Happy Alien Day 2017 everyone! Let’s take this day to appreciate all that space-travel has to offer us.

No I don’t mean the moon landing or the inevitable one-way to Mars. I mean the visitors to our own little blue dot. Let’s take a look at some of the best and so-bad-they’re-good aliens that outer space has to offer.You won’t find Xenomorphs on this list because it is absolutely a given that they reign all of the alien lists.

I mean they’ve recently just claimed another victim. You can see the video here.

We’re going to take a look at the best aliens outside of the movie Alien.

So, get your tinfoil hats ready and let’s get started.

Mars Attacks! (1996)

This is undeniably a classic, not just for Tim Burton standards, but for the entire scifi genre. These aliens are funny, ruthless and seem like they come in peace, but these big-brained ugly-cute aliens are far from passive. For many of us who saw this when it came out, we will always hold these guys close to our hearts. Plus seeing Sarah Jessica Parker’s head on a Chihuahua was superb.

The Thing (1982/2011)

The idea that a creature could look like anyone is a scary enough concept. Add in isolation and frigid temperatures hindering an escape and this makes for a nightmare situation. These Antarctic spacemen made the Alien Day list because they are the perfect chameleons.

Predator (1987)

How could we make a list and NOT include the beast that sent Arnold running for “da CHOPPAH!” This is the only true alien to give a Xenomorph a run for its money. Predator is definitely the bad ass of the group. There’s also a new Predator coming out and check out some of the first pictures here.

Spaced Invaders (1990)

Just look at that tiny one on the end. He’s varsity and showing it off on his letterman jacket. I just can’t get over the cuteness of it all. These little green men emergency land on Earth and all sorts of trouble ensues and they are just TOO CUTE!

District 9 (2009)

“Now, wait a minute,” you’re thinking to yourself. Those weren’t aliens. They were the humans. The Prawns were the aliens. In a technical sense, yes the Prawns were the aliens but let’s look at the movie in a different way. This idea comes from fellow iHorror writer Landon Evanson. Most alien movies portray the aliens as hostile creatures hellbent on attacking, torturing and destroying the human race. In this sense, the monsters that run MNU (like Koobus Venter) were the true villains with the purpose of making the lives of The Prawns miserable and end up on the list.

Paul (2011)

This is an alien I’d want to hang out with. Fluent in sarcasm and not afraid to get his boogie on, Paul is a gray that I’d take a road trip with, too. For his humor, his rudeness, and his ability to heal and give intellectual awakenings, he belongs on this list.

Dark Skies (2013)

While you don’t spend the movie looking at these aliens, it makes the movie all the scarier. These guys made the list for their classic nature. The movie reminded me of an X-Files case and these aliens behaved as aliens should. They  dusted off the probe for this one.

Signs (2002)

Ok, Shyamalan gets a LOT of flack. I’ve heard it said after The Sixth Sense that his movies all went downhill. Against popular opinion, I disagree. The aliens from Signs were pretty terrifying. The small glimpses, the hidden behavior like a crashed UFO in XCOM: UFO Defense, and the climactic ending got these guys on the list. Regardless of your feelings on Shyamalan movies, these deep spaces baddies were pretty scary.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Clowns, yes. Aliens, also yes. Cotton candy guns? HELL YES. It’s hard to make a list and not include these cheesy sons o’ bitches on it. They also don’t look like your standard alien, which I enjoy. No Alien Day list is complete without Killer Klowns.

War of the Worlds (2005)

With massive alien machines, this premise is pretty cool. Buried underground and hibernating, these giants awoke and made humans their fertilizer. I love these aliens because of the sprinkler scene. The idea that these robotic machines gather humans, squeeze them like lemons and shoot theirbloody Miracle Gro all over the place was just too good to exclude.

Check out the original Halloween 1938 radio broadcast of the War of The Worlds story here. Even though it’s just audio, it’s very unsettling and was enough to convince the listening public that Martians had, in fact, landed on Earth.

If your favorite alien didn’t make the list, let us know who we missed in the comments and, once again, Happy Alien Day!

(Featured image courtesy of wallpaperup.com)