5 Alien Franchise Creatures That Are Even Scarier Than The Xenomorph

It's widely regarded as one of the most original and outright frightening creatures in science fiction, but despite its long reputation, there are other creatures from outer space that can send the Xenomorph scuttling back to whatever pipe it crawled out of. There's no question that the perfect lifeform that debuted in 1979 still chills spines and gets hearts racing the second it reveals itself, whether from the ceiling or a poor soul's chest cavity. After checking our scanners, though, we've found five other candidates that also give us the willies whenever we watch them.

From super-smart alien huinters to parasites that stick to the good old-fashioned method of taking over the world, we've got a great selection of scary extraterrestrials that have left a mark on movie franchises that might push past the Xenomorph's fear factor. In hindsight, some of the film series or television spin-offs these creatures were found in might not have stood the test of time like others. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that every single one is something we'd rather avoid to keep our persons and humanity intact. So keep watching the skies, trees, or people who look like your closest relatives, and know that they could all give the Xenomorph a run for their money. 

If there's one monster that's scarier than the Xenomorph, it's the one that's been known to hunt it for sport regularly. The Yautja, aka the Predator, make their debut by picking off a band of brawny soldiers on a rescue mission in South America. They're a terrifying lot because of how both advanced and unflinchingly barbaric they are toward whatever prey they're after. Armed to the teeth (well, mandibles) with a variety of pointy tools designed to maim, mutilate, and turn their targets into trophies, the Yautja live for the heat of battle, traveling across the stars to find tough competition and hanging them on their walls. Also, to make matters worse, these "ugly motherf*****s" (Arnie's words, not ours) can turn invisible.

Of the other entries on this list, the Yautja are the only species to have come up against the Xenomorph, with our first glimpse in "Predator 2" and then no further on-screen encounters for 14 years. Admittedly, "Alien vs. Predator" is widely regarded as one of the low points for both space beasties, but that doesn't stop their close encounter from having some enjoyable moments. Thankfully, with Dan Trachtenberg bringing some respect back to the alien safari enthusiasts with the surprise hit prequel "Prey," the awesome animated film "Predator: Killer of Killers," and "Predator: Badlands," the Yautja got their gory groove back. What's promising for fans of both species, however, is the franchise tie-in "Predator: Badlands," which could give us a rematch worth watching.

A common trend in this list of movie monsters from outer space is that a good few of them hide in plain sight. However, none are as dedicated to the craft as the one thawed out near Outpost 31 in John Carpenter's masterpiece of a remake, "The Thing." Arriving in theaters three years after Ridley Scott's initial run with the Xenomorph, The Thing famously flopped at the box office, with a far friendlier alien with a glowing finger and a need to phone home getting all the attention instead. Over time, though, the terror of this adaptable space invader has stuck, and the 'cult' part has been shaved off a movie that is now considered an outright classic.

So what makes The Thing so terrifying? Well, let's start with the fact that this alien doesn't even know it is one. With the sole objective of surviving and infiltrating any living organism it comes into contact with, you can slice, shoot, and strip this lifeform to bits. Any remaining bits will scurry off to try to grab hold of someone else to imitate. This often leads to monstrously gory battles and paranoia reaching new heights as those next on its hit list wonder whether they can trust their friends. At least with the Xenomorph, you know where you stand. The second someone starts to get chest pains, it's time to run. With The Thing, sometimes the only choice is to wait it out and find out who is who, then burn to a crisp whatever is left.

As weak as their name might be, the Death Angels (whose name appears in a newspaper clipping) are nightmarish creatures that put their prey at a disadvantage before they even attack. Appearing as a hybrid of a Demogorgon from "Stranger Things" and the kaiju from "Cloverfield," these monsters from outer space use sound to bring down their prey, with their flower-like heads acting like meaty microphones to pick up anything they can get their claws on. As a result, this turns something as simple as a fallen branch into a death sentence for everyone in the "A Quiet Place" universe.

We first meet them in the 2018 film by John Krasinski, who also stars as the grieving father trying to keep things hush-hush for his family. Moving at lightning-fast speeds, Krasinski took his time showing what kind of creature he was up against until the final act. From then on, they became more prominent in both "A Quiet Place Part II" and "A Quiet Place: Day One." Unlike the perfect lifeform, the one weak spot of a Death Angel is a massive one, with high frequencies causing them to have some kind of embolism to the point of death. Now, with that in humanity's arsenal, it'll be interesting to see how it'll be applied in the planned fourth film set for release in 2027, and whether these silent stalkers adapt to what might be their undoing.

Another possessive parasite from another world, the Body Snatchers from Jack Finney's 1954 novel and its subsequent four adaptations (including the underappreciated Donald Sutherland-led iteration) aren't actually aliens, but extraterrestrial seeds that make their way through space and onto our meek little planet. This results in pods that bloom into doppelgängers of unsuspecting humans in the night, stealing the original's identity and spreading as far as they can. This fear among friends was, during Finney's initial publication, fuelled by the Red Scare of the 1950s, hooking both readers and audience members when they went to theaters to see the first adaptation in 1956, with Kevin McCarthy's final warning to the viewer that "they were already here."

Like "The Thing," the terror of the Body Snatchers is fuelled by the distrust that grows with them. Pockets of resistance may assume their group is worth sticking by until it's too late, and it's revealed those who remain don't remain at all. What's left are dead-eyed drones in synthetic human suits that just want to consume whatever they can. And therein lies the biggest horror of these monsters: that they are, in truth, a more basic and brutal reflection of humanity. Both of us spread as far as we can, consuming everything we can before moving onto new territory. As a result, Pod People aren't scary for how they handle things; they're just better at takeovers than we are.

As explained by the child-munching monster himself, Pennywise is an eater of worlds, and while an ancient evil that haunts the town of Derry every 27 years, it's not the first place he's stopped off at. In Stephen King's classic horror story, the shapeshifting clown is revealed to be a being from another world that crashed in Maine millions of years ago, then woke up to chow down on the locals and feed on their fear. As a result, the creature from before time was time has mastered the art of not only breeding the dread and horror of this quiet little town, but also tapping into the specific fears of those that dare to take it on.

In a way, Pennywise might not only be a creature more terrifying than the Xenomorph, but an amalgamation that trumps all of those listed. It can look like anything its target fears most, has a whole host of skills that even the Yautja couldn't compete with, and plays with the senses and minds of those it targets. Its only weak point might be kids who can overcome their fear, but as has been proven time and again, he can come back in some shape or form and cause as much carnage as he did 27 years before. No one might be able to hear you scream in space, but in Derry, some simply can't see a killer clown on the attack, either.