Movies in which hordes of aliens attempt to take over or even wipe out the world are a recent phenomenon, starting during the fifties. They’ve maintained their appeal well into the twenty first century, where big budgets and a certain improvement in writing, acting, and direction have led to a rise in quality.

A school of film criticism would have us ask: Who are these aliens, really? In the fifties, they were obviously the Godless commies. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Empire, they might be the terrorists. One writer of a recent alien invasion film actually claimed that the aliens stood for American imperialists. But, it seems to this writer, that the aliens ought to be taken on their own terms. They are not Soviets or Islamofascists or even American Marines dressed up in latex masks and carrying blasters. They’re evil aliens and they will kill us all unless the handsome scientist, his cute assistant, and the US military can stop them in time.