For years directors and writers have fantasized about the existence of aliens and went on to fill books, movies, and TV shows with their imaginations. Hollywood, in particular, has had a lengthy obsession with extraterrestrial beings, and this has been a good thing since fans have gotten to see some incredible depictions of aliens.
Just as is the formula in most hero-vs-villain duels, the majority of movies about alien attacks tend to end with the humans coming out on top. With humans being painted as the superior species, a win is always guaranteed. However, there have been a few cases where the aliens walked away with a triumph.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
Stream On Hulu
After invading San Fransisco, gelatinous aliens take the form of pods with pink flowers. Soon, they start taking over human bodies by targeting people who are asleep. The hero, Dr. Matthew Bennell, tries his best to stay awake for most of the movie but he eventually becomes a victim too,
Dr. Bennell's case is an unfortunate one, since, unlike others, he figures out a way to beat the aliens but still fails. Staying awake for days is no easy feat so audiences can't help but root for him, hoping he will eventually find a way to get rid of the invading creatures. Sadly, that never happens. In the end, the whole of San Fransisco gets conquered.
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Stream On Shudder
Alien races from other plants become concerned at the animosity between humans as well as their efforts to build deadly efforts. They thus create an interplanetary police force and order the Earth's leaders to either adopt peace like them or suffer the consequences.
The beauty of the movie's events lies in the fact that they not only happen during the Cold War but there's also a cold war between aliens and humans. No actual fighting takes place but the systems that the aliens put in place give humans no option but to bend to their will, As such, they become victorious.
Skyline (2010)
Stream On Amazon Prime
When space ships invade the world and start sucking up humans, the US Airforce is forced to spring into action. However, the aliens survive every attack by the military, including a nuclear strike, and remain undefeated.
A "clean victory" would be the best phrase to describe the win since the US government isn't the only one that fails to stop the aliens. Later on, the aliens are shown to have taken over London and Hong Kong too. And with governments unable to do anything, humans are left with no option but to accept their fate.
The Thing (1982)
Stream On Vudu
An alien parasite attacks an Antarctic research facility and begins assimilating the workers. In order to defeat it, MacReady decides to blow up the whole facility. But when he heads out, he bumps into yet another colleague, who wasn't caught up in the explosion and is supposedly infected too.
MacReady's decision is a tough one since blowing up the research facility means killing all his remaining colleagues. Still, he chooses to do it in order to save humanity at large. He understands that if he doesn't, the alien parasite will move to other regions. Sadly, his sacrifice ends up being for nothing, making him one of the movie heroes that failed in their quest.
Planet Of The Apes (2001)
Stream On Amazon Prime
The astronaut Leo travels through time to 5021 and lands on the planet Ashlar where humanoid apes are the dominant species and have taken humans as slaves. He eventually manages to escape but upon returning to Earth he finds that it's now ruled by the same humanoid apes too.
Given all he goes through, audiences can't help but feel some form of relief when Leo travels through the electromagnetic storm and lands back in Washington, D.C. But in what is one of the biggest ever twists, even the Lincoln monument has been changed to honor an ape leader. It's a twist that audiences didn't particularly like and as such, this is considered one of the worst movie endings of all time.
The Live (1988)
Stream On Vudu
A drifter named Nada, who acquires glasses that see things that others don't, discovers that the ruling class is made up of aliens masquerading as humans. He makes an effort to stop them, including destroying the transmitter that hides their true identities from humans. Unfortunately, he gets killed at the end of the movie.
That Nada goes through so much trouble but doesn't quite manage to eliminate the alien leaders is pitiful. But as a single person fighting an overly powerful group, his loss makes sense. And since he is the only person that's intrepid enough to stop going on, his elimination means a win for the aliens. Worse is the revelation that there are many human collaborators that are happy to see the aliens in power, implying that the situation is unlikely to change.
District 9 (2009)
Stream On Vudu
A group is sickly insectoid aliens are quickly captured and put in confinement in the District 9 camp when they land on Earth. Years later, Christopher, one of the aliens, makes plans to escape Earth and return to his home planet.
Christopher does manage to escape but that's not his only win. The human mistreatment of the aliens is also exposed and those responsible are held accountable. Best of all is the hint that Christopher will probably come back with reinforcements to take the remaining aliens back home with him.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Stream On Netflix
In one of Steven Spielberg's best movies, Roy, an electrical engineer, is sent to fix a power grid that has stopped working. There, he has an encounter with a UFO and discovers the existence of aliens.
Unlike other sci-movies where governments actively fight alien invasions. the government decides to look the other way here. But denying the existence of aliens only makes people more curious. Still, the aliens are never dealt with. Instead, they voluntarily choose to return every person they ever kidnapped before taking Roy with them.
Avengers: Infiinity War (2018)
Stream On Disney+
Eath's mightiest heroes attempt to stop Planet Titan's Thanos as he attempts to wipe out half of the population. They fail to do this and as per Thanos' wish, half of the people vanish.
Thanos' victory is more impressive since he faces off against very capable individuals. Other aliens normally have to fight humans with no special abilities or skills but in this case, Thanos is up against heroes that are very experienced in fending off attacks. The obstacles are many but he beats them all.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Stream On Amazon Prime
Aliens conquer Earth and subjugate humans to slave labor, forcing them to mine precious metals. One human manages to overthrow the alien boss but then makes a deal with him: humans will keep mining resources for the aliens while living free lives so that the bigger alien powers outside Earth don't notice anything wrong and send reinforcements.
It's a rare example of a case where the aliens are defeated but still get to win. In this case, the alines continue to benefit greatly from Earth's resources. It also becomes clear that humans can not win a proper contest. It's the reason why the resistance leader is quick to make a deal, ensuring the bigger bosses outside Earth aren't forced to act. In the end, the boss overseeing Earth maintains his good image as his superiors believe he has managed to make aliens and humans coexist peacefully.