All 8 'Alien' movies, ranked from worst to best

8. "Alien vs. Predator Requiem" (2007): Apparently wanting to avoid a PG-13 rating, this misbegotten sequel's creators went for the hard R. Featuring zero compelling characters but plenty of gruesome deaths, "Requiem" might be best understood as a grindhouse-ready B movie with a $40 million budget.

7. "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" (2004): Fan-serving movies that alienate their core fan base are rarely destined for greatness. So it is with this one. Its first sin was being set on Earth. Its second? Carrying a PG-13 rating.

6. "Prometheus" (2012): Ridley Scott's divisive prequel is clunky and uneven, but even those who fault its execution can't deny its ambition. His return to the "Alien" director's chair for the first time since 1979 signaled a rebirth.

5. "Alien: Resurrection" (1997): All four original "Alien" movies are awesome. It would be foolish to suggest that the latter two are on par with "Alien" and "Aliens." But it's equally foolish to deny the charms of "Amélie" director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's contribution to the sci-fi saga.

4. "Alien: Covenant" (2017): Part "Prometheus," part "Alien," the latest chapter in the saga is also the best in more than 20 years. It expands on lore while delivering the old-school thrills that made the series great in the first place.

3. "Alien 3" (1992): David Fincher disavowed his debut feature due to studio meddling. Watch the "Assembly Cut" with 25 minutes of added footage, and you'll see that at least one version of this threequel is severely underrated.

2. "Aliens" (1986): Proving that sometimes more is more, James Cameron's sequel is arguably the definitive sci-fi action flick (its only real competition is Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"). There are almost as many one-liners as there are xeno­morphs, most of them courtesy of the late, great Bill Paxton.