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The 2016 sci-fi movieArrivalstars Amy Adams as the brilliant linguist Louise Banks, and her quest to communicate with aliens has a lot in common with the plot of the 2018 thrillerAlien Code. While it hasn’t gotten as much attention asArrival,Alien Codeis worth watching thanks to its well-crafted main character, intriguing story, and intelligent and funny dialogue.Alien Code’s writer and director, Michael G. Cooney, previously wrote the 2013 movieMan of Tai Chiand worked on the dialogue and adaptation of 2012’sResident Evil 6video game.Alien Codeis his first full-length thriller movie.
When looking for movies likeArrival,Alien Codeis anotherrealistic movie about extra-terrestrialsthat stands out from the rest. BothArrivalandAlien Codeask interesting questions about what would happen if aliens tried to talk to humans.
What Is Alien Code About?
Alien Code, which is also calledThe Men, was released in 2018 and stars Kyle Gallner as the main character, Alex Jacobs, who finds himself in a strange and perplexing situation. He sees a dead body on the floor of his house and then realizes that he is the one lying on the floor. It turns out that his future self has come back to tell him what’s going on. His future self is the narrator ofAlien Code, and while this narrative device doesn’t always work, it feels creative and compelling here.Alien Codeis one of the more interesting movies likeArrivalbecause both films prove that whilesci-fi movies without aliens can be good, they are a significant part of the genre for a reason.
August 7th, 2018 (United States)
101 minutes
62%
Where To Watch
Amazon Prime Video
Rebecca Stillman (Mary McCormack) asks cryptographer Alex to work with her on a project related to ARIST, a group that is related to the NSA. It turns out that a satellite has been sent to the present from the future, and Alex is supposed to figure out what it is trying to say.
Kyle Gallner, who plays Joel in the horror movieSmileand has a significant role inSmile’s creepy ending, gives a strong performance as a character who has no idea what he is truly getting into. Alex is wiser than people give him credit for, and he begins to learn the truth about the aliens. As he tells Rebecca in one scene:
“You see, if they can travel here through space and time, then that means they can probably control space and time, which means that they can exist in the same space as us, just at a different time.”
How Is Alien Code Similar To Arrival?
BothAlien CodeandArrivalare movies about characters who have been hired on a special and memorable project: to figure out what aliens are trying to tell humans. Both movies have well-written main characters who are intelligent, perceptive, and hardworking.
Arrival Director
Writer
screenplay by Eric Heisserer adapted from “Story Of Your Life” by Ted Chiang
116 minutes
94%
82%
Fubo, Paramount+
Louise and Alex have both spent more time on their careers than their personal lives, whether that is healthy or not. As Alex says in one scene fromAlien Code;
“I don’t need to hear myself talk. I don’t crave comfort through interaction… So why don’t you just let me soak up the ‘me’ time and get some f*cking work done, alright?”
Alien Codeis also a good pick for anyone looking for movies likeArrivalbecause both movies play with time. InArrival, which has a devastating ending, Louise knows that her twelve-year-old daughter Hannah (Julia Scarlett Dan) will die from a terrible illness in the future. She still agrees to start a relationship with Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) despite knowing the pain and loneliness that the future holds.
What Are Some Other Movies Like Arrival?
Fans of the Amy Adams sci-fi movie looking for other movies likeArrivalwill want to watch these films:
While there are manyunderrated sci-fi movies from the 2010s,Arrivalhas thankfully gotten the recognition that it deserves for telling a well-crafted story about aliens and humans interacting with each other.
When looking for other sci-fi or thriller movies about aliens, thealien invasion thrillerDark SkiesandA Quiet Placeare entertaining, emotional stories about families dealing with scary creatures who have invaded their world. WhileA Quiet Placemight not be about aliens, its tense yet intelligent tone will appeal to fans ofArrival. The 2011 J.J. Abrams movieSuper 8is a fun look at what happens when teenagers in the 1970s who are making a zombie film realize that there are aliens around.The Faculty,written by Kevin Williamson, tells a smart story about high schoolers realizing that their teachers are aliens.
