Alien: Earth – how realistic are the extraterrestrials? Three experts rank them The Tyranids represent man's fear of the natural world, nature's inexorable ability to overwhelm, decay, and devour all of man's greatest works. Like the vast, uncaring jungle in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the Tyranids are an irresistible force that seeks to surround and destroy humanity through the weight of pure biological necessity. Also like the natural world, the Tyranids are patient, slowly devouring the edges of the galaxy and reproducing in unthinkable numbers in the darkness of space. The Thing (The Thing) (Image credit: Universal) One of film's best representations of paranoia, The Thing works on a number of different levels. An alien organism that can perfectly mimic another creature, its ability to duplicate a person's speech, mannerisms, and absorb their memories makes it a perfect analog for the deep-seated human fear of the other, and our inability to trust any entity outside of our direct control. The Thing builds tension based on the premise that anyone, even your closest friend or partner, could be othered, transformed into a being that longs for your destruction. By subverting trust and building paranoia to screeching highs, The Thing exploits some of humanity's worst traits. It's a perfect example of a filmmaker (in this case, John Carpenter at the peak of his powers) using an alien being as a lens to demonstrate how humanity's worst enemy will always be its own negative impulses. Pennywise (It) (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures) While many commonly think Pennywise from Stephen King's "It" is a demonic clown, in reality, it's an ancient, trans-dimensional, malevolent entity that is billions of years old. It assumes the form of a clown on earth in an attempt to lure children, but Pennywise's true nature is much scarier and unknowable. Pennywise is from a void that exists outside our dimension called the Macroverse. It arrived on our planet many millions of years in the past, and hibernates beneath the town of Derry, Maine, awakening once every 27 years to sate its dark hunger. Worst of all, Pennywise exploits our most primordial terror, our fear of fear itself, presenting its victims with bloodcurdling illusions to "salt the meat" with dread. Brandon Breyer (Brightburn) (Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing) When a barren couple discovers a crashed alien spacecraft housing a small child, they believe their prayers have been answered. As the child develops, however, and his darkest impulses begin to surface, they realize that what they've discovered is a curse cloaked as a blessing. Brightburn works because of how it inverts several popular tropes and preconceptions. First and foremost, there's the superhero trope, and very specifically the Superman mythos, where we expect the farm-raised, super-powered alien to become humanity's savior (rather than its scourge). Even more poignant, however, is the Rosemary's Baby angle, where the innocence of childhood is drowned in blood and the notion that a young person reared in a loving environment should develop into a compassionate adult is perverted into unthinkable horror. Brightburn also twists the family dynamic to expose a parent's worst fear, that their power and authority over their children is completely illusory. The Greys (Dark Skies) (Image credit: Dimension Films) One of the most underrated sci-fi horror films of the mid-2010s, Dark Skies tells the story of a struggling American family terrorized by an intergalactic menace. It begins by preying on our fear of the unknown: household goods are arranged in strange patterns, birds commit suicide by crashing into the family's home, and the children begin to suffer nosebleeds and missing periods of time. The family is driven to a state of frenzied paranoia before the threat is revealed, spindly grey aliens that stand above them at night as they sleep. Dark Skies does an excellent job of using an alien threat as a metaphor for the pressures on the nuclear American family that lead to so many of them disintegrating. The film begins with marital and financial stressors and exacerbates them with the influence of predatory external forces. It's also expert at showcasing a parent's fear of their inability to protect their children in a dangerous and hostile world, and the terror of a safe space like a suburban home being shattered by implacable forces beyond our control. Alan Bradley Freelance writer Alan Bradley is an experienced tech and culture writer with more than 20 years covering gaming, tech, and hardware. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, U.S. News & World Report, PCMag, TechRadar, GamesRadar+, CNET, Live Science, Variety, and many other outlets. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout Source: https://www.space.com/entertainment/scary-sci-fi-aliens