
Movies that feel likeAliens (1986)
If you loved Aliens, the closest films we have are Sunshine (2007), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). All three share Aliens' cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.
Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Abyss (1989).
Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.
If Aliens hit the spot, these will too
Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Alien (1979) · Alien³ (1992) · Alien Resurrection (1997)

A doomed crew, a hostile void and dwindling ways home
The difference: Contemplative until it snaps — and the final act divides people

A scrappy band outgunned across hostile worlds
The difference: Mythic space opera — hope and destiny replace the dread

Cameron again: a fierce protector, an unstoppable enemy, war footing
The difference: The monster is a machine — chrome chase over creeping dread

The same mix in both: momentum, then tension
The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Cerebral where it counts, awestruck underneath
The difference: Easier on the tension than Aliens

A blue-collar crew sealed in with something unknown below
The difference: Wonder, not terror — the deep turns out to be merciful

Space-set spectacle with lasers, shuttles and a body count
The difference: Camp Bond in orbit — winks where Aliens grits its teeth

A crash-landed soldier fighting free of a hostile world
The difference: Rubber-suit spectacle with a muddle where the spine should be

Kinetic action in both cases
The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Aliens does

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases
The difference: Sits closer to adventure than Aliens does

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over
The difference: 22 years apart, and the 2000s show

Cameron's marines and dropships pointed at an alien world
The difference: The marines are the monsters this time — awe replaces terror
In the mood for more kinetic?
all kinetic movies →The best-reviewed films that share Aliens’ defining feeling.









