The 20 best movies about first contact

Contact is one of those films that is both thought-provoking and also quite beautiful to watch, and much of that is due to both Robert Zemeckis’ direction and Jodie Foster’s performance. She portrays a scientist who, driven by the death of her father when she was young, attempts to discover signs of extraterrestrial life. It’s the kind of film that doesn’t talk down to its audience, but instead takes them on an extraordinary journey of discovery. As such, it’s a fitting homage to Carl Sagan, the author of the original novel, who died before the movie was released.

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is often seen as the benchmark against which epic sci-fi is measured. It’s easy to see why this would be the case, as the film is operatic and achingly beautiful in its ambitions. One of the key plot elements of the film involves the giant monoliths, which, it turns out, are key to humanity’s various developments. The film remains as thought-provoking and beautiful as it was when it was first released in 1968, serving as a testament to what sci-fi cinema can achieve.

Several years before he appeared in the Star Wars  sequel trilogy, John Boyega showed his acting chops in Attack the Block. It’s a brilliant mash-up of science fiction and comedy, but it’s also a remarkably insightful examination of class and race in 2010s Britain, particularly since so much of the action takes place in public housing. It definitely leans into its own B-movie approach to the material, and, among other things, the film demonstrates why Boyega was the perfect choice to appear in a sprawling franchise like Star Wars. 

Flight of the Navigator is peak 1980s sci-fi cinema, perfectly blending the conventions of science fiction and adventure. Joey Cramer is also perfectly cast as David Freeman, whose encounter with a spaceship leads him to jump several years into the future. Ultimately, of course, David establishes a strange bond with the ship itself. It’s a film that is often surprisingly heart-warming, in the proud tradition of 1980s American movies, because when it comes down to it, there’s no bond quite like that between a boy and his spaceship.

Wonder and terror go hand in hand in the film Annihilation,  which stars Natalie Portman as a scientist whose team investigates a mysterious entity known as the Shimmer. As it turns out, the Shimmer is essentially an entity that has the power to shape and change DNA, with results that are often beautiful but which can also be absolutely horrifying. The film speaks of American culture’s ongoing anxiety about the threat of the alien and the unknown, and, ultimately, it speaks to a fear that humans may not be as in control of their bodies as they might like to believe.

Steven Spielberg has repeatedly shown an interest in alien stories, and there’s no doubt he’s directed some of the best. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was a mainstay for Gen X and older millennials, and it features the trademark Spielberg sentimentality without getting overwhelmed by it. Indeed, even many years after its release, the film retains its power to charm and enchant, and its titular character remains endearingly both ugly and cute, as he was when the film was first released in 1982.

Galaxy Quest is that rare gem of a movie: one that manages to keep its science fiction and comedy elements in perfect balance. It’s quite obviously a riff off of Star Trek and its devoted fandom, but it’s also a humorous look at the sci-fi trope of first contact. It also features a cast that is nothing short of comedy gold. In addition to Tim Allen, it also stars Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver (arguably the most famous woman in sci-fi), and Tony Shalhoub. In an age of constant franchises, it becomes more relevant with every year.

Viewers who wanted to learn more about the sinister creatures from A Quiet Place got their wish with A Quiet Place: Day One.  As its title suggests, it focuses on the day that the beings known as Death Angels came to Earth and started to wreak havoc. Though it doesn’t shy away from the terror and the horror, it’s really the deeply human performances from both Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn that help this film to stand apart and become something more than just another entry in a franchise. 

Steven Spielberg has long been fascinated by aliens and humanity’s encounters with life beyond Earth. This is evident in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which focuses on two people whose lives are irrevocably changed by their encounters with extraterrestrials. It’s one of those films that is peak early Spielberg, with a sense of wonder that encompasses both the vast reaches of space and the human spirit. It’s thus easy to see why it has continued to enchant audiences and why it remains so beloved.

The 1950s were something of a golden age for sci-fi movies. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of those films that is very much of its time and yet also relevant, focusing as it does on the arrival of a powerful alien that demands that humans stop trying to destroy one another before they are themselves destroyed by other races that see them as a destabilizing threat. The film crystallizes the anxieties about atomic energy and humanity’s reckless drive to destroy itself, and its selection for preservation in the Library of Congress is a testament to its influence.

Few filmmakers working today have as acute an understanding of science fiction as Denis Villeneuve. In Arrival,  he managed to make a film that was both visually stunning and also thought-provoking. Among other things, it is a fascinating exploration of the power and importance of language. It certainly helps that the entire film is anchored by Amy Adams’ performance as linguist Louise Banks, one that earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in Motion Picture–Drama.

A Quiet Place proved without doubt that John Krasinski was a bit of a wizard both behind and in front of the camera. The film offers a unique spin on the alien invasion concept, this time involving extraterrestrial beings that hunt by sound. The film is a tightly woven and terrifying look at life after first contact, and though it ends with the humans finally finding a means of fighting back against the invaders, there’s also no doubt that it will take a lot to attain final victory.

Few first contact films have had quite as much of an enduring influence as Ridley Scott’s Alien. From the terrifying and viscerally horrifying Xenomorph, whose creature design remains unmatched, to the formidable heroine that is Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, there’s much about this film that still resonates and entertains. What’s more, its message about the corrosive and destructive power of corporate greed remains relevant, as evident in Alien: Earth, the current TV series set long before the events of the film.  

District 9 is one of those sci-fi films that, once seen, is never forgotten. Set in South Africa, it focuses on Wikus van de Merwe, who finds his life and fate inextricably intertwined with a group of extraterrestrials that have been essentially imprisoned on Earth. It’s one of those first contact films that uses this particular sci-fi trope to ask deep questions, not just about humanity’s place in the universe but even what constitutes personhood and whether one has to be a human in order to be given that identity. 

M. Night Shyamalan has earned a reputation for his use of twist endings, not all of which are particularly effective. Signs is often seen as one of his better films, though the twist at the end is arguably a bit hackneyed. Nevertheless, the film does a nice job of capturing a sense of looming dread, and, just as importantly, it also emphasizes the human stakes involved when an alien race decides to take over the planet. Like the best science fiction, it also grapples with larger moral and philosophical questions, which lend the monster movie aspect more depth.

Roland Emmerich may not be a darling with the critics, but there’s no doubt that he knows how to put together a big-budget film spectacle. One of his most successful would have to be Independence Day, which focuses on an alien invasion and efforts to defeat it. The film has many notable action set-pieces, but arguably the most memorable is the one in which a giant spaceship destroys the White House itself. It is, in some ways, the most powerful moment in ‘90s sci-fi, so it’s easy to see why the film became a box office phenomenon.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers was given a new lease on life in 1978 with the release of a new adaptation. Like its predecessor, it focuses on a group of people struggling to survive in the aftermath of the sinister aliens who replace humans through pods. Though it has many terrifying scenes, arguably the final scene is the film’s signature moment. Also like the 1950s version, it is an expression and reflection of America at the end of the 1970s, when consumerism was on the rise and a sense of futility and fatalism seemed to be everywhere.

Jack Finney’s novel The Body Snatchers has the distinction of being adapted several times for the screen, but one of the best is the original film adaptation from 1956. With its story about aliens that take over the bodies of their hosts through pods, it is the perfect encapsulation of many of the anxieties and concerns percolating in Cold War America. It has steadily gained a reputation as one of the finest and most terrifying sci-fi films ever made, and it continues to fascinate as an expression of American society’s deep-seated angst about communism.

If there’s one filmmaker who has made his name in crafting science fiction that is both beautiful and thought-provoking, it is James Cameron. One of his lesser-known gems is The Abyss, which focuses on a group of humans extracting a sunken submarine, only to discover that there is an alien city deep beneath the ocean’s surface. As always, Cameron knows how to wed together big-screen spectacle with thought-provoking philosophy, and the film has only improved with the release of a special edition years after its initial release. 

H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi novel about the horrors of first contact has inspired more than its fair share of adaptations. Arguably, however, one of the best is the 2005 version. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, it’s the perfect meeting of material, director, and star. It manages to capture so much of what makes Wells’ novel so enduringly compelling and terrifying, and it’s a humbling reminder that humans may not be the masters of the universe that they often imagine themselves to be.