Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic is a revered horror film that helped define the genre.
When discussing classic horror films, Alien is nearly always included, and for good reason. The film maintains a constant crescendo of tension that doesn’t release until the end credits. Alien spawned a franchise that has lasted over 40 years and seven films (nine, including the non-canon Alien vs. Predator crossovers), plus a TV show.
Alien is a slow film, but it uses that quite intentionally to its advantage. The Xenomorph doesn’t even appear until the iconic chestburster sequence halfway in. And Alien never relies on jump scares, using them quite sparingly and with terrific effect. Instead, the film takes the time to set up the characters and world, letting the audience become fully immersed before engaging in the action.
The dark and gritty world of Alien is one of the film’s strongest points. It feels real and lived in; the characters are very typical blue-collar workers. While the characters are never given any detailed backstories, they each have enough personality that they stand apart from each other. The ship, the Nostromo, is rusty and cluttered. Despite being a spaceship in the future, the Nostromo feels like a modern factory. And that sets the perfect stage for one of horror’s creepiest monsters to be unleashed: the Xenomorph.
The Xenomorph is one of my favorite creature designs in any movie. It is one of the only “monsters” that scares me just to look at it. The design is phenomenal. Its body, locomotion, and behaviors seem like a real creature that evolved. Yet, it can walk bipedally and stand upright. It has a torso, arms, legs, and a head with a mouth. It’s just human enough to be familiar—yet just surreal enough to be creepy. Its appendages are proportionally too long for its body; its mouth has another mouth inside of it; it is born by bursting out of your chest. The Xenomorph is truly alien, with just enough humanoid characteristics to make it feel wrong that it even exists.
With Alien’s set and creature design, almost anything filmed with it would be a visual feast. But the actors are who truly carry us through this journey.
First-billed star is Tom Skerritt’s Captain Dallas. Framed as the initial protagonist for this story, Dallas feels down-to-earth and caring about his crew. He seems the natural choice to guide us through the story. But of course, he’s not the true protagonist (more on her later).
John Hurt’s Kane is a fairly limited role, but he plays the key moments well, providing a visceral experience of the iconic chestburster sequence. Veronica Cartwright’s Lambert and Harry Dead Stanton have similarly relatively minor roles, but always brings their best performance and make the characters feel real despite the lack of any backstory. Similarly, Yaphet Kotto’s Parker has limited character development but Kotto brings him to life. Parker quickly becomes a deeply caring character that would do anything to save his crewmates.
Ian Holm’s android character, Ash, serves as the secondary antagonist to the story. Holm plays the role perfectly, acting robotically uncaring yet just human enough that the audience believes he is simply an unsympathetic scientist.
And one brief mention of Bolaji Badejo, who wore the Xenomorph suit. While the creature design on its own is exceptional, Badejo brings a truly alien performance to the creature that fully brings it to life.
Finally, the true protagonist of the story: Jones the cat. Oh wait, sorry no it’s Ripley. I just like Jonesy.
Sigourney Weaver’s breakout role as Ripley has become one of if not her most iconic roles, and one of the most iconic horror and action stars. Ripley helped form the horror trope of the “last girl standing” and she earned it. Ripley doesn’t have much depth in this installment—she follows protocol when it comes to the safety of the crew, and is willing to do what it takes to survive. But Weaver’s strong performance is what makes Ripley so memorable. Weaver shows Ripley’s true drive for survival, especially when left alone in the intense third act.
Alien has multiple heavy themes throughout it, including corporate greed, the value of human life, and assault.
The most prevalent theme is arguably corporate greed—the entire plot wouldn’t have happened if the Weyland-Yutani Corporation hadn’t decided that the procurement of a Xenomorph superseded the lives of the Nostromo crew. It’s a straightforward theme that demonstrates a crucial piece of the Alien universe.
On the flip side, that same order by the company introduces another major theme: the value of human life. The company considers the crew expendable, but the crew obviously disagrees with that. Much of the film is a pure struggle for survival, with the crew having to dig deep for the strength to try and make it through. The inclusion of a synthetic life form, Ash, also raises questions about human life and sentience.
Finally, there are significant undertones of assault, especially sexual assault, throughout Alien. There are many phallic and yonic design elements, most notably in the Xenomorph itself. Its head is intentionally elongated and smooth to appear similar to male genitalia. The Xenomorph’s methods of killing and procreation are also sexually traumatic. The Xenomorph’s secondary mouth literally kills by penetration. And it is born by implanting (assaulting) an embryo within someone, which then bursts out of them violently. It is the ultimate assault.
Alien is one of my favorite films due to its dark, foreboding atmosphere and fantastic production design. It is a revered classic for good reason, and the franchise continues to this day. It’s slow pace isn’t for everyone, but I believe it is one of the film’s strongest points.
Rating: 10/10