Alien Nation
1988 · Movie · R · 91 min · ★ 6.1 · 49% critics
In the near future, an alien refugee population is slowly integrated into everyday life after years of quarantine. When a hard-edged detective is forced to partner with a Newcomer officer, their uneasy alliance pulls them into a case that exposes prejudice, culture clashes, and a dangerous criminal scheme threatening both communities.
Also known as Future Tense
Where to watch
Not currently available to stream in the US.
2 hours to watch.
Streaming availability and prices may be inaccurate or change — verify with the provider before subscribing.
unSUB's subscription recommendations are informational only, not financial advice.
More value for your money
Similar titles, ranked by watch-hours per subscription dollar.
Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-10-07
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Critic score
- 49/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.1/10 (335 votes)
- Box office
- $32,155,047
- Budget
- $16,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an easygoing buddy-cop mystery with a sci-fi integration angle and some humor, especially if you liked the grounded crime tone of The Crossing Guard; Not for you if you need deep alien lore or big surprises.
Pros: fun sci-fi twist; strong lead performances; memorable alien quirks | Cons: predictable buddy-cop plot; thin worldbuilding; TV-movie feel
Themes
- delinquency
- cop
- alien invasion
Awards & recognition
- Saturn Award — Best Science Fiction Film · 1990
Cast & crew
James Caan
as Matthew Sykes
Mandy Patinkin
as Samuel 'George' Francisco
Terence Stamp
as William Harcourt
Kevyn Major Howard
as Rudyard Kipling
Leslie Bevis
as Cassandra
Peter Jason
as Fedorchuk
Conrad Dunn
as Quint
Jeff Kober
as Joshua Strader
Roger Aaron Brown
as Bill Tuggle
Francis X. McCarthy
as Captain Warner
Directed by Graham Baker