Hollywood was built upon artists creating monsters, putting people in suits or using special effects to make the impossible and unreal come to life. Aliens, in particular, have been a century-long fascination in film, ever since "A Trip to the Moon" showed off what is really on the surface of our moon" insectoid alien inhabitants!

Here is our list of ten films you should watch if you're into seeing the depraved, the disgusting, the horrific or the extremely cool. Aliens always come down to Earth looking to feast upon people, and sometimes we're keen to see the humans get their just desserts. What can we say? Cool aliens are fun to watch.

'Tremors' (1990)

"Tremors" safely goes into the B-movie hall of fame, as it's been a cable rewatchable for more than 30 years. This spawned an entire franchise (some direct-to-video) without its initial star Kevin Bacon, but this first film is really good! It's a perfect little horror-comedy with extremely cool monsters that pop up out of the ground whenever people make noise on the surface of the earth. Better not go drilling into the core... oh, too late. They're going to eat you now.

'Splice' (2009)

We aren't quite sure what to label Dren, the main monster character in "Splice," as, because it's part human, part animal but looks like an alien. It is not of this world, but nevertheless is cool as hell and this is an extremely messed up sci-fi thriller. In fact, at one point Adrien Brody has sex with Dren and that's like only the fifth or sixth most disturbing part of the plot. Give this one a try, it's very underrated.

'No One Will Save You' (2023)

This movie has one character, played by Kaitlyn Dever, and no dialogue. Nobody speaks, and yet the whole thing works and makes sense. What we're interested most in though are the multiple different alien types that breed human hybrids with eggs in their throats, alongside the regular aliens with telekinesis and flying saucers with tractor beams most people are accustomed to.

'Under the Skin' (2013)

This is by far the most avant-garde and experimental film on this list, so take that into consideration. However, this is a sci-fi masterpiece by Jonathan Glazer, and needs to be seen to be believed. Hidden cameras record conversations between strangers and Scarlett Johansson, the only person we follow in a film made up of extras and background actors, as she pretends to be a human. In reality, she's an alien who feasts upon men's lust for sex, and the sequences are so badass and hauntingly beautiful as she lures them into dark waters to harvest them. This is a spectacular accomplishment and has a lot of naked bodies being mangled, if you're into that sort of thing.

'Species' (1995)

H.R. Giger not only designed the Xenomorphs from "Alien," but also Sil from the "Species" movies. Most of the sequels were direct-to-TV fodder, purely for gore and titillation during late night binges, but the constant through line (outside of nudity and violence) is how intriguing the main alien is. This is now a trope — a "femme fatale" preying upon men — but if you're okay watching somewhat bad B-movies for the sake of it, you can certainly have a worse time watching a movie than this.

'The Thing' (1982)

If we were to make a Mount Rushmore of horror films, John Carpenter's "The Thing" would be on it. Initially released to tepid reviews and a poor box office performance, it was quickly reevaluated as being the best movie Carpenter ever made, as well as one of the best creature features to ever grace the silver screen. Just all-time designs on the aliens, the best ever use of practical effects and iconic scenes that were parodied long after this came out. Hollywood tried to do a prequel, but it doesn't work with CGI — it's a pale imitation. The '80s "The Thing" (and not the original film this is based on) is what you need to watch for anyone entering the genre for the first time.

'Starship Troopers' (1997)

For some reason, Blockbuster and Wikipedia list this as an action film. We all know better. This is satire, pure satire through and through. Satire 101. The military industrial complex that has gripped this country and the world is the target in Paul Verhoeven's crosshairs, and the only thing that muddles that message is the fact that this movie does have some cool action and extremely awesome bug alien designs. Love some good ol' practical effects to get Arachnid goo on our soldiers.

'Prey' (2022)

Is there any cooler alien than the Predator? The answer to that is no. And while the original is both a classic and pretty much the only good movie in that franchise until 2022, we opted to go with Dan Trachtenberg's prequel/revival/reboot movie that skipped out on theaters, and went directly to Hulu. But don't get it twisted — this movie is meant to be seen on the biggest, loudest screen imaginable, because it kicks all sorts of ass with its Comanche cast.

'Prometheus' (2012)

Is this movie good? Many people think so, we aren't sure. But what we are sure of is that the proto-Xenomorph that shows up in this movie, and the pregnancy scene, are so top tier for the "Alien" franchise that it's worth seeing just for those sequences. And of course you get some patented Ridley Scott camera work, Damon Lindelof mystery writing and Michael Fassbender being the perfect android.

'Paul' (2011)

So this pick is taking the title of this article very literally, in that Paul the alien is a (sunglasses on) cool dude. He's voiced by Seth Rogen, he hangs out with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and he's very funny. So yes, this one is a cheat in that the design of the alien is by far the most generic and only for comedic effect (and to limit the money spent on CGI) — but this movie is fun, so we're including it.