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Aliens poster

Movies that feel likeAliens (1986)

Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.

If you loved Aliens, the closest films we have are Sunshine (2007), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). All three share Aliens' cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Abyss (1989).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. James Cameronkinetictensecerebralawe
9 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Hulu · Disney Plus

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If Aliens hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Alien (1979) · Alien³ (1992) · Alien Resurrection (1997)

Sunshine poster
Sunshine
2007 · dir. Danny Boyle
🍅 77%★ 7.2science fiction · thriller

A doomed crew, a hostile void and dwindling ways home

The difference: Contemplative until it snaps — and the final act divides people

Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day poster
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991 · dir. James Cameron
🍅 90%★ 8.6action · thriller · science fictionPrime VideoParamount+

Cameron again: a fierce protector, an unstoppable enemy, war footing

The difference: The monster is a machine — chrome chase over creeping dread

Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

The Empire Strikes Back poster
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · dir. Irvin Kershner
🍅 93%★ 8.7adventure · action · science fictionDisney+

A scrappy band outgunned across hostile worlds

The difference: Mythic space opera — hope and destiny replace the dread

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

Pitch Black poster
Pitch Black
2000 · dir. David Twohy
🍅 58%★ 7thriller · science fiction · action

The same mix in both: momentum, then tension

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

When their ship crash-lands on a remote planet, the marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Deadly creatures lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark, and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclipse. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his eerie eyes to guide them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.

True Lies poster
True Lies
1994 · dir. James Cameron
🍅 77%★ 7.3action · thrillerRent or buy

Cameron's set-piece mastery aimed at spy games instead

The difference: A marital comedy at heart — the danger is mostly a punchline

A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.

Independence Day poster
Independence Day
1996 · dir. Roland Emmerich
🍅 77%★ 7action · adventure · science fiction

Cerebral where it counts, awestruck underneath

The difference: Easier on the tension than Aliens

Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.

Moonraker poster
Moonraker
1979 · dir. Lewis Gilbert
🍅 59%★ 6.3action · adventure · thrillerPrime Video

Space-set spectacle with lasers, shuttles and a body count

The difference: Camp Bond in orbit — winks where Aliens grits its teeth

After Drax Industries' Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked, secret agent James Bond is assigned to investigate, traveling to California to meet the company's owner, the mysterious Hugo Drax. With the help of scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond soon uncovers Drax's nefarious plans for humanity, all the while fending off an old nemesis, Jaws, and venturing to Venice, Rio, the Amazon...and even outer space.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
2001 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 42%★ 5.7thriller · science fiction · actionHulu

A crash-landed soldier fighting free of a hostile world

The difference: Rubber-suit spectacle with a muddle where the spine should be

After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by Ruthless General Thade.

Predator 2 poster
Predator 2
1990 · dir. Stephen Hopkins
🍅 36%★ 6.3science fiction · action · thriller

Outgunned humans against a creature that hunts for sport

The difference: Sweaty B-movie sequel — momentum without Ripley-level stakes

A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.

Deep Impact poster
Deep Impact
1998 · dir. Mimi Leder
🍅 45%★ 6.3action · drama · science fictionParamount+

Kinetic action in both cases

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Aliens does

A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.

The Abyss poster
The Abyss
1989 · dir. James Cameron
🍅 75%★ 7.5adventure · thriller · science fictionDisney+

A blue-collar crew sealed in with something unknown below

The difference: Wonder, not terror — the deep turns out to be merciful

A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.

Serenity poster
Serenity
2005 · dir. Joss Whedon
🍅 82%★ 7.8science fiction · action · adventure

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than Aliens does

A group of rebels travel the outskirts of space evading the sinister Alliance regime. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbours a dangerous secret. Soon, the crew find themselves being pursued by an Alliance agent who will stop at nothing to find them.

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The best-reviewed films that share Aliens’ defining feeling.