Best Alien and Outer Space Movies on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO Go
Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and HBO are brimming with some incredible alien and outer space movies, from full-out invasions to deep space exploration.
Check out these alien and outer space movies to go on an interstellar adventure, right from your sofa.
Independence Day (1996)
Starring: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox
Rating: 9/10
Available on: HBO Max
In this end-of-the world flick, aliens attack, Will Smith is a badass, and it’s the end of mankind as we know it—or so it seems.
Can Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith work together to kill these grade-A alien a-holes?
Find it on HBO Max here.
Annihilation (2018)
Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez
Rating: 9/10
Available on: Amazon Prime (rent or buy)
Lena, a biologist and veteran, is subjected to government questioning after emerging as the sole survivor on a mission into the “Shimmer.”
This strange alien-related anomaly starts in a meteoroid and quickly spreads. While inside, all tech stops working—and all life forms start mutating, including humans. Every exploratory team that enters never returns…until Lena.
Annihilation combines stunning visual effects with solid storytelling to make a can’t-miss alien movie.
Rent or purchase it on Prime here.
Interstellar (2014)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
IMDb Rating: 8.6
Available on: Amazon Prime (rent or buy)
When earth’s environment grows inhospitable, widower and former NASA pilot Joseph Cooper leaves behind his simple farm life to see if humanity still has a chance at survival.
Tasked with piloting the Endurance, a spacecraft carrying thousands of frozen embryos, Cooper sets out on a perilous mission to set up mankind’s next colony.
With elements of time travel woven throughout, Interstellar is the perfect blend of outer space meets sci-fi.
Rent or purchase it on Prime here.
Arrival (2016)
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Available on: Hulu
Following the death of her daughter from a mysterious illness, linguist Louise Banks is recruited by the United States Army to study the twelve alien spacecrafts hovering over the earth. Banks hopes to learn how to communicate with the beings.
Things quickly turn sour when the aliens send a message some nations interpret as hostile. While Banks believes the aliens don’t mean humans any harm, several powerful entities disagree.
Worldwide panic begins. Meanwhile, Banks learns the aliens’ language is far more incredible than most humans will ever understand.
Find it on Hulu here.
The Alien Franchise (1979-Present)
Starring: Sigourney Weaver
Available on: Amazon Prime
Out of all the alien or outer space movies out there, few stack up to the Alien franchise.
While not every movie is warmly received by critics, fans can’t get enough of Ellen Ripley and the alien race she keeps encountering.
The first film’s success spawned endless sequels, prequels, a web series, and even a high school play with huge accolades from Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott themselves.
These films effortlessly combine the gore and terror of a hostile extraterrestrial invasion with the typical challenges of deep space travel—most famously, the fact that in space, no one can hear you scream.
Find the first movie on Prime here.
Predator (1987)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Available on: Hulu
A fun mashup of horror, action, and sci-fi, Predator ups the ante with an alien species that isn’t just out to kill—it’s also way more advanced, capable of everything from thermal imaging to camouflage.
Schwarzenegger delivers a classic action performance in this film, and the plot brings plenty of heart-pounding tension.
Like the Alien franchise, Predator led to sequels, games, and more—including a few crossovers with the Alien films, in later years.
Find it on Hulu here.
Another Life (2019- )
Starring: Katee Sackhoff, Justin Chatwin, Samuel Anderson
Rating: 10/10
Available on: Netflix
After a Möbius-shaped UFO lands on earth, the crew of the Salvare try to establish communications.
Much of this series takes place on the spaceship, with the crew emerging from hypersleep as needed to grapple the mysteries of the UFO, as well as the dangers of space travel itself.
Find it on Netflix here.
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Alien and outer space movies, while their own genres, often combine elements of heart-pounding action films with the terror and gore of classic creature features. The best ones get you wondering not, “What if aliens really did invade?” but rather—”When?”
For more recommendations, check out every movie in the Alien franchise, the best science-fiction anime, or the greatest alien species in all sci-fi media.
