Humanity has looked to the stars since its earliest days, and science fiction has always been rife with stories about visitors from outer space. The movies picked up on that very quickly, starting with 1903's A Trip to the Moon which depicts turn-of-the-century scientists duking it out with marauding moon men. While movies about benign visitors are far from uncommon (often shining a light on humanity's own prejudices and shortcomings in the bargain) stories of invasion and hostile aliens are often more compelling.

Their heyday arrived in the 1950s, as fears of Communism and the first steps into outer space fueled anxieties about little green men. It works well in any era, however, with extraterrestrial conquerors making a ready stand-in for whatever the prevailing social anxieties of the time. The best of them are scattered across decades, and demonstrate how invaders from outer space will always be a part of our shared social zeitgeist.

10 The Avengers Brings a Comic-Book Invasion to Life

Alien invasions are a staple of comic books, providing a suitably menacing external force for the hero to vanquish in defense of the Earth. Superhero movies and television shows have dabbled in them from time to time, notably in the Christopher Reeve epic Superman II and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, most of them leave such notions to more traditional science fiction movies.

The first Avengers movie changes all that in a big way, with the Chitauri Invasion (subsequently known as The Battle of New York), effectively announcing the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The climactic breach above the skies of New York forces the film's six heroes to find common cause, and their Chitauri foes are imposing enough to easily sell the finale's do-or-die premise. It wouldn't be the last time aliens invaded Earth in the MCU, but it's still the most memorable.

9 The Faculty Finds The Right Mixture of Horror and Parody

Robert Rodriguez always possessed a fine gift for pulp, and with The Faculty he deftly mixes Body-Snatcher-style alien takeovers with coming-of-age movies of the John Hughes variety. In this case, the teachers of a small town American high school have been possessed by parasites from beyond the stars, and it's up to kids from an eclectic number of cliques to come together and stop them.

The premise works like gangbusters thanks to an amazing cast, led by a pre-Frodo Elijah Wood, and by Rodriguez's open affection for B-movie thrills. Equal parts funny, scary, and even quietly affecting, it's easily the cream of the post-Independence Day crop, and more than enough to forgive the creepy Harry Knowles cameo.

8 A Quiet Place Delivers a New Twist on the Classic Story

A Quiet Place hinges on a gigantic gimmick, which might have swallowed the movie whole in the hands of less capable filmmakers. In the 2018 film, it becomes a perfect exercise in generating suspense through the tiniest of noises. The aliens are brutal and unstoppable, but completely blind. They hunt by sound, and quickly decimate humanity. The few survivors are forced to live in total silence, including the family of protagonists whose daughter is deaf.

Director John Krascinski parleys his chemistry with co-star (and real-life wife) Emily Blunt to build a strong emotional core around the family. Once the audience is in their corner, the monsters themselves become almost secondary to the terrifying atmosphere they create. It's rarely about the aliens themselves. The possibility is enough to make A Quiet Place truly terrifying.

7 Independence Day Perfects the Popcorn Alien Invasion

Attacks from outer space are an easy excuse for spectacle, and even comparatively low-budget alien invasion stories try to convey the sheer scope and destruction of the conflict. 1996's invasion movie Independence Day openly weaponizes the notion, as flying saucers hover over all the major cities in the world before unleashing a genocidal attack on the human race.

Director Roland Emmerich has never been known for his subtlety, and here he embraces the classic War of the Worlds scenario in the name of pure entertainment. Invasions from outer space have never been this much fun, even though entire cities are atomized in an instant, everyone still has time for a quip and a high five. It's absurdly unrealistic, but that's kind of the point, and while no one will mistake it for high art, it may constitute the apex of popcorn for popcorn's sake.

6 Invaders from Mars Is a Literal Nightmare

Before Invasion of the Body Snatchers perfected the concept, the original Invaders from Mars delivered a unique take on the idea of a secret invasion. It's framed as a young boy's nightmare of waking up one evening to see a flying saucer land in the woods behind his home. Soon, all of the adults in his life are acting strangely, which may have something to do with the weird scars on the backs of their necks.

Invaders from Mars leans into the notion that it might all just be a dream, complete with slightly surreal set design and an ending that seems to fold back into the beginning. It captures the fear of being a child who knows the truth that no grown-up will see, which helps it power past the dated (and sometimes cheesy) visual effects. Tobe Hooper directed an underrated remake in 1986, with the same terrors and better aliens.

5 They Live Puts The Aliens Among Us

Alien invasion stories often carry a satirical edge, revealing all manner of human shortcomings with the aliens largely serving as backdrop. Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! is an underrated example, but it really takes John Carpenter's They Live to stick the knife in properly. In its universe, the elite politicians and corporations are literally controlled by alien invaders, who view Earth as an undeveloped world ripe for exploitation.

They use subliminal technology to appear human, as well as beaming messages of compliance and submission through media and advertising. Only a few humans know the truth, using special sunglasses to cut through the aliens' signal. The film is full of witty humor and sharp action, despite its rather gloomy scenario.

4 Edge of Tomorrow Has Become a Modern Classic

Emily Blunt's second film on the list is also the most unexpected Tom Cruise classic ever made. It reimagines the basic concept of Groundhog Day in the face of an alien invasion, as Cruise's press-ganged grunt finds himself being killed in a thousand different ways, only to wake up a short while earlier and go through the whole thing again. Each time, he learns a little more, very much like a video game player grinding their way to the requisite skills. This may lend him insight into the aliens' Achilles heel.

Edge of Tomorrow works by taking its scenario deadly seriously, even when it treats Cruise's hapless weasel as a living cartoon character sometimes. Its clever action sequences are peppered with humor, yet never undercut the seriousness of the plot. With Blunt matching Cruise step for step, Edge of Tomorrow is starting to look like the alien invasion film to beat in the 21st century.

3 The Thing's Invasion Cuts Straight to the Soul