We’re back! The latest entry in our comprehensive score rankings is here, and this time, we’re taking on all 12 (as of this writing) feature film installments of the shared Aliens/Predator universe!

Feel free to check out our previous rankings here.

That’s right, in case you didn’t know, the Xenomorphs (Aliens) and Yautja (Predators) exist in a shared universe, and there have been plenty of crossovers. In addition to two actual films, there’ve been decades of comic book stories with both species throwing down “yo mama” insults and even – gasp – resorting to fisticuffs.

But this is a huge franchise. Not necessarily in terms of number of films, but in terms of impact and cultural influence? Hells yeah.

H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph design is legendary. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley is one of the best action heroes ever conceived. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role in the original Predator has blessed us with not only impressive biceps but also one-liners that never get old: “Get to the choppa!” “If it bleeds, we can kill it,” and “You’re one ugly motherf***er.”

And is there a better tag line than “In space, no one can hear you scream”?

But what about the music? Well… this isn’t Star Wars. Over the course of 12 films, there have been 11 composers. (There have also been 10 different directors.) That doesn’t really add up to any sort of consistency of voice, and honestly, it shows.

As big a fan as I am of the franchise, I’ll readily admit that the quality of these films runs the spectrum from genre-defining classic to… quite bad. But keep in mind that we’re not here today to talk about the merits of the films themselves. We’re here to talk about the music.

We’re ranking the orchestral scores – not the movies.

So without further ado…

composed by Harald Kloser (2004)

listen to: “Alien vs Predator Main Theme,” “History of the World,” “The End… or Maybe Not”

Listen, the less said about the AVP movies, the better. Agreed? The music, however, is one of the films’ saving graces. Though this one comes in at the bottom of our list, it’s nevertheless an interesting listen. Far more orchestral and melodic than entries higher up the list, Kloser’s score captures a more sweeping tone that the others don’t. Which makes sense, because when it comes to this franchise, “sweeping” is not a word I’d use. These are intimate, narrow films where the horror is personal.

composed by John Frizzell (1997)

listen to: “Ripley Meets Her Clones,” “They Swim…,” “Call Meets the Newborn”

John Frizzell reportedly had the luxury of time on this one. Seven months from conception to completion, his score for the fourth Aliens film fits the tone of that film fine. But is it good? Meh. It’s certainly brooding and intense, but it’s wholly unremarkable. Not only is it not in the same ballpark as its three predecessors, it’s not even playing the same sport.

#10: Predators

composed by John Debney (2010)

listen to: “This is Hell,” “Hound Attack”

Debney incorporated and interspersed Alan Silvestri’s main themes from the first two Predator films throughout this one, and the whole score is a serviceable listen, but it’s hardly one you’re going to return to again and again. The most remarkable thing about this score is John Debney himself, who it seems can write music for anything. This is guy behind Elf, Sin City, The Princess Diaries, The Passion of the Christ, Iron Man 2, The Scorpion King, Jetsons: The Movie, and plenty of other movies that don’t belong on any single list.

composed by Henry Jackman (2018)

listen to: “Discovery,” “Rory,” “The Good Soldier”

Henry Jackman is certainly no stranger to genre films. He’s lent his musical muscle to King Kong, Captain America, the X-Men, G.I. Joe, Kingsman, and numerous Disney projects. His music here is propelled by a couple themes that are repeated throughout. Swirling strings and deep, marching horns adequately establish the harsh world The Predator creates, but this isn’t a soundtrack for repeated listening. The repetition grows wearisome just a few tracks in, though it is punctuated by moments of unexpected diversity.

composed by Marc Streitenfeld (2012)

listen to: “Going In,” “Life,” “Weyland,” “We Were Right”

Streitenfeld and director Ridley Scott are frequent collaborators, and Prometheus was actually their fifth time working together (previously on A Good Year, American Gangster, Body of Lies, and Robin Hood). Thankfully, Streitenfeld’s music for Prometheus is a bit more coherent than Scott’s film, which – honestly – isn’t saying much. Nevertheless, the score here is moody, dramatic, eclectic, and certainly sets the tone the movie was striving toward.

It should also be noted that peppered into Streitenfeld’s score are two tracks composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, who was originally on deck to score the follow-up, Alien: Covenant. His two pieces are remarkably different from the surrounding music (both recommended above), and it would’ve been interesting to see what he’d have done with a full score.

composed by Brian Tyler (2007)

listen to: “Decimation Proclamation,” “Predator Arrival,” “Alien Awakening”

Surprise! Remember what I said about the music being one of the AVP films’ few bright spots? Brian Tyler’s entry is filled with memorable action cues, and AVP:R is actually a solid score. Though it incorporates a few Alan Silvestri themes from Predator, this isn’t a mere rehash of an earlier soundtrack. Tyler – who’s no stranger to action films, having scored all five Fast & Furious films with instrumental soundtracks and plenty of other like-minded films – seems perfectly at home in that genre. Indeed, AVP:R is decidedly an action score rather than horror, but that’s not a strike against it. It’s incredibly listenable, even if I am shocked it’s so high up this ranking.

composed by Alan Silvestri (1987)

listen to: “Who Did This?” “Goodbye,” “End Credits”

Surprisingly – especially for an Alan Silvestri score – there was no official soundtrack release for Predator until 2003. Though the music is obviously muscular and energetic, it also more than hints at Silvestri’s own scores for the Back to the Future trilogy. There are moments in the Predator soundtrack that you half expect Doc Brown to cruise through the jungle and wildly proclaim, “It’s your kids, Dutch! Something has to be done about your kids!”

#5: Predator 2

composed by Alan Silvestri (1990)

listen to: “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Truly Dead,” “More Than One”

I’m just gonna do it. Though the actual movie might not be as good, Silvestri’s score for Predator 2 is superior – and far more interesting – than his score for the original. It’s dominated by “jungle” sounds – upbeat percussion, African drums, staccato, and dissonant horns – which might be divisive among fans and listeners, but I have to credit Silvestri for taking some risks and not just rehashing his prior score.

composed by Elliot Goldenthal (1992)

listen to: “Lento,” “Explosion and Aftermath,” “Adagio”

As opposed to James Horner’s hyper-rushed score for Aliens, Elliot Goldenthal had the luxury of an entire year to craft his score for Alien3. Why the difference? And why does Aliens still rank higher? One was James Horner at the height of his legendary career; the other was Elliot Goldenthal working on his mainstream feature film debut (he had previously scored Drugstore Cowboy and Pet Sematary). That’s hardly fair.

Nevertheless – and despite the film’s reputation – the score for Alien3 is surprisingly rich and luxurious. I might be mistaken (I don’t think I am), but this is the only score in the franchise to include vocals and honest-to-goodness choral pieces. The more traditional “horror” sound alternates with lyrical orchestrations. As dark and bleak as the film is, the music swerves left and is, at times, practically hopeful.

composed by James Horner (1986)

listen to: “Main Title,” “Combat Drop,” “Futile Escape,” “Bishop’s Countdown,” “Resolution and Hyperspace”

I hear you. The fact that this Academy Award-nominated James Horner score came in as low as #3 surprised even me. Horner’s work on Aliens was fraught with trouble from the very beginning, and it’s frankly remarkable he was able to create a score at all – let alone one of such high quality. Production and personnel issues on the film resulted in not a single note being written as close as SIX WEEKS from theatrical release. Consequently, Horner’s score was rushed, rewritten, rerewritten, and chopped to pieces. And he was never satisfied with it. Horner and director James Cameron had such a significant falling out that they wouldn’t work together again for more than a decade (on 1997’s Titanic).

Still, this is one hell of a score. Horner’s high-end brass (along with other cues) strongly recall his music from Star Treks II and III. It’s also overall much more atmospheric than you might think – in keeping with Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting minimalist score from the original – with the obvious exception being the blaring Colonial Marines music (which is likely the music you remember from the film). It also gave us “Bishop’s Countdown,” which has found its way into dozens of movie trailers in the years since.

composed by Jed Kurzel (2017)

listen to: “The Covenant,” “The Med Bay,” “Dead Civilization,” “Chest Burster”

It’s probably sacrilege to rank Jed Kurzel above James Horner, but here we are. Whereas Horner was working with a fast-paced James Cameron shoot-em-up that’s an assault on the senses, Kurzel was with original Alien director Ridley Scott and managed to craft a score that perfectly captures an unsettling sense of foreboding… and outright terror.

With echoes of both Alien and Aliens (more than just echoes of the former since Kurzel directly quotes Goldsmith numerous times), this score benefits from a modern treatment and sensibility. As I mentioned above in Prometheus, it would’ve been interesting to see what Harry Gregson-Williams had done with this film, but Kurzel earned his spot in the franchise here.

The music to Covenant takes the absolute best of its predecessors, gives it a fresh and frightening new spin, and makes you wonder what all those other composers were doing with their time.

composed by Jerry Goldsmith (1979)

listen to: “The Landing,” “The Droid,” “End Title”

But of course. Just as Ridley Scott’s original sci-fi horror film set the standard for the franchise (and genre) that would follow, Jerry Goldsmith’s score set the tenor and largely dissonant sound of the franchise. It is the benchmark by which every score on this list is measured… along with, quite frankly, many other films that will inevitably be compared to Alien.

Though you might not guess it from the actual in-film soundtrack (the music was trimmed substantially in the final cut), but this is one of Jerry Goldsmith’s most complex scores and required a herculean effort in 1979 to record: large orchestra, plus players on serpents, didgeridoos, and conch shells. Goldsmith also used unorthodox recording techniques with an echoplex on the stage to get unique reverberating sounds from the strings.

(Definitely listen to the expanded “complete” soundtrack from Intrada linked above.)

Because of that, many tracks have echoes of Goldsmith’s score for 1968’s Planet of the Apes, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to put this one in the same box as his score for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which came out the same year.

Simply divine.