5 Alien movies to watch before Roswell, New Mexico returns

2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

• Directed by: Steven Spielberg
• Starring: Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Peter Coyote, and C. Thomas Howell
• Where you can watch: It is currently available to watch with a Cinemax subscription, or you can rent it through iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, and on-demand.

In a post-Jaws world, Steven Spielberg helped cement his status as an iconic filmmaker with E.T. the Extra-Terrestial. It focuses on an alien becoming stranded on Earth and befriends a young boy and his little sister. The children do their best to keep the alien, named E.T., a secret.

But then E.T. gets sick, and the government finds out about him, they must do whatever they can to keep him safe. As iconic as this film is, odds are, you’ve already seen it. If not, then I recommend doing so ASAP because it’s a classic. This movie was one of Drew Barrymore’s first significant film roles.

1. Alien (1979)

• Directed by: Ridley Scott
• Starring: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto
• Where you can watch: It’s available to rent through iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, and on-demand.

Released in 1979, Alien was the beginning of one of the most successful science fiction franchises of all time. The film spawned numerous sequels, novels, video games, collectibles, and more.

Alien follows Nostromo, a commercial space tug, on a journey through space where they encounter an alien, and even worse, a nest of its eggs on-board their ship. One member of the crew becomes a new host for the being and everything spirals downhill from there.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you could watch the entire Alien franchise which consists of seven films in total and two films that crossover with the Predator franchise.

Season one of Roswell, New Mexico is currently available to stream on Netflix.