Horror Franchises
Every Alien Movie, Scariest to Least Scary
Ranked by Fear score
The scariest: Alien (1979), at 8.0 on our Fear axis. Aliens (1986) is next at 7.0.
Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) started a series that has passed through several directors, from James Cameron's Aliens to the Prometheus prequels and Alien: Romulus. This page ranks the films we have scored by Fear.
Fear is one of five scores Watch Darkly's curators give a film, each from 0 to 10. It measures how frightening a film is to watch and is scored separately from gore and intensity, so a bloody entry can still rank low here. Films we have not scored yet are listed after the ranking. How we score
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Ranked from scariest to least scary
- Curator Score 9.5
01Alien 1979
- Fear
- 8.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 10.0
- Intensity
- 8.0
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
- Curator Score 9.0
02Aliens 1986
- Fear
- 7.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 7.6
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
- Curator Score 7.5
03Alien: Romulus 2024
- Fear
- 6.7
- Gore
- 7.7
- Atmosphere
- 8.6
- Intensity
- 6.4
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
- Curator Score 7.3
04Prometheus 2012
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 6.5
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
- Curator Score 7.0
05Alien: Covenant 2017
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.5
- Intensity
- 6.0
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.
- Curator Score 6.4
06Alien³ 1992
- Fear
- 5.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
- Curator Score 7.1
07Alien: Resurrection 1997
- Fear
- 4.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 6.5
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a band of smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.
The Alien movies in order
In release order.
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- Alien³ (1992)
- Alien: Resurrection (1997)
- Prometheus (2012)
- Alien: Covenant (2017)
- Alien: Romulus (2024)
Common questions about the Alien movies
- What is the scariest Alien movie?
- Alien (1979), at 8.0 on our Fear axis. Aliens (1986) is next at 7.0.
- What is the least scary Alien movie?
- Alien: Resurrection (1997), at 4.0 on our Fear axis.
- Which Alien movie is the goriest?
- Alien: Romulus (2024), at 7.7 on our Gore axis.
- What is the best Alien movie?
- By Curator Score, Alien (1979) has the highest at 9.5 out of 10. The Curator Score is our overall verdict on a film and is separate from Fear.
- What order should I watch the Alien movies in?
- In release order: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Prometheus (2012), Alien: Covenant (2017), Alien: Romulus (2024).