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ALIEN - 1979
20th Century Fox
Ratings: USA: R |
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What does slow, subdued classical music do to you? Do you find it relaxing? Some
people feel that way.
I don't. To me, that's the theme of an indifferent universe. Music like that
terrifies me. Here's why.
ALIEN, the defining film of the "thar be varmints on this ship" category
of movies, was directed by Ridley Scott (BLADE RUNNER,
LEGEND, HANNIBAL) and written
by Dan O'Bannon (DEAD
& BURIED, LIFE FORCE, HEMOGLOBIN),
based on a story by Mr. O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett (DEAD & BURIED, BLUE THUNDER).
THE CAST POSE IN CHARACTER |
The story
begins on the starship Nostromo, a commercial freighter hauling ore back
to Earth. The ship is quiet and seemingly uninhabited. We see empty rooms
and hallways, all with that haunting but indifferent music in the background.
Then a few panels light up and a surprisingly primitive (given
that this must be at least 100 years in the future) computer screen
flashes streams of data.
The crew is awakened from "hyper" sleep (better
than super sleep but not as good as ultra sleep), a form of suspended
animation. Conversation makes it clear that they think they've arrived
home, that being the usual reason for the computer to wake them up. Not
until they get up to the control room and start looking around do they
realize they're nowhere near Earth.
Dallas (Tom Skerritt: THE DEVIL'S RAIN, THE DEAD ZONE, POISON IVY, POLTERGIEST III) is the Captain of this merchant vessel. The rest of the crew are Kane
(John Hurt: V FOR VENDETTA, HELLBOY [all]),
Lambert (Veronica Cartwright: INVASION
OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, THE INVASION, WITCHES OF EASTWICK, CANDYMAN II),
and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver: GHOSTBUSTERS, ALIENS,
GHOSTBUSTERS II, ALIEN 3, ALIEN: Resurrection). Ash (Ian
Holm: FRANKENSTEIN, eXistenZ, LORD
OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Rings, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW) serves as science
officer and Parker (Yaphet Kotto: FREDDY'S DEAD: The Final Nightmare, THE PUPPET MASTERS) and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton: ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, CHRISTINE, THE GREEN MILE) make up the engineering staff.
The computer
(referred to as "Mother" and voiced by Helen Horton) has invoked a little known regulation. An artificial signal has been detected and they are required to investigate. No one is happy about the situation, especially Brett and Parker, who frequently
gripe about getting paid less than everyone else.
Despite my complaint about the primitive computer tech (a text
interface?!), all the events here come off as very believable.
The details are subtle and effective as these cargo hauler space travelers
find themselves forced into a situation they clearly don't like.
They trace the signal to the moon of a gas giant planet and land in the
middle of a blizzard. This moon has a thick atmosphere of nitrogen and
methane, making it very much like Saturn's moon Titan.
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Dallas, Kane and Lambert suit up and walk to the source of the signal: an alien spaceship.
And when I say alien, I'm not even kidding. The ship is the first
taste of many designs either made by or inspired by artist H.R. Giger.
The derelict space vehicle is recognizable as artificial and yet looks
unlike anything humans would design.
Kane is the only true explorer here. Dallas and Lambert would just as soon get this
over with so they can go. On board (after passing
through a deliberately designed vagina-like entrance), they discover a bizarre
alien corpse with a large hole in the chest – the bones pushed out
as though something exploded from within. This dead space traveler is
huge, an effect achieved by using children in space suits for most of
these shots.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Ripley is surprised to discover that science officer Ash hasn't tried to decipher the alien signal. She takes a crack at it and is quickly able to discern that it's not an SOS. The signal is a warning to stay away.
Kane wants to investigate a hole burned into the floor of the ship. His crewmates
lower him into what looks like a large cargo hold. The floor is covered
with large, leathery eggs, protected and kept warm by a light barrier
of some kind. When an egg reacts to Kane’s presence by opening up,
Kane (who must have NEVER seen a horror movie)
let's his curiosity get the better of him and leans in for a closer
look.
The facehugger is the first stage in the alien life-cycle. It was designed in part (forcing
something down its victim's throat) to make men in the audience feel sexually violated.
Lambert and Dallas bring Kane back to the ship, where Ripley is in temporary command.
When she hears about what happened she correctly points out that bringing
it (the creature attached to Kane) on board
violates quarantine regulations and could put the rest of the crew in
danger. She ignores Dallas' orders to open the airlock, but Ash ignores
Ripley’s orders and opens the hatch. The alien is on board.
I'll be careful here in my comments in case anyone reading this hasn't
seen the movie yet, but keep in mind that during the movie's most famous scene (when it comes, you'll know), the cast wasn't told exactly what was going to happen, so when . . . it . . . happens, their reactions are genuine.
The alien (and now I mean THE alien) is unique
in sci-fi / horror history because even though it is a man in a monster
suit, it never looks like a man in a monster suit. Giger's design
is vaguely insectoid but really there is no category for it, which is
what you'd expect to be true of alien life.
Continued after the trailer -
And speaking of expectations, I expect this would be a good time for a
!!!SCIENCE MOMENT!!!:
Every form of life on Earth, from bacteria to oak trees to people, is
based on DNA. But DNA is far from the only solution to the chemistry problem
of self-replicating molecules. Life that evolved elsewhere would certainly
be based on different chemistry. What I'm getting at is the idea
that a creature like this could have naturally evolved the ability to
make use of alien biochemistry is out of the question. I'm not saying
these monsters are impossible – I'm saying they can only be
artificial. They were created by a culture with a very advanced understanding
of extraterrestrial biology and genetic engineering.
Continued at
Science Moment/An Alien Science.
It's hard to overestimate the effect this movie had on its genre. More than
20 years after it was made, if you describe a movie as an "Alien
rip-off", everyone immediately knows what you mean. Often imitated
but never equaled, this movie set a standard for sci-fi horror that represents
what we mean when we say five shriek girls. ALIEN doesn't get five shriek girls, it is the definition of five shriek
girls.
This review
copyright 2003 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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ALIEN
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(re-enacted by bunnies)
How do all the ALIEN movies fit together?
For that matter, how do they fit with the PREDATOR movies?
Get your mega-dose of Geeky Goodness with Kelly Parks and E.C.McMullen
Jr.'s
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR?
There really are little alien types that get inside us living folks and mess
around. And here are some fun links with Phun Photos!
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MAGGOT BRAIN
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