7 Awesome Alien Invasion Movies ...

One of the best recent alien invasion movies is the remake of War of the Worlds. Although I usually prefer the original version of a movie, this remake is rather impressive. The scene when the ship appears out of the earth is stunning. Do also check out the original 1953 movie - the effects may be less striking, but it's interesting to compare the two.

More dastardly aliens are trying to take over our planet - but this bunch wants to turn us into slaves. Their plan is to use Godzilla, Mothra and all the monsters to destroy the cities. Cue obvious and unconvincing models of major landmarks getting smashed to bits, and Sixties Shock! Horror! titles. Great fun if you love classic monster movies.

There was life after The X-Files for David Duchovny, whose performance is something of a send-up of his Mulder character. In Evolution, the alien life form arrives in a meteor, and evolves at an astonishing rate. It started out as a serious script, but was probably a good deal better as a comedy.

"No woman is safe!" cry the titles. Fifties cci-fi may seem schlocky to modern eyes, but they were very much a reflection of their time. Anxieties about Russian invasion and the Cold War emerged in movies where alien invaders took the form of family members and neighbors (as in Invasion of the Body Snatchers).

As if high school wasn't stressful enough, imagine having to deal with your teachers being aliens. And this movie isn't a comedy. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it's still a decent attempt at the theme of aliens being among us.

This may have been a very low-budget movie, but you wouldn't know it. Rather than featuring a massive invasion as spaceships try to destroy the Earth, Monsters focuses on two people trying to return to a safe zone several years after the invasion. It's all the more interesting for concentrating on this small-scale aspect, and shows what can be achieved on a small budget .

It's perhaps not surprising that the remake didn't gather much praise, as this 1951 original is much loved by sci-fi fans. An alien visitor arrives to warn warring mankind to pursue peace or face annihilation, as we will not be allowed to take weapons into space. Even if you've not seen the movie, you've probably seen the image of the giant robot Gort carrying the helpless woman - a staple of B movie sci-fi.

Alien invasions may take the form of global destruction, or feature a subtler invasion from within. Whatever type of attack, we'll probably never tire of seeing the skies filled with massive alien spacecraft. Keep watching the skies! What is your favorite alien invasion movie?