In 1972, UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek created a ranking for different types of alien encounters. A close encounter of the first kind refers to physically seeing a spacecraft at close range. A close encounter of the second kind refers to seeing a spacecraft and also noticing physical impacts around you — startled animals, interference with radios, feeling heat from the craft, and so on.
The third kind refers to alien contact. Whether you've encountered something humanoid or robotic, if they appear to be sentient, it's an encounter of the third kind. The fourth kind means alien abduction, whether the participant goes willingly...or is forced. Here are the best movies about encounters of the fourth kind, according to IMDb.
10 Altered (2006) - 5.6
After the success of The Blair Witch Project, director Eduardo Sanchez took audiences back into the woods. This time, a group of men who had previously been abducted by aliens set out to hunt them down and enact revenge. The movie received mixed reviews. Many appreciated Sanchez's ability to take elements from Blair Witch and make them seem fresh by creating a new context, while others claimed the film was a little too slow and didn't have enough aliens.
9 Communion (1989) - 5.6
Author Whitley Strieber (Christopher Walken) has a terrifying night at the family cottage, where he believes he's abducted by aliens. Afterward, unaware if it actually happened or not, Strieber's mental health suffers. When therapy doesn't work, he realizes he needs to confront his memories, whether they're real or not. He soon learns that not only did the event actually happen, but that it has also happened before. The film is about coming to terms with difficult realities and the trauma they cause.
8 The Fourth Kind (2009) - 5.9
After causing massive amounts of controversy by claiming to know the cause of many missing Alaskans, The Fourth Kind turned out to be a rather scary film.
It's controversy only fueled the fire before the movie's release, claiming to be actual footage shot by a professor at Chapman University that chronicled one woman's abduction experience. Despite the mixed reviews, many critics praised Milla Jovovich's performance.
7 The Circle (2015) - 6
After 50 people wake up in a dark room, they quickly learn that every few minutes, someone must die. Frantic, the group tries to escape but discovers that they actually have the power to vote who will die. The movie is an exploitation of human desperation and how uncivil we can get when put in dire situations. As the film progresses, it becomes apparent that the circle could be an alien experiment testing the limits of human psychology and sociology.
6 Dark Skies (2013) 6.3
After her family begins experiencing strange occurrences, a mother (Keri Russell) becomes desperate for answers. Lurking shadow figures, birds smashing into the house, and strange instances of sleepwalking begin tearing the family apart. Russell then realizes that these could be signs of alien encounters. She discovers that aliens are coming for one of her sons, so prepares to fight as hard as she can to save him.
5 Fire In The Sky (1993) - 6.6
Fire in the Sky aimed to shed light on the human experience of an alien abduction. After a group of friends encounters a UFO in the Arizonan mountains, one is abducted. Naturally, when the friends report the incident, they're ridiculed and even accused of murdering the now-missing friend. The strength of the movie is that it focuses on character. It explores the humiliation and frustration that comes from experiencing something nobody else believes.
4 Cocoon (1985) - 6.7
In Florida, a group of undercover aliens have rented a large home and placed cocoons in the backyard pool. Little do they know that residents of the old folks home next-door regularly trespass and use the pool. As the elderly people spend more time in the cocoon-filled pool, they soon find themselves feeling younger and stronger. Eventually, the aliens must confront the people about what they're experiencing, and the importance of keeping it a secret, so the aliens have a chance of making it off Earth alive.
3 The Phoenix Lights (2005) - 6.7
The Phoenix Lights was a documentary made about the infamous 1997 UFO sightings where thousands of people throughout the state watched as mysterious lights glided through the night sky in a pristine formation. One of the witnesses was even Arizona's own Governor.
Making the event even stranger is the fact that many witnesses captured photos and videos. And with the government's more recent release of UFO footage, more credibility is given to the largest UFO sighting in history...
2 Contact (1997) - 7.4
Based on the epic novel by the incredible Carl Sagan, Contact tells a very unique story. While most films about alien contact involve them coming to Earth, Contact is about Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodi Foster), who works for the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) program. She soon begins receiving instructions on how to build a transportation device that will allow a human to travel to an alien world. Despite being anchored around aliens, the movie actually discusses the issues of religion, the human condition, power struggles, and the desperation for something more.
1 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) - 7.6
The movie that started it all. Steven Spielberg's epic alien contact film is cited as paving the way for the modern genre. In the movie, a father is tormented by strange occurrences, which he begins to realize are aliens attempting to make contact. In his frantic search, he disregards his family and his own well-being. The movie builds to an epic climax atop Wyoming's Devil's Tower, where mankind finally makes their first intelligent contact with alien life using light and a now-famous five-note solfeggio. In the movie, it's revealed that numerous missing persons had actually been abducted by the aliens, meaning that this was actually a close encounter of the fourth kind.
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