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These are those aliens, the ones who have a neat design or some special skill that helps set them apart. We left out E.T., though. He’s charming and lovable, but not really “cool.”
7) Flerkens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The MCU has had several cool aliens. The Skrulls, the Chitauri, the Abilisk, they all have cool designs and either sharp teeth or interesting powers.
But the title of coolest MCU alien is the Flerkens’ to lose. It always will be. They lull you in with their cuteness and swallow you whole with their mouth tentacles. They can even scratch your eye out with a swipe of their claw. But Flerkens have good hearts, too. They can swallow up everyone on board a S.A.B.E.R. ship and throw them up once they’ve reached safety.
Stream Captain Marvel and The Marvels on Disney+.
6) Xtro
Talk about a genuinely frightening design. The alien in Xtro essentially crabwalks but with its head spun all the way around. We get a good luck at it moving in a startling scene where two people are driving down a country road and we see it with a sharp musical cue as it scurries off into the woods. It’s horrifying.
The creature is half-human and half-alien, with a penchant for impregnating the first woman it sees. It originated when a man was abducted by a bright light. The light comes back after three years and plants a seed, which becomes the alien. However, after the alien impregnates the woman, she gives birth to the same man was abducted. It’s sad we don’t get to see much of the crab walker, but it knows how to make an impression.
5) The Hunter in Without Warning
We said we were going to exclude the Predator, but we didn’t say anything about excluding the inspiration for the Predator. That would be “the Hunter” from the 1980 midnight movie Without Warning.
With its big head and piercing eyes, the Hunter stalks around, throwing puckering, toothed discs around that burrow into someone’s skin with a set of four tendrils. He has quite a few victims under his belt (including a young David Caruso) before we ultimately see him in full. In that regard he’s similar to the Predator, as is the general concept of being a hunter. But the biggest connection is that those behind Predator ended up going to the guy who played this alien to play their alien: the late, great Kevin Peter Hall.
Stream Without Warning for free with ads on Tubi.
4) The Martians in Mars Attacks!
One of the under-sung heroes of Tim Burton’s filmography, Mars Attacks! is a nice tightrope walk between comedy and sci-fi horror/action. That tonal balance applies to the aliens as well.
The Mars Attacks! Martians are cool on several levels. For one, their exposed brain look is unforgettable. Two, their utter nonchalance about invading an entire planet is the definition of playing it cool. Just don’t play opera music around them.
Stream Mars Attacks! on Kanopy.
