Science fiction has long had an interest in alien life and, unsurprisingly, the genre has created some of the weirdest and most unsettling beings to appear on the big screen. Very often, the strangest alien beings are meant to tap into the collective fears and anxieties of the audience, allowing them to encounter these things in the relatively safe environment of the movie theater. Just as importantly, they also embody the threat of the unknown, the realms of space that are resistant to human ways of understanding the biological principles of creation.
The weirdest aliens emerge in almost every subgenre of science fiction—and sometimes even in movies people don’t expect—like the sci-fi twist in Indiana Jones 4. Sometimes, as in horror, the weirdness is meant to disturb and unsettle the audience, to remind them of how life itself is far vaster and more hostile than humans are used to accepting. In genres like comedy, on the other hand, the weirdness is to an extent meant to achieve the opposite, i.e. to make the strange and inexplicable something innocuous and worthy of mockery. In all of these cases, however, weirdness serves a particular function rather than merely an accident of design.
10 The Entity In “Annihilation”
Natalie Portman’s Lena searches for her husband amid a mysterious phenomenon that Annihilation revolves around called “the Shimmer.” While there, she encounters a disturbing alien presence. However, it remains largely unseen, unlike so many other aliens in science fiction. It is more of a shadowy presence than a being that can be seen until it takes the form of Lena’s doppelganger. Ultimately, the being’s weirdness stems from its ability to mix the DNA of various beings, and the mutant human/bear is truly the stuff of nightmares.
9 The Death Angels In “A Quiet Place”
Like the best of science fiction, this movie is both terrifying and eerily realistic. A significant part of A Quiet Place’s terror comes from its monsters, which are called Death Angels. They are not only physically weird—with their plated faces and utterly strange appearance—but also horrifying because of their ability to track humans with just the barest of sounds. Their speed and utter ferocity mark them as beings to be feared, and it’s no wonder they can easily eliminate almost all of human life.
8 The Space Gorillas In “Attack The Block”
Attack the Block does a very good job of combining its horror and comedy elements into a cohesive whole—so well Attack the Block 2 with John Boyega is in the works. It also has some truly weird and unsettling creature designs, particularly when it comes to the beings subsequently known as space gorillas. As their name implies, they bear more than a passing resemblance to the great apes, but have teeth that somehow glow in the dark. As is so often the case in science fiction movies, these aliens manage to be both strange and terrifying simultaneously.
7 Edgar The Bug From “Men In Black”
Edgar the Bug of Men in Black is one of the movie’s highlights, particularly since he manages to be both humorously disgusting and unsettling simultaneously. In his true form, he resembles nothing so much as a giant cockroach, with all of the unpleasant associations this carries with it. However, even when he’s in his human form, there is still something very weird about him, as he appears to be a cross between a zombie and a mutant. The fact that his human body is actually dead just makes him that much more bizarre.
6 The Thing From “The Thing”
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John Carpenter is at his finest in The Thing, and he uses the conceit of an alien being that can take on the form of other living creatures to challenge ideas of what constitutes humanity. The few glimpses of what might be its true form confirm that it is truly a weird and viscerally horrifying being. What’s more, its weirdness also extends to its very nature. Given that it has undoubtedly assimilated the bodies of many other beings before it even arrives on Earth, it defies the human mind’s ability to categorize it neatly.
5 The Blob From “The Blob”
While the Blob might not be the most creative name for an entity, it is nevertheless accurate. The titular creature is just what one would expect, and this is true in both the 1958 and 1988 versions of the story—although the unmade Rob Zombie version of The Blob would have had some monster changes. In both cases, the creature is a weird and amorphous creature that oozes and slithers its way across the screen, devouring anything and everything in its path. Typical for science fiction, it seems to be the repository of some of humanity’s deepest fears, particularly the idea of a relentless hunger that can never be satisfied.
4 The Body Snatchers From “Invasion Of The Body Snatchers”
Each iteration of Invasion of the Body Snatchers brought a new twist to the story, but the 1978 version is arguably the weirdest. As with the other versions, the aliens take over humans’ bodies, hoping to colonize Earth and make it their new home. Their emergence from pods is, of course, a key part of their weirdness, but the sounds they make really strike fear into the heart. When they screech to alert others of their human intruder, it is a primordial scream that is utterly unfathomable.
3 The Clowns From “Killer Klowns From Outer Space”
Given its title, it’s not surprising that the aliens and their high kill count in Killer Klowns from Outer Space embody the weird. In terms of design, they look like clowns, but there is also a vaguely melted look to their skin that makes them even more unsettling than clowns that are not aliens. Moreover, there is a certain glint in their eye that elevates them into something more than mere camp. They combine two of humanity’s most prevalent fears: the alien and the clown.
2 The Martians From “Mars Attacks!”
Given that it was directed by Tim Burton, Mars Attacks! And its ack-aching aliens have the unique visual style one often associates with the director. This extends to the aliens themselves, who manage to be both skeletal and otherworldly. Their bulging eyes are evocative of aliens from the classic science fiction movies of the 1950s. Yet, there is something almost gleeful about their weirdness, as if both the movie and the aliens themselves relish the opportunity to make humans confront the things they find most unsettling and disturbing about the universe.
1 The Aliens In “Space Jam”
Space Jam partakes of a long tradition of mixing live action and animation—something that didn’t work so well in the 3D animated sequel, Space Jam 2. Of particular note in the movie are the aliens, who appear as a group of muscle-bound brutes. What makes them particularly weird is that they have that fluid quality so common to animation of the 1990s, combined with a look that is clearly meant to be a satire of jocks and their muscular physiques. Their weirdness becomes all the more notable compared to more innocuous appearance of the Looney Tunes characters who also appear.
As a genre, science fiction excels at imagining the impossible, whether it’s a sci-fi vessel for Tom Cruise or other big stars or deep philosophical reasoning. This frequently examines potential alien life forms, creatures that aren’t necessarily beholden to the biological laws that govern living beings on Earth. Given the liberty of the genre, it’s not surprising to find many of the best science fiction movies take the opportunity to make their creatures as weird as possible to show the wonder and the terror that exist at the heart of all material life.
