8 Alien Encounter Movies That Aren’t Your Typical Invasion Flicks

Arrival explores massive alien ships that land at various points on Earth. There’s no way to understand what they are saying, and this confusion risks a global war that one scientist must avert by finding a way to communicate.

Arrival isn’t an easy film to comprehend, but the payoff is worth it. It’s a methodical movie with unique aliens and showcases the importance of communication. If you’re looking to think hard on a film and feel enlightened after, nothing beats Arrival.

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin follows an alien who disguises herself as a woman and seduces men—not to abduct, but to feed. These elements lead to a unique look at how an alien eats as well as how an alien on another planet thinks.

Under the Skin is a strange film with striking imagery, especially when her victims ultimately crumble into themselves and perish. If you’re looking for an alien encounter film that takes the alien into consideration, Under the Skin is exactly what you’re looking for.

An arthouse sci-fi film, Solaris follows a psychologist who is tasked with speaking with the crew of a space station to understand a death that happened there, as well as the mental issues the crew is experiencing.

The alien encounter element in this film is incredibly cerebral as they learn a living planet is the source of their issues and it’s something that can’t be handled traditionally. Solaris is a unique film, and if you’re looking for a strange sci-fi experience, this is the film for you.

One of Steven Spielberg’s most popular films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind follows a man whose obsession with finding a UFO reaches unexpected heights. If the movie is remembered for anything, it’s the scope that comes with the extraterrestrial element.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is deeply human in how it explores the ideas of obsession and payoff and the sacrifices that come with it, making it a must-watch alien encounter film.

Another alien film by Spielberg, and possibly his most famous, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is a simple story of a boy meeting an alien, and the bond he and his family start to form with it. It’s a heart-warming story with more than a few iconic cinematic moments.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial is the perfect film for the whole family and one of the best examples of an alien encounter film where the aliens aren’t the bad guys at all but are instead as curious and kind as we can be.

Based on the book of the same name, Annihilation follows a team of women sent into a dome known as the Shimmer that was born from an asteroid that landed in Florida. But as they go through, they find themselves changing as their DNA is mixed with every living thing around them.

The alien aspect of the film is the Shimmer itself, but what makes Annihilation unique is that it changes Earth into an alien environment as well. Heavy on violence and sci-fi body horror, Annihilation is a thought-provoking and dark alien film.

District 9 isn’t an alien invasion film nor is it an alien encounter film in the traditional sense. What it is is a sci-fi body horror about a man turning into the same species that has landed on Earth and is now cordoned off into districts and persecuted.

District 9 isn’t for the faint of heart, as the body horror is bloody and the violence is brutal. All that to say, fans are still waiting for the sequel. If you're a fan of movies like The Fly (1986), then this is the film for you.

Inspired by the Malibu comic of the same name, Men in Black follows a recruit to an agency that polices and monitors extra-terrestrial activity on the planet Earth. Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this is a great sci-fi adventure film that takes the concept of aliens in a new direction.

By having the Men in Black be like cops and protectors of the planet, it adds a fun flair to a movie that tries too hard to explain why average humans don’t know about them. It’s got action and jokes to spare and is a ‘90s classic, perfect for people who want nothing to do with a traditional invasion movie.