During the SETI program, Earth's scientists send out transmissions (shown to be the Arecibo message) with information about Earth and its inhabitants, DNA structure, etc., in hopes of finding life beyond Earth. They then receive transmissions from an alien source on how to create endless fuel effortlessly. Therefore, the scientists assume that this is a friendly alien species. From a second alien transmission, the scientists receive information about an alien DNA along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. A government team led by Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) goes forward with the genetic experiment attempting to induce a female, because a female would have "more docile and controllable" traits. One of the hundred experimental ova produces a girl named Sil, who looks like a normal human but develops into a 12-year-old in 3 months.
When a flying saucer reportedly lands in rural Iowa, The Old Man (who runs a secret branch of the CIA), decides to investigate. He goes in person, accompanied by agents Sam and Jarvis, as well as Dr Mary Sefton, a NASA specialist in alien biology. They find that aliens have indeed landed and are planning to use their mind-control powers to take over our planet.
The human race has been taken over by small parasitic aliens called "Souls". The Souls travel to distant planets inserting themselves individually into a host body of that planet's dominant species. They are able to access the host's memories, and occupied hosts are identifiable by silver rings that form in the hosts' eyes.
After a mysterious gas attack which kills off most of the Earth's population, a few survivors gather at a country inn to figure out a plan for survival. However, the gas attack is only the first step in an alien invasion, in which groups of killer robots stalk the streets, able to kill anyone with the a mere touch of their hands. The group's members find additional weaponry in a nearby drill hall, but the robots continue their campaign of terror, which only increases when their victims rise from the dead as zombies, eager to kill anyone who might try to stop them. Yet despite frictions within the group -- and the birth of a baby, which further complicates matters -- most of the members survive. After discovering that the robots are being controlled from a local transmitting tower, the survivors blow it up and head to a nearby airport, where they commandeer a plane and fly towards an unknown destination, hoping additional survivors see their plane and join them.
In 2005, scientists discover an extrasolar planet, which they name Planet G, with conditions similar to Earth. In 2006 NASA transmits a powerful signal from a communications array in Hawaii. Meanwhile, slacker Alex Hopper gets arrested while attempting to impress Sam Shane, daughter of U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Terrance Shane. Stone Hopper, Alex's older brother and a naval officer, is infuriated at Alex's lack of motivation and forces Alex to also sign up and earn a commission in the U.S. Navy.
On an asteroid, the Terran Federation's Fort Casey is crawling with bugs. The starship Alesia begins to deploy its Mobile Infantry troopers, by dropship, to seize and control the hangar and rescue any survivors. Lieutenant Daugherty's 'Alpha' team lands and immediately engages bugs, fighting through to rendezvous with the surviving Fort Casey troopers. After setting explosives charges, the troopers head to the starship John A. Warden for evacuation, only to see it leave dock without them – Minister Carl Jenkins has commandeered the Warden from Captain Carmen Ibanez, sending her to Alesia. Before leaving, Jenkins orders that Major Henry "Hero" Varro, the commander of Fort Casey's K-12 troopers, be escorted to Alesia as a prisoner. Alesia docks with Fort Casey for emergency evacuation of the surviving troopers, and the Fort Casey asteroid is successfully destroyed.
Julio (Julian Villagran) wakes up one morning in an apartment, unable to remember what happened the night before. He barely has a chance to speak to the girl he spent the previous evening with, Julia (Michelle Jenner), when it becomes clear there is an alien spacecraft hanging over the city.
A huge, blinking flying saucer that's approaching the Earth emits a glowing object. This object races ahead of it to intercept a man who's driving down a lonely road. It takes over the man's body and directs him to Central Labs, a U.S. research facility that's been tracking the saucer (supposing it to be an asteroid).
On August 12, 2011, large masses thought to be meteors land in the oceans near several major coastal cities. The objects are discovered to be spacecraft containing hostile extraterrestrial life. Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive in Los Angeles, including SSgt. Michael Nantz (Eckhart), an Iraq War veteran. Nantz was to begin retirement, but because of the attack, he is made the acting platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon, Echo Company, of the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines.
In the town of Glenview, Ohio, Evan Trautwig (Ben Stiller) is an active participant in the community and senior manager of the local Costco store. His life is disrupted when the store's night security guard, Antonio Guzman (Joseph A. Nunez) is murdered. The local police have no leads, and show no interest in investigating further. Determined to find the killer and bring him to justice, Evan decides to form a neighborhood watch. However, he only manages to recruit Bob (Vince Vaughn), a construction worker and loving father; Franklin (Jonah Hill), a high school dropout who dreams of being a police officer but failed the written, physical, and mental-health tests; and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade), a recent divorcé.
Giant insectoid aliens from a dying planet in "Space Hunter Nebula-M" plot to colonize the Earth. The aliens assume the forms of dead humans and work as the development staff of the peace-themed theme park, World Children's Land, the centerpiece of which is "Godzilla Tower". The Nebula-M aliens plan to use the space monsters Gigan and King Ghidorah, guided by two "Action Signal Tapes," to wipe out human civilization.
Sixty-five million years ago, the alien race known as the "Creators" invade Earth, wiping out most of life on the planet including the dinosaurs with the "Seeds", and cyber-form thousands of planets, including Cybertron. In the present, Darcy Tirrel discovered frozen dinosaur corpses in the Arctic.
In the summer of 1982, Sam Brenner and Will Cooper are thirteen-year-olds who love playing in the local arcade. Brenner enters an arcade game world championships. At the event, the MC tells that a time capsule will be launched into space containing a videocassette that includes scenes from the championships. Brenner and Cooper meet Ludlow Lamonsoff, a child who's in love with Lady Lisa, the main character of the game Dojo Quest. Brenner succeeds in every game, but finally loses to Eddie Plant in Donkey Kong.
Just as the local grocery store is about to close, a group of six armed, masked people enter the building. They take the staff and remaining customers hostage and immediately shoot down one of the employees. One of the masked men named Spooky is then told to check whether "he" is among the hostages. When he identifies a woman as one of "them", she tries to escape but is shot down. Meanwhile, a police officer, who was also inside the store, manages to kill one of the masked men. He then calls for back-up and shoots Spooky, who hasn't managed to check all hostages yet. The cop is then killed too.
Altered is the story of four men who seek revenge on aliens that abducted them and murdered their friend many years ago. As is explained via dialogue throughout the film, fifteen years before the events shown in the film, a group of five fifteen-year-old friends living in a remote American town were captured and experimented on by aliens while on a hunting trip. Only four of the friends returned alive. The main character (Wyatt) has since distanced himself from his childhood friends and is shown to have decided to live with the past, albeit in apparent constant paranoia. Two of the remaining three characters however have been obsessed by revenge and have persuaded the remaining, somewhat leadable, character that this is the correct course of action to take. The story opens with the tracking and subsequent capture of a lone alien - the consequences of which Wyatt and the three friends soon become deeply involved in.