Aliens have been the subject of millions of imaginations over the years. Lately, the topic has begun to become a reality as the United States Pentagon released information on a lengthy UFO/UAP investigation, and NASA has recently opted to look into UFOs.
While aerial objects of unknown origin don’t necessarily mean extraterrestrials, a small poll on Twitter found that 43.5% of voters believe aliens to be the leading cause behind UFO sightings. Similarly, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2021 found that 51% of voters believed that “UFOs reported by people in the military” are more than likely the result of non-human, intelligent beings.
While it’s unclear whether this is the case, what would it mean for humanity if it was? The answer to this question has been traversed through some of the greatest minds in horror, such as Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Stephen King, M. Night Shyamalan, Ridley Scott, and more.
While, thankfully, none of their imaginings have yet come to fruition, through the lens of their creations, we can imagine what we’d be up against in the face of an alien threat.
Everything from these masters of horror’s depictions of the arrival, appearance, communication, goals, and weaknesses of aliens is examined and compared to how it all stacks up against what experts, eyewitnesses, and logic tells us.
How did they get here?
When the idea of aliens visiting Earth is mentioned, the thought of UFOs is not far behind.
Whether we picture the flying saucers popularized in films of the 1950s, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, a large mothership such as the one from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or something else altogether, the thought of spacecraft and alien invaders go hand in hand.
However, other horror films have strayed from this norm, delivering alien life through crashed meteorites or meteor showers, such as in Creepshow, Invaders from Mars, Color Out of Space, and The Seed.
No matter the method, aliens descending from the skies above is the most common depiction.
What UFO reports say:
The descriptions of different unidentified aerial phenomena have varied greatly over generations. World War II pilots saw different colored orbs of light that moved at impossible speeds and angles, so much so that they nicknamed them Foo Fighters.
Metallic saucers/spheres, pyramid-shaped objects, and irregularly shaped aircraft are all UFOs depicted in recently disseminated UFO footage captured by various forces of the United States military. While the sizes, shapes, and lights vary greatly, one overlying factor is the speed at which they travel and their impossible maneuvers. It’s worth mentioning that this, of course, does not make these objects alien in origin. A UFO is simply that, an unidentified object.
What do aliens look like?
To contend with the varied portrayals of intelligent alien life in horror, this list is broken down into three sections with subsections where necessary. This is by no means a complete list for as varied as life is on Earth; it is triply so in the imaginations of what the universe (or multiverse) could hold.
Creatures
Whether it’s the “run around on all fours” sort presented by Invaders from Mars (1986) and Cloverfield, or the slug-like variety depicted in Dreamcatcher and Slither, there have been a host of alien creatures in scary movies. Slugs are not the only slimeballs of alien depictions as The Blob and the true form of the creature from The Invasion of the Body Snatchers will attest.
But of course, the most notorious alien creature of them all, the Xenomorph from Alien, proves that bipedal monsters make for terrifying adversaries. While these aliens walk on two legs as humans do, they have multiple distinguishing features that make them decidedly different from humanity. The film A Quiet Place also displayed this sort of extraterrestrial as it has no eyes, advanced auditory systems, and long arms and legs that are unsettlingly disproportionate to its body.
Essence
While not as widely used as some of the other depictions on this list, an alien essence is a horrifying concept. Shudder Original Color Our of Space executes this idea in a way that bends reality. The Tommyknockers alsosaw an alien essence, though this one possesses everyone in its proximity.
Humanoid
These aliens look like humans but not quite. Fire in the Sky, Prometheus, and Predator are all examples of this. However, they are not the only representation of humanoid lifeforms.
The Greys
The grey aliens, depicted with large heads, black eyes, and grey skin, are the most prominent of all alien depictions. There’s a good reason for that, which will be explained momentarily. If you cannot picture one, look no further than the films Dark Skies, Dreamcatcher, Signs, or V/H/S/2. Or, as The Fourth Kind would chillingly remind us, picture the face of a white owl.
Clowns
That’s right, “Close Encounters of the Clown Kind” is a real thing. Well, not exactly, but Killer Klowns from Outerspace is, and although it’s a horror-comedy, viewers cannot deny the film’s creepiness. Moreover, the most recognizable horror clown of all time is oft forgotten that he is also a shapeshifting alien. Lest we forget, Pennywise was in Derry, Maine, because he crash-landed there.
Us
Whether it’s by parasitic infection, shapeshifting abilities, or impressive disguises, the scariest presentation of aliens comes in the form of them already existing among us. Many movies have executed this idea in various ways. Still, the most memorable examples of this idea occurred in the films: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, Species, and lest we forget those with “formaldehyde face” once you’ve got the glasses on, They Live.
What alleged UFO abductees say
Horror films frequently use the “grey” variety of alien life from the testimony of famous UFO abductees Betty and Barney Hill in 1961. Their widely publicized claims about being abducted by creatures with grey skin and large eyes made a large impact on what society pictures when they imagine an alien.
How do aliens communicate?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind saw aliens communicate with humans through music tones and Signs saw the use of crop circles.
Other media such as Dreamcatcher, American Horror Story: Asylum, and American Horror Story: Death Valleyutilizes a “human ambassador” to serve as a bridge of communication, a human whose aid is typically acquired through telepathy and other forms of mental jiu-jitsu.
On the topic of telepathic connection, horror sees many extraterrestrials that communicate with each other through a hive mind, such as in The Faculty or Slither.
Of all forms of communication featured, though, the most chilling is the lack of it. There was no discussion possible with the aliens presented in Alien, Predator, Signs, or A Quiet Place. Those aliens aren’t interested in communicating with us.
What the experts say:
Since intelligent alien life would likely have very little in common with us Earthlings (would they even have mouths?), there would be a significant communication barrier between them and us. Scientists believe that math is the universal language, and that would be our best chance of sharing ideas.
However, historically we have used imagery to try to convey different ideas to intelligent life, should it exist. One recent example is the proposal NASA published, detailing a plan to send drawings of naked humans to space. Another example is the Voyager Golden Record that was sent to space in 1977, containing images and sounds of Earth.
What do aliens want from us?
Potential Spoilers
The depicted goals of an invading alien race are numerous. Some seek to inhabit the Earth (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), and others strive to make our planet more like their own (Color Out of Space). Then, there was Predator, who only did it for the thrill of the kill. Meanwhile, the aliens in Dark Skies want to come into your house and stack your dishes and canned goods up at impossible angles to mess with you.
Then, others are portrayed as just stopping by to steal people away. In the words of The Fourth Kind: “An encounter in the first kind, that’s when you see a UFO. The second kind is when you see evidence of it: crop circles, radiation. The third kind is when you make contact. But the fourth kind, there’s nothing more frightening than the fourth. You see, that one is when they abduct you.”
Some films look at the extraterrestrial motivation for abduction from the perspective of why humanity would do it: experimentation. While these films can make for the most horrific of alien encounters (here’s looking at you, Fire in the Sky), they are, unfortunately, the truest to life.
Not because alien experimentation is necessarily happening, but because that’s what humans do. We tag sharks, grow ears on mice, and test products on animals in ways akin to torture, all for our benefit. Should we expect aliens to be any different?
Whether it’s world domination, human enslavement, experimentation, destruction, or abduction, many horror films tirelessly try to give reasoning behind what is happening. Though if aliens ever did choose to invade, we may not survive long enough to know the reason why.
What are the aliens’ weaknesses?
Spoiler Alert
One factor that has allowed humans in horror movies to win against an invading alien race is discovering a particular weakness. Signs and A Quiet Place 2 both show the aliens’ aversion to water. A Quiet Place also demonstrated the aliens’ strength to be their weakness as loud sounds disable them. A homemade drug that served as a diuretic was the weapon of choice in The Faculty. Since most extraterrestrial imaginings tend to be mortal beings, the use of any number of commonplace weapons against them has also proven effective.
The reality of the matter is discussed by Dr. Steven Greer in Unacknowledged. He indicates that if intelligent aliens were able to visit Earth, that in itself would prove technological advances far beyond our own. Because of this, if aliens wished to harm us, any weakness an alien might have would be irrelevant because we’d still be no match for them.
One of my favorite pieces of UFO lore serves as a testimony to this idea. While I will not assert that aliens or UFOs piloted by aliens have ever been to Earth, the following story is true and paints a creepy picture of our defenses failing in the face of an aerial threat.
The Battle of Los Angeles
Two months after Pearl Harbor was attacked, on February 25, 1942, at around two a.m., a blackout was ordered in Los Angeles. Something was in the sky, and anti-aircraft weapons began firing hundreds of rounds of artillery at it. At least five people died in the ensuing chaos: three perished in motor vehicle collisions, and two died from heart attacks. Despite 1,440 rounds of ammunition fired, the object was reportedly not brought down. While the official cause of this event remains unknown, the running theory is believed to be a weather balloon combined with post-Pearl Harbor anxieties.
For now, in the absence of proof, intelligent alien life interacting with Earth does not exist outside of conjecture and the movies. However, if the films are any indicator, we may very well be better off alone.
For more coverage on space invaders, be sure to check out Shudder’s newly-added Alien Encounters Collection and Jordan Peele’s extraterrestrial horror film Nope, releasing theatrically on July 22nd.
If there are any classic alien-horror movies that you wish I’d included or any fun factoids worthy of a tinfoil hat that you’d like to divulge, feel free to share in the comments below!