“In space, no one can hear your scream.” What a tagline.
Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien is a sci-fi horror masterpiece with one of the scariest renderings of extra-terrestrial life. While the franchise continues to be popular, I still consider the OG my favorite.
Alien takes place in, you guessed it, space. That place where, we already established, no one can hear you scream. Aboard the Nostromo spaceship is a crew theoretically on their way home. My favorite, and ultimate in the final girl trope, is Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley. Additionally, I’m partial to the ship’s resident four-legged friend, Jones the cat.
The crew is set to reach planet Earth when a supposed distress signal is picked up from a nearby moon. Upon landing, they realize the signal is coming from an alien spaceship. One of the first discoveries is the fossilized body of an extraterrestrial-looking create whose chest cavity appears to have burst open…perhaps a foreshadow…spoiler…
For whatever reason—perhaps wanting an interesting plot—the crew does not run for the hills. No! Instead, they opt to further explore.
And what do they find? Eggs. Lots of ‘em. Filled with what the Alien franchise calls the “Xenomorph.” Baby Xenomorphs. Not so cute. In their infant state they are known as “face huggers.” Picture a flesh-colored horseshoe crab with spindly legs…You’re welcome…
Unfortunately, one of the crew members becomes familiar with why the face hugger nickname fits so well. Our heroine Ripley tries to keep from letting him back in, yet she is alone in this opinion.
If you guessed things don’t go well, you’d be correct.
The slow burn of Alien builds the tension beautifully. While a sense that things may not be what they seem is every-present, the horror that unfolds is still shocking. Also, I need to give a shoutout to the full-grown Xenomorphs. They are terrifying—truly something out of a nightmare, with two sets of teeth.
The sentiment in the tagline is also very well captured. It feels impossible. The crew is quite literally trapped, with no one to help them.
Ripley, in my opinion, is so flipping cool. Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal is a smart, take-no-shit kind of a person, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t show true terror in the face of the Xenomorph. That thing is not discerning. The only living being it doesn’t appear to go for is Jones the cat. I chock that up to one apex predator respecting another—even if one is small and fuzzy.
There is a reason the franchise continues to grow. It offers compelling lore with a truly frightening villain to battle, and it all began with Alien.
Alien
1979
dir. Ridley Scott
117 min.
Screens Wednesday, 1/24, 7:00pm @ Coolidge Corner Theatre
Part of the month-long repertory series: Projections – AIEEEE! ROBOTS!
