Summary

• Unique alien designs can enhance a movie's themes and evoke a sense of mystery and fear. (e.g., The Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi)
• Humanoid aliens make it easier for audiences to empathize with them, but breaking away from generic designs can be more impactful. (e.g., Prawns in District 9)
• The design of aliens can reflect deeper fears and tap into universal human anxieties. (e.g., The Blob as a physical embodiment of death in The Blob)

Most aliens in sci-fi movies conform to a set of generic design principles, but some movies are brave enough to break the mold and come up with completely unique extraterrestrial designs. Aliens on screen are often humanoid beings, with two legs, two arms, and a head. These creatures can have some subtle differences from humans, like Vulcans in Star Trek, or more pronounced distinctions, like the fish-headed iral Ackbar in Star Wars. Humanoid aliens are obviously a lot easier to film, but they are also easier for audiences to empathize with, because their human characteristics are more relatable.

Even some of the best sci-fi movie aliens can have human-like appearances, or they stick to the tropes of big, bulging heads and long fingers. These features have become acceptable deviations from the norm. They are what audiences expect of an alien being. But some movies benefit from having aliens that are completely unexpected. In movies where the alien is an antagonist, it can be much scarier to have a totally original design which is harder to pin down. Humans fear the unknown, and there is nothing more mysterious than the dark, unexplored corners of the universe. Unique alien designs can expand the scope of deep space, and make Earth seem much less significant by comparison.

10 Frank

Men in Black (1997)

There are plenty of aliens that assume the form of a human or another animal to blend in with the inhabitants of Earth. In Men in Black, the secret agency keeps tabs on a whole host of aliens living in Manhattan disguised as humans, but Frank takes the form of a pug instead. What makes Frank unique is that his personality is unequivocally human. He has a thick New York accent and a wise-cracking style to fit. Men in Black posits that there are aliens living among us, but the existence of Frank suggests that they could even be living in our own homes, or peeing on our lawns.

9 The Sarlacc

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Humanoids are usually the most intelligent creatures in Star Wars, like Ahsoka Tano, Chewbacca, and Darth Maul, but there are also plenty of unique designs with less human-like characteristics. Crowd scenes, at places such as Mos Eisley or Canto Bight, are often populated with a dizzying array of life forms in all shapes and sizes. One of the odd life forms that gets more of a prominent role is the sarlacc, the giant sand beast whose beak and tendrils protrude from beneath the dunes. The mystery of what lies further down makes the Great Pit of Carkoon a terrifying fate, although Boba Fett does escape the sarlacc's clutches.

8 Prawns

District 9 (2009)

There is still room for innovation within the well-established framework of humanoid designs.

The prawns from District 9 show that there is still room for innovation within the well-established framework of humanoid designs. In the apartheid allegory of District 9, the prawns are treated as an underclass of society, confined to underfunded refugee camps. Their combination of human and animal traits make them deeply empathetic characters while still maintaining their sense of otherness. Both their appearance and their behavior blend humanity with absurd extraterrestrial characteristics. In this way, director Neill Blomkamp juxtaposes how marginalized groups act and how they are perceived by their oppressors. Wikus only begins to relate to the prawns when he begins to transform into one.

7 Xenomorphs

Alien (1979)

H.R. Giger's iconic design made the xenomorphs one of cinema's most instantly recognizable aliens, alongside the likes of E.T. and Yoda. The almost mechanical elements of the design make xenomorphs seem like invulnerable machines, and their corrosive blood further adds to this supernatural mystique. Their elongated heads and hidden sets of jaws are key parts of their terrifying design, but their unique life cycle is what sets them apart from most other movie monsters. The first Alien movie shows how they use humans to incubate their young, culminating in the viscerally shocking "chestburster" scene, and subsequent movies have expanded upon their legend.

The latest installment in the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus is slated for release in 2024.

6 The Blob

The Blob (1958)

It's a physical embodiment of death itself.

The Blob is exactly what it sounds like. The undulating ooze first made its screen debut in 1958 opposite Steve McQueen, and it also appeared in two further movies decades later. The fact that a creature as simplistic as the Blob maintained a place in the public's imagination for so long shows that it speaks to an underlying human fear. The Blob cannot be killed, maintained, or reasoned with. It's a physical embodiment of death itself, and its blank design invites audiences to project their own fears onto the alien amoeba. The Blob is one of the best creature features from the 1950s, but its appeal is timeless.

5 Unnamed Aliens

No One Will Save You (2023)

In many ways, some of the aliens from No One Will Save You conform to the stereotype of bulbous-headed black-eyed extraterrestrials. But the movie provides an alternative take on these tropes, as the aliens take on different forms throughout the movie. The first alien Brynn sees in her house is about the height of an adult human, although it walks on outstretched toes. Brynn also encounters a much shorter alien, which could be a younger member of the species, and a giant arachnid creature. No One Will Save You's surreal ending gives some insight into the motivations of the aliens, but they never make any attempt to communicate with humans.

4 Jean Jacket

Nope (2022)

Nope puts a twist on the familiar flying saucer trope by making the UFO not just a mode of transport, but the actual alien life form itself. Jean Jacket behaves more like a typical predator in the animal kingdom than an alien invader, or a spacecraft for that matter. This is an insightful twist on the alien invasion sub-genre of sci-fi, which feeds on deep-seated human fears of being hunted. In Nope's mysterious ending, Jean Jacket unfurls into an enormous jellyfish-like creature with billowing white sails. This could be a threat response, which further reinforces the idea that Jean Jacket is closer in intelligence to an animal than a human.

3 Groot

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is packed full of aliens, most of which look like humans. Even in The Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax and Gamora are fairly standard humanoid designs with different colors, but Groot stands out as a far more original concept. Groot starts off in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie as a large tree-like biped, but he has evolved multiple times in his decade on screen. Groot's different forms in the MCU suggest that his species is much more diverse than humans. His largely wordless existence is a fascinating subversion of the human assumption that intelligence and language are intrinsically linked.

2 Unnamed Aliens

Attack the Block (2011)

Attack the Block uses every penny of its relatively slender budget to full effect, and its nightmarish aliens are a prime example of this. Some alien invasion movies rely on expensive CGI to create awe-inspiring extraterrestrial figures, but the design of the aliens in Attack the Block is kept simple. The blacker-than-black creatures move like bears or attack dogs, with their only discernible features being their glowing fangs. They're an unknowable horror from outer space, and even when the characters are staring at them face-to-face, they don't know what they're dealing with. Even with a much bigger budget, Attack the Block couldn't have concocted a more appropriate villain.

1 Heptapods

Arrival (2016)

The Arrival are a unique blend of familiar characteristics and obscure mysteries. Their vaguely humanoid heads sit atop towering diamond frames, but their most striking features are the seven limbs they use both to walk and to communicate. The heptatod language is the focus of Arrival, and its circular symbols echo how the heptapods understand time is non-linear, and they eventually transfer this knowledge to humans. Humans don't know the intentions of the heptapods when they arrive on Earth, and this is mirrored in their shadowy, inscrutable forms. Heptapods are a prime example of an alien's design enhancing a movie's themes.