Horror Plus Sci-Fi: Alien
Oct 10, 2009 by Ross MillerThe next in our ‘Horror Plus’ series… A classic combo of horror and science fiction: ALIEN!
Welcome to the second installment in Screen Rant’s Halloween lead-up series called “Horror Plus” – a feature which sets out to showcase one film that combines horror with another genre. It will basically serve as a review of the film at hand, explaining why it’s such a good example of genre merging.
In case you missed it, our first installment in the series was Horror Plus Comedy: Shaun of the Dead. Be sure to keep and eye out for other installments such as “Horror Plus Action” and “Horror Plus Thriller” in the coming weeks leading up to Halloween on October 31st.
There are many, many great choices I could have went with in the Horror Plus Sci-Fi category, and believe me it took me a while to pick just one (not picking the likes of The Thing and Scanners almost physically hurt…). But then it struck me, at least in my books, there is only ONE ultimate sci-fi film that blends itself into the horror genre so well, and that’s Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Alien.
(The following may contain moderate SPOILERS)
In case you’re not familiar with this absolute classic (and if you aren’t, why are you still reading this and not off renting or even buying it?), the plot is as follows: The crew on a mining ship (the Nostromo) receive an SOS call from a nearby planet while heading back to Earth, and unable to ignore it, they decide to land on the planet and investigate. A few of the crew members head out onto the planet’s surface, only to find a hive colony of some strange and unknown creature. One of the creatures attaches itself to one of the crew member’s faces, and the crew make the mistake of allowing him, and subsequently the creature on board. Before long, things start to go from bad to worse for the crew when they start to realize they’re not alone on the ship.
Like all great genre mixing films, the blending of the two types is seamless. Alien never feels like it’s like two movies – sci-fi and horror – fighting against each other to be in the same two hour-plus runtime. But rather, it feels like they merge together very well to provide for two kinds of movies in one. A similar mixing of genres happened with the sequel, Aliens, this time helmed by the great James Cameron. And although that’s a fantastic film in its own right, I have to show my true hand and say that I think Scott’s original is the superior of the two.
The Nostromo crew members come across something very strange...
Although Alien is definitely not the first movie of its kind, it could definitely be described as a landmark in the sci-fi and horror genres. Setting a horror film on a ship in the middle of space where (as the tagline says) “No one can hear you scream,” was pure genius on the part of Dan O’Bannon (who co-wrote the story and the screenplay) and Ronald Shusett (who co-wrote the story). Undoubtedly, a lot of the success of Alien as a film that truly works as part of each of the sci-fi and horror genres comes down to director Ridley Scott (who originally wasn’t supposed to direct – O’Bannon was, FYI).
New to both genres (this only being his second directed feature after the war film, The Duellists), Scott brings what we now know is a masterful skill (when he picks the right projects…) of bringing a bit of depth to genres that in other hands might have felt a bit superficial. This is also down to the cast, which includes Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto. What’s important about a film which is essentially a bunch of people in close proximity for almost the entire movie, is that the comradery and chemistry between the actors is spot on. Thankfully that’s the case with Alien.
One of the major things that makes Alien stand out from most other films of its kind, is the fact that for most of the movie we don’t get to see the titular creature. It’s surely always there… somewhere… lurking in the shadows… waiting to pick off another one of the crew members. But the film shrewdly keeps the alien hidden from us, instead opting to build tension and an almost overwhelming sense of dread of what MIGHT be about to pop out.
However, whenever the main alien (or any of the other ones) do make an on-screen appearance, it is entirely shocking, mostly because of that mentioned build up of tension (as well as the unique, peculiar and genuinely frightening physical appearance of the creature(s)). This leads us to what I think is the highlight scene of the entire movie, when poor old John Hurt, who’s character was the unlucky one to get “face hugged” by the alien initially, starts to suddenly feel ill at the dinner table. Out of nowhere, lying with his back on the table, a disgusting, creepy alien creature bursts right out of his stomach (a representation of male’s fear of pregnancy and giving birth, perhaps?). Ever wondered why the reactions of the surrounding crew was so realistic? Well, that’s because before filming the scene, Scott and the production team didn’t let any of the cast (other than Hurt, of course) know exactly what was going to happen (they had some general idea) and they were told to just react naturally. One of the greatest scenes of any movie IMO, one that I shudder to even think of.
Something he ate?...
One thing that must be noted about Alien is it was really the first mainstream film to have the action hero be a female. For some reason it appeared unthinkable up until that point that a woman could be just as badass as a man when it comes to being the one who “saves the day.” Most people at Alien‘s original release back in 1979 probably thought Tom Skerritt, captain of the Nostromo, was going to end up being the hero. But as we know, Sigourney Weaver’s badass Ellen Ripley (the part was originally written for a man, FYI) turned out to be one to fill those shoes and laid the way for many cinematic female heroes to come.
There’s plenty more to discuss about Alien, but I’ll leave that to you Screen Rant readers. I know most of you probably have, but I’ll ask anyway: Have you seen the original Alien? What are your thoughts on what I consider to be Scott’s masterpiece (yes, even more than Blade Runner)? Any favorite moments or memories of watching it (for the first time) that you’d like to share? Leave your thoughts and opinions below.
As stated, be sure to keep an eye out for more installments of the “Horror Plus” feature before Halloween, October 31st!
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My favorite moment would have to be when Dallas is hunting the alien, but then gets killed.
well it made my list as one of the top 5 that scared the crap out of me, so I’m biased. The scene that stayed with me after leaving the theatre was the image during the self destruct sequence when Ripley is going back for the cat carrier, carrying her assult rifle/flame thrower and we see her fingers come up through the access tube from the deck below and you can see the sweat on her fingers, then her frazzled face, grimy with sweat and fear and exhaustion as she examines the floor of the next level before completing her ascent. That look cast doubts as to wether any of the remining crew would make it. I have to agree regarding the catsing of this film. It was great, you could see the difference in the realationships and maybe even was the first to cast a corporation as a villian as well.
Alien was truly a masterpiece and now after reading this I’m going to watch it. Let’s just hope the new Alien moving coming out comes even close to the original.
I know, I know.. I’m a soundtrack man… but hey, I have a master’s degree in music.
This film was brilliant, and happily, it also has one of the most influential soundtracks in film history by the late Jerry Goldsmith.
It’s a shame that the director thought he knew better and had to replace a few key musical moments with other music (one of which is, personally, entirely a stupid choice: it’s music that’s nearly identical to the “intended” track, by the same composer, and drawn from another filmscore. The other is the use of Hanson’s “Romantic Symphony” for the closing credits instead of Goldsmith’s original score end credits music, which would have brought the film to a much more satisfying closure).
This is for me, one of the scariest, if not THE scariest film, I’ve ever seen.
Is Ridley Scott really directing The Alien prequel?
Huggybear
I don’t know if he is directing or not but he is definitely involved in some manner. that would be awesome though if he was directing.
Forgive my memory….but when Alien came out there was another film several of us wanted to see and was sold out. ( back in the days of the theatre having 2 nice sized screens). And Alien was just released and all remember was the tag line. ” In space, no can hear you scream ” and the fact it was a Scott film…. So we threw down our 3 bucks or whatever it was. With no expectations. AND GOT THE LIVING S*** scared out of us! This is a great pick and one of my favorite films of all time! Bishop was my favorite character.
“No one can hear you scream”….sorry dammitt!
tim
who was bishop?
@piratedan
Not to nit-pick, but in Alien I think she just had a flame thrower, no assault rifle until Aliens, lol.
@Tim
Yah, Bishop was also in Aliens, not Alien, in Alien the cyborg was Ash I believe…
yeah you guys are thinking Aliens and you’re not nitpicking Ken because they are two totally different movies lol.
BRAVO!!!!!!!
Love this new forum!!!
Wish I had my own Ash to send after my enemies
@ ken J,
np, regarding the armament correction, but what she was carrying wasn’t the killer, it was that sweat and her face that brought it all home to me. With those klaxons and sirens and the strobe light effects, very harrowing.
Alien (and Aliens) are definitely 2 of the creepiest, scariest movies ever made. I also love that the scene with John Hurt made it into my all-time favorite film: Spaceballs. When I first saw that scene in the theater, my soda almost came out of my nose. LOL.
I had actually heard that the screenplay for Alien contained NO genders. The characters were never specifically said to be male or female.
Could just be a rumor
I think all my favorite moments of the film are covered here but four:
*When we find out Ash is not just an Android, but an Android who would kill Ripley with a rolled up logbook for finding out he’s an android…and when Ash gets smacked with a pipe and his head dangles from his shoulders, milk splashing everywhere. Forget the alien! That was THE moment! Ha!
*When they try to get the facehugger off Kane and discover the alien has acid for blood. It may not seem like a standout moment for some, but when the crew “chases after” the drops of acid by various decks, it helps convey how big the ship is early on and it gives us a now iconic, classic sci-fi rule in the film series. Not to mention we, the audience, make the discovery the exact same time the characters do. I rarely see that in horror/sci fi films nowadays.
*Looking for the facehugger after it leaves Kane. Best jump moment in any film EVER You watched the darned thing a hundred times until you wore out the VHS tape, then a hundred times more when we upgraded to DVD and/or Blu Ray. It still gets you without fail, even when you know its coming. And the best thing about it is that it could be debated if it is a ‘false alarm’ scare or not.
* What was the Alien thinking when he locks eyes with the cat?
All the moments people have mentioned above, plus the first view of the “pilot” fused into its chair. In particular the way the shadows change as the camera stays on a closeup of its face, playing with audience expectations: did it just move? Is it going to come back to life? Quite creepy imagining what the creature was like when it WAS alive, too. Also the first impression you get of the sheer scale of that egg chamber Kane’s lowered into, curving off into the distance, and the unanswered question of the actual purpose of cultivating an insane number of these things.
For all Giger’s brilliance, the alien did end up looking a bit too much like a man in a suit for me when Ripley blows it out of the shuttle. Another classic moment there with her terrified singing as she straps herself into the seat, incidentally. That’s something I think Cameron actually did better in Aliens: the shots of the “drones” were so brief and from so many angles that you didn’t know exactly what you were looking at half the time (in a good way).
Mike E, I didn’t know Scott had replaced some of Jerry Goldsmith’s score. His Planet Of The Apes is my all-time #1 film soundtrack.
Darren, I reckon the alien was thinking “Wish I had some eyes. What’s that damn yowling sound?”
With you on the Ash front. That bit where Ripley discovers the “crew expendable” info, leans back and he’s sitting right next to her with that horrible placid smile: “There is an explanation for this, you know…”
Let’s just hope that the UFO’s buzzing around don’t have pets like the Alien…we will have to call on Bigfoot to rid the planet of this pest.
Scarriest production designs of all time in the masterful work of H.R. Geiger. The Alien looked best in the first film. The initial designs were essentially ripped off by Fox and Hacky FX artists and he was given nothing for blatant ripoffs of his designs not just for the Alien but his bio-mechanical sets, Facehugger, ect. I believe he came back and designed the Alien for III. The whole space Jockey set was just awesome. If you have not seen many of the conceptual designs you should pick up Geiger’s Alien. A Book of his paintings. They are about as f–king twisted and mad genius as it gets
Necronomicon’s a good one as well, Lord garth. There are three paintings in there – Necronom II, IV and V – from 1976 that are basically the alien that ended up on the screen, even if II has, er, “male members” coming out of its mouth rather than that tongue with the extra set of teeth on it. Even though I think the aliens were shot better in Cameron’s sequel, I agree about the actual look of them in the original. I preferred the smooth, translucent head rather than the ridged one.
Dentist
I have that one as well as another. I love his twisted visions. Him and and Dali. Mad genius!!!
Yeah, it’s a shame that Jodorowsky version of Dune never got made, with Giger’s designs for the Harkonnen homeworld and Dali playing the Emperor! I’d kill to have seen that. I love the story that Dali wanted to watch Giger’s girlfriend cop off with some other guy, the impotent old goat!
I did find a video of the Alien walking the crab walk, as was it was supposedly to walk like. I’m sure glad they changed that, it looked horrible.
But this movie and Aliens are my 2 favor
This superb classic is in my top 3 movies for downright fright! ‘Aliens’ and the 1963 version of
‘The Haunting’ are the other two. I have seen the film many times and I agree with all the other comments about certain scenes in the film. Excellent and so SCARY!
Mike E. (above) commented on the films music and sound effects. I could not list them, but I know there were at least a dozen other films that copied that creepy combo of sounds in future films.
Totally IMPRESSIVE! My favorite scene is different from any I have read. When Ripley finds she is not alone in the escape pod, as she decompresses the pod the lights reflect hauntingly on her space helmet. She begins , very softly at first. singing, nearly under her breath, an old 1920′s song called,
VERY appropriately ‘You Are My Lucky Star’! AMAZING!
No other film before or since has creeped me out more. Just as the Alien is reflected in her helmet she slams her fist down on the emergency decompression control….and well, see the film if you haven’t, to find out what happens! LOL!
Weird for me, the scariest part of Alien was when Lambert and Parker get killed, while Ripley is off getting the shuttle ready…
We see the Alien briefly, walking toward Lambert, seen from the side (it only really shows on a large screen with perfect lighting. on TV for some reason, it sort of washes out in the dark). The Alien seems to be doing a “choo choo” sort of arm movement, very mechanical, as it advances on Lambert.
That, for some strange reason, just SCARED THE POOP out of me. Worst part is, even now, 30 years later, it STILL scares the poop out of me!
The way you explain it is so funny, like choo choo??
excuse me for not having English as a mother tongue!
it seemed the appropriate word to use.. like when a child does a train motion.