The Alien franchise started in 1979 with the movie that birthed one of horror’s most iconic movie monsters, the xenomorph. Since then, the franchise has been followed by three more movies in the original timeline, two prequels that brought Ridley Scott back into the director’s chair, and two crossover movies with John McTiernan’s Predator franchise.
Each movie follows a group of people who, for one reason or another, find themselves locked up together with variations of the xenomorph creature, a deadly killing machine with acidic blood that gestates inside a living victim, killing them when it is born by bursting forth through their abdomen.
While many horror fans enjoy collecting their favorite movies on Bluray and DVD, not everyone has that luxury. For Alien fans looking to check out their favorite franchise digitally or on streaming services in the coming months, here are all the places where you can stream the movies for free or rent them to watch no matter where you are.
The movie that started it all, Alien follows a commercial crew who encounter a distress signal that leads to them bringing a deadly creature back to the ship inside one of their crewmates. Alien is available to stream for free on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, as well as through DirecTV’s streaming service. The movie can also be rented or purchased for easy streaming anytime through Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Fandango Now, RedBox, Google Play, Apple, Vudu, and Youtube.
Aliens is the more action-oriented sequel to the classic horror movie, following a troop of colonial marines headed to LV-426 to investigate a human colony that has suddenly stopped responding to communications. Aliens is available to stream free on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, as well as on DirecTV’s streaming service and Fandor. It can also be rented or purchased through Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Microsoft, Google Play, Apple, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
Alien 3 is a much less successful followup to Alien, directed by David Fincher. The movie follows Ripley as her escape pod crash-lands on a prison colony, but unfortunately, the xenomorph is there with her as well. Audiences can stream Alien 3 free right now on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, as well as on DirecTV’s streaming service. It can also be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Microsoft, Google Play, Apple, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
Arguably the worst of the Alien movies featuring the alien-human hybrid, Alien: Resurrection is set 200 years after Alien 3, during which Ripley is cloned in order to birth a new xenomorph queen as the military is breeding and studying the creatures using human hosts. Alien: Resurrection is available for streaming exclusively from HBO Max. It can also be rented or purchased digitally through Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Microsoft, Google Play, Apple, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
The first crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises, Alien vs Predator focuses around a pyramid buried deep beneath the ice off the coast of Antarctica. When scientists send out a research team to investigate, they discover that the pyramid is the site of a battleground between xenomorphs and yautja. Alien vs Predator is available for streaming free on HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, as well as on DirecTV’s streaming service. It can also be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Microsoft, Google Play, Apple, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
The sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator: Requiem sees aliens and predators let loose on a small Colorado town when a yautja ship crash-lands in the nearby hills. Alien vs Predator: Requiem can be streamed for free through HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, Sling TV, and DirecTV. It can also be purchased or rented with Amazon Prime, Apple, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Microsoft, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
The first of Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien franchise, Prometheus is a prequel that explores the origin of the Engineers and the xenomorph creatures themselves. When a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, the Weyland Corporation funds a journey to send them into the darkest corners of the universe. Once there, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. Prometheus is streamable through HBO, HBO Go, HBO Max, and HBO Now, Sling TV, and DirecTV, and can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime, Apple, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Microsoft, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
Alien: Covenant is the direct sequel to Prometheus and the second prequel to the original 1979 Alien. The movie takes place directly after the events of Prometheus, as members of a colony ship discover what appears to be an unmarked paradise where they meet David, the android survivor of the Prometheus mission. Alien: Covenant can be streamed free with DirecTV, FX Now, and Fubo TV. It can be rented or purchased for easy digital viewing at any time from Amazon Prime, Apple, DirecTV, Fandango Now, Google Play, Microsoft, RedBox, Vudu, and Youtube.
For horror fans looking to watch their favorites online, the best way to check out the most Alien movies is with HBO Max where all the movies in the Alien franchise except the latest movie, Alien: Covenant, are available to stream for free, anytime. Of course, for fans more inclined to rent or purchase their movies digitally, all of the movies in the Alien franchise are available at most of your favorite rental sites from Amazon Prime to Youtube, Google, Apple, and Microsoft stores.
