"In space, no one can hear you scream."
What do you think of that trailer? It is still scary in today's era and that is how you do a trailer to a movie where it does not give away much: it only provides us the tone and vibe of what this latest and potential sci-fi classic will become in the realms of science fiction history. I was late in the game when I watched this movie around when I was a teenager because my parents were familiar with the franchise and loved both Alien and Aliens. I had seen snippets of Aliens and thought it was a sci-fi action movie of itself but did not realize it was a sequel to Alien.
This movie is two archetypes of specific trends that revolutionized the sci-fi genre: 1) it started off a trend of strong female leads in a movie. Yes, there were female leads but back then in the realms of old-school Hollywood, female character were taken down a notch to become caricatures or bombshells. 2) it also introduced to a scary creature that we've never seen before and haunted us especially in a contained vehicle of aviation in space. And, taking on these two archetypes in one movie and make a riveting finale and also was powerful and memorable enough to spawn a franchise. I think this is one of the most riveting and most perfect science fiction movies ever made.
The commercial spacecraft Nostromo, which is on a return trip to Earth, is being re-routed to another destination because the computer who is called "Mother" detected a mysterious transmission from the nearby planet, LV-426. Mother wakes up the crew who were in stasis: Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), two Engineers: Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton). Also, along with the crew is their cat: Jones. It is stated in a clause in the company's contract that any detection of intelligent or unknown origin has to be investigated, otherwise, there will be no payment.
They land on the planet with damage. While Parker and Brett repair the ship, Dallas, Ash and Lambert head out in their spacesuits to investigate. Ash loses the communication signal once the three get inside an alien spacecraft. They find the remains of a large alien creature. Meanwhile, Ripley discovers the transmission may not be a distress call but it potentially could be a warning. In the alien ship, Kane discovers a chamber full of cocoons with eggs inside. As Kane gets closer, a creature springs out from its eggs and it is attached to his face, prompting Kane to struggle and become comatose.
The crew unsuccessfully attempts to remove the creature off his face and without risking more damage to the hull (due to the matter that the creature leaked extremely corrosive acid), they leave it there with Ash investigating a little further. With the ship partly repaired, the crew takes off. A little later, Kane has awakened, a bit confused. Before going back into stasis, the crew has a final meal but Kane chokes and goes into a seizure. But, the seizure turns into pain as he dies as the alien bursts out of his chest and escapes from the ship. They have to go and find it.
SPOILER WARNING! (But, come on, it is a little over 35 years old.)
Let's get this iconic scene out of the way.
Ok. This movie is compelling right from the beginning, starting from the exterior shots of space of a massive spaceship traveling in space. Both the interiors and exteriors are not in pristine condition as they are both murky, dark and a bit grungy which translates to the tone of the movie as to what we will expect. I thought it was clever watching John Hurt's character is the first person to wake up and also the first person to die. I thought that was a sign of awakening into a hopeful realm which would turn into a mysterious realm as to why there are nowhere near Earth. And, mystery surrounds the crew for most of the movie as they investigate why they are halted and why the company forced them to investigate the unknown species that was detected.
What's so perfect about this movie is how they flesh out the characters and we care about them. I mean, nowadays, with these contained sci-fi/horror movies, characters are not formed or developed well or at all and become a standard and cliched slash-fest. Some are fun but some are stupid and forgettable. (Hey, I liked Event Horizon and I cared about only three of the characters.) Plus, you do not know who is the lead protagonist of the movie. I like how that all seven crew mates are cooperating as a group, even though sometimes they argue, but, hey, everybody gets into some frenzy even when they are in outer space. It's real clear that Sigourney Weaver becomes the protagonist but becomes the role in the second half of the movie. Director Ridley Scott throws you out of the loop even when you watch for the first time.
Fear is shown from about 20 minutes in until the end because the contained environment prompts the crew to become claustrophobic. Even, Captain Dallas comments that "he wants to get the hell out of there". Parker wants to "go home, get paid and party". They have 10 months to go before they get to Earth. However, authority is in the crew's control and they can't ignore the corporation's policy. When they take a turn for the worse and Ripley discovering Ash secretly obeying the company's orders to return the alien for tests, the authority now becomes more of the shadowing fear that has clouded the whole crew. Plus, it hinders on the theme of mortality as we find out that Ash is an android and mocks them about the chances to fight against the "perfect organism".
There is discussion about the sexual themes and overtones about the Alien's appearance and how it breeds and lives. You can have a debate as to characterize the face hugger's attack as rape, but male rape because the creature's head is attached to the source of oxygen, which was Kane's mouth. And, then Kane's "miracle" or "birth" is violent and ends the person's life. That could be a representation to the growing fear or misunderstanding as to how the concept of childbirth works. But, even though an intelligent exploration and conversation can be dealt with another time, it is interesting to watch this movie again recently to figure out how the Alien has children. It is a force of nature, not an agreeable decision in the context of this movie.
This was one of director Ridley Scott's first movies (his second movie ever), as he started from scratch and focused on the creature's looks, its pros and cons, characters, story, production design, visual effects and horror. Every single detail and persistent effort is noticeable in this movie and it is a huge testament of power that made his path into the history of the best directors making movies today. You cannot count out H.R. Giger, the artist behind the design, that stage for other creatures and monsters in a horror movie. It is a perfectly tonal and visual film that represents the fear in a spaceship and also in outer space that set the bar for other scary space films. It is, no doubt, a classic.
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