchior, Alberto Bevilacqua, Rafael J. Salvia, Antonio Román, Callisto Cosulich, Mario Bava

Producers

Fulvio Lucisano

• 

  Barry Sullivan

  Captain Mark Markary

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• 

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Two interplanetary ships on a space expedition receive a distress signal from an unexplored fog-encased planet. Unfortunately, a crash-landing happens. Soon, disembodied extraterrestrials possess the bodies of crew members who died during the crash and use the animated corpses to hunt down the remaining survivors. Which species will be the last one standing when Planet of the Vampires comes to an end?

Not Our Usual Vampires

Based on an Italian-language science fiction short story, Renato Pestriniero’s “One Night of 21 Hours,” Mario Bava’s film mostly excels because of its excellent VFX. The ray guns, the flying saucers, and the creatures all look great for a 1960s movie. Decades later, Alien‘s screenwriter admitted in J.W. Rinzler’s book, The Making of Alien, that he “stole the giant skeleton from the Planet of the Vampires.”

5

‘The Quatermass Xperiment’ (1955)

The Quatermass Xperiment

Release Date

June 1, 1956

Runtime

82 Minutes

Director

Val Guest

• 

  Brian Donlevy

  Bernard Quatermass

• 

  Jack Warner

  Inspector Lomax

• 

  Richard Wordsworth

  Victor Carroon

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  Margia Dean

  Judith Carroon

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The Quatermass Xperiment (released in America as The Creeping Unknown) follows Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) as he looks into the crash of a rocket that returned to Earth with only a single crew member. Before Quatermass can figure out what’s going on, the surviving astronaut begins mutating, transforming into a monstrous figure. What now?

Not for the Faint-Hearted

Underneath the frantic efforts to stop the mutating astronaut, a biting story of professionalism and responsibility. As the person who spearheaded the launch of the crewed rocket to outer space, Quatermass stays on the frontline when it comes to cleaning up the mess. Overall, the body horror film is a well-honed, punctiliously directed nail-biter. But be careful while watching. A nine-year-old boy died of a ruptured artery at a cinema in Illinois. The Guinness Book of Records subsequently filed the incident as the only known case of an audience member dying of fright during the screening of a horror film.

4

‘Queen of Blood’ (1966)

Queen of Blood

Release Date

March 1, 1966

Runtime

81 minutes

Director

Curtis Harrington

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  Basil Rathbone

  Dr. Farraday

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  Florence Marly

  Alien Queen

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• 

  Judi Meredith

  Laura James

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It’s the ‘90s in Queen of Blood, and space travel is well-established. One day, Earth receives a distress signal from an alien ship stuck on Mars, so a team is sent to check it out. There, they find a lone survivor— a woman with green skin — and bring her on board. Bad move! She starts draining the blood of the crew members, and it’s up to the remaining ones to stop her before the spacecraft lands on Earth.

Like an Evil Gamora

Lushly photographed and featuring a distinctive soulful score by Leonard Moran, this fascinating sci-fi flick (released as a double-feature with Blood Bath) takes plenty of risks on its winding path to safety, but the big moves all pay dividends. Like every other Roger Corman production, the budgetary constraints are sometimes glaring, especially regarding the props, but other production aspects compensate. Director Curtis Harrington would later open up to Terror Trap, saying, “Ridley’s film is like a greatly enhanced, expensive and elaborate version of Queen of Blood“.

3

‘Forbidden Planet’ (1956)

Forbidden Planet

Release Date

March 15, 1956

Runtime

98 Minutes

Director

Fred M. Wilcox

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  Walter Pidgeon

  Altaira Morbius

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  Anne Francis

  Dr. Edward Morbius

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• 

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Forbidden Planet is set in the 23rd century, and opens with a starship arriving on the distant planet Altair IV to determine the fate of an expedition crew that was sent there 20 years before. They discover Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) are the sole survivors, but before they can figure out what’s going on, strange forces begin attacking them.

Groundbreaking in Multiple Ways

This unrivalled, bizarre entry from world-class filmmaker Fred M. Wilcox draws much of its aesthetics and feel from CinemaScope; the result is a harmonious marriage of visual and sound that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It was the first sci-fi film to depict humans traveling in a man-made faster-than-light starship, the first to be set entirely on a planet orbiting another star, and the first to use an entirely electronic score.

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2

‘Dark Star’ (1974)

Dark Star

Release Date

April 1, 1974

Runtime

83 Minutes

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  Brian Narelle

  Lt. Doolittle

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• 

  Dan O’Bannon

  Sgt. Pinback alias Bill Fruge

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It’s been 20 years since the crew of the starship Dark Star was sent to destroy unstable planets that might threaten future galactic colonization. Now everyone is bored. But things are about to get even more complicated when an alien “beach ball” pet starts acting mischievously, and one of the sentient bombs develops an existential crisis. How will the humans in Dark Star deal?

More of O’Bannon’s Magic

Dark Star is both a great alien film and a great AI film. The bravura performances of the cast elevate the chaotic, sordid aspects of the tale, and John Carpenter showcases his magic as always. Cinematographer Douglas Knapp matches him with genius: one of the movie’s great pleasures is watching how the characters, opposites in many respects, keep falling back to let audiences enjoy the surroundings. Carpenter wrote the film with Alien’s O’Bannon, so the similarities make sense.

1

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

Stanley Kubrick made many great movies, but 2001: A Space Odyssey gets talked about the most. The film follows a team of astronauts as they travel to Jupiter aboard the Discovery One spacecraft to look into alien activity. All’s well until the spacecraft’s AI system, HAL 9000, malfunctions, resulting in a deadly human-machine confrontation.

Kubrick’s Magnum Opus

2001: A Space Odyssey looks so good that it triggered a conspiracy, with some parties claiming that the moon landing wasn’t real… the filmmaker shot the entire thing in a studio using the same technical prowess he used here. Quite an outrageous claim, but still interesting. The film won Kubrick his only Oscar (for visual effects). Besides that, it’s easy to see why the plot is brilliant. Kubrick co-wrote the script with legendary science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.