INVASION OF THE EVIL ALIEN MOVIES : HOLLYWOOD'S LATEST EXTRATERRESTRIALS HAVE MANKIND'S ANNIHILATION ON THEIR MINDS.

Byline: Janet Weeks Daily News Staff Writer

If E.T. came to Earth today, chances are that phoning home would be the last thing on his little alien mind.

Indeed, if the big-eyed '80s icon was waddling around our suburbs this summer, his magic finger would be loaded with photon torpedoes, Drew Barrymore would be his hostage, and his sights would be set on the White House, not home.

See, Hollywood has more sinister ideas about visitors from outer space these days. Aliens in 1996 wear black hats on their heads - when they have heads.

At least three movies coming out this year feature evil aliens bent on destruction. The first is ``The Arrival,'' starring Charlie Sheen, which opens Friday. It's followed by ``Independence Day'' on July 3 (when else?) and the sci-fi comedy ``Mars Attacks!'' later in the year.

All three films show extraterrestrials in a light quite different from the sci-fi hits of the '70s and '80s, when ``E.T.,'' ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' and ``Starman'' depicted aliens as kind and misunderstood.

In those days, aliens, with their superior intelligence, were here to help the fledgling human race avoid destroying itself. In ``The Arrival,'' they're here to foul Earth's atmosphere and kill off all life. In ``Independence Day,'' they're here to blow up our cities and wipe out our leaders.

Some say the shift from nice to mean aliens on screen reflects growing end-of-the-millennium paranoia about the fate of mankind, fears supported by popular fiction such as Fox television's ``The X-Files.''

But others say it's simply Hollywood's way of updating the alien story to sell movie tickets.

``I certainly hope that when we do make contact (with extraterrestrials) it's more like those films of the '80s,'' says David Twohy, writer-director of ``The Arrival.'' ``I would like to believe we can learn from an encounter. A civilization close to us or slightly more advanced could offer so much.

``But it makes better drama if they aren't nice, if they're malevolent. So I use that as a starting point for that reason.''

Dean Devlin, co-writer and producer of ``Independence Day,'' says prior to Steven Spielberg's blockbusters ``Close Encounters'' and ``E.T.,'' most movies about aliens were horror flicks.

The 1950s were particularly rife with nasty aliens, who were often a metaphor for Communists at a time America was gripped by Cold War hysteria.

Then Spielberg turned the story of aliens into heartwarming drama, and others followed suit with films like ``batteries not included'' (which was produced by Spielberg) and TV shows like ``ALF.''

``Steven Spielberg reinvented the whole concept of alien visitors by making them benign and friendly and spiritual,'' says Devlin. ``So today, if you want to do a movie that touches the subject in a different way, you have to go back to the original.''

Indeed, ``The Arrival'' is very much in the mold of a 1950s sci-fi thriller like ``Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' or ``Invaders From Mars.''

In it, Sheen plays a government radio astronomer who searches the skies with giant dish antennas, listening for strange transmissions that could be signals from aliens.

One night, Sheen discovers the sound he's been waiting to hear, proof there is life on other planets. His attempts to alert the world to this discovery, however, are thwarted by a society that is convinced he's nuts.

His journey to know the truth about aliens takes him into the jungles of Mexico, where he discovers beings from space plotting to destroy Earth by creating global warming.

That these threatening activities take place south of the border has raised an interesting theory: If '50s aliens represented Communists - the people who most frightened society in those days - do '90s extraterrestrials represent illegal aliens?

After all, many today fear that illegal aliens are threatening our way of life by taking jobs and soaking up tax-supported services.

Twohy says he's heard the theory but doesn't subscribe to it. Instead, he contends his movie is just a paranoid conspiracy thriller - plain and simple.

``It's very classic science fiction to have one guy who has stumbled onto the truth and spends the whole movie trying to disseminate it to a disbelieving world,'' says Twohy.

``But I think we're very '90s in the ecological theme that runs through the story.''

The story is based on an actual branch of science. At the privately funded SETI Institute in Mountain View, radio astronomers working for Project Phoenix do indeed sweep the skies with dish antennas, looking for alien transmissions. (SETI stands for Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence).

Seth Shostak, an astronomer with the program, says he hopes ``The Arrival'' heightens interest in the institute, which was once part of NASA but now relies on donations.

However, he laughs at the notion that a radio astronomer would have any problems telling the world that he had discovered life on other planets.

``The public frequently asks me if I did hear a signal, would the government step in and cover it up because of the security implications,'' he says. ``That's not the danger. The real problem is quite the opposite. You couldn't keep it a secret because there are too many people involved.''

A longtime fan of science fiction, Shostak says he isn't surprise that Hollywood has reverted to bad-alien movies to keep audiences interested.

``Flip-flop is normal. Change is the driving force in fiction.''

In ``Independence Day,'' people all over the world wake up one morning to find giant spaceships hovering over their cities. The aliens' mission: total annihilation of the planet over the Fourth of July weekend.

The trailer for the film shows a giant spaceship blowing up the White House.

Yet Devlin says the film is closer to a '70s disaster movie like ``The Poseidon Adventure'' than a '50s movie like ``Body Snatchers.''

``Our film is tapping into a fantasy that's been around since World War II: If there is an outside aggressor, wouldn't we realize that we're all one human race? What are we doing fighting each other?''

The film is also tapping into a ready-made audience: Nationwide opinion polls show that a majority of Americans believe in aliens.

One such believer is Alice Leavy of Thousand Oaks, co-founder of the Ventura County chapter of the Mutual UFO Network, known as MUFON.

Leavy believes there is scientific evidence that aliens have been visiting the Earth for decades, if not centuries. If they meant harm - or if they meant good - they would have already meddled in the affairs of humans, she says.

``They're in a scientific mode,'' she says. ``They have studies to do.''

If attendance of her MUFON chapter meetings is an indication, a growing number of people believe, as she does, that aliens are here and are neither benign nor malevolent.

When the chapter started in 1989, there were five members. At a recent meeting, more than 300 people turned out.

``We can't find a room big enough to hold everyone,'' she says.

Leavy says she is concerned about the scary tone of the summer blockbusters, and hopes the films won't whip up paranoia about an invasion.

``I'm a little concerned that we could have a lot of very frightened people,'' she says. ``I hope they realize it's just a movie.''

But ``Independence Day's'' Devlin says Leavy's worries are unfounded.

``I don't think there is much fear of aliens in our society,'' he says. ``In fact, we've had more people saying, `Why aren't the aliens good?' If anything, we're tapping into fears of the apocalypse.''

Others say Hollywood is banking on something much more mundane: the wallets of consumers. Big alien movies mean big special effects and can mean big ticket sales.

``I look at this as just Hollywood out there making money,'' says Yvonne Smith of the San Fernando Valley-based Close Encounter Research Association, a support group for people who believe they have been abducted by aliens.

``It's all about special effects and blowing stuff up. That's what Hollywood does.''

CAPTION(S):

Drawing, 2 Photos

Drawing: (Cover--Color) E.T. GETS EVEN

Those cu te little aliens are back in `The Arrival' and `Independence Day' - but phoning home is the last thing on their minds

Jon Gerung/Daily News

Photo: (1) Charlie Sheen is a government radio astronomer who discovers an alien plot to destroy Earth by global warming in ``The Arrival.''

(2) In ``Independence Day,'' humans are faced with the threat of total annihilation at the hands of aliens over the Fourth of July weekend.