The examples of The Terminator and Star Wars demonstrate that good ideas can be destroyed by mindless replication. But one way or another, as long as they provide an opportunity to make money, Hollywood producers will exploit them. Xenomorphs from the Alien movie universe have been scaring people for over 40 years. With varying success. As with most franchises that have turned into a long-running series, the Alien films have turned out to be very different in terms of quality, dynamics, and cinematic value. There are those that have actually turned the series into a legend. You can safely watch them every few years, get scared again and again, notice nuances that you hadn’t noticed before, and return to reality with a sense of having a good time. There are films that may fall a little short of the legends, but they are worth watching and can give you a positive cinematic experience. And then there are outright failures that were born out of a simple desire of producers to make money on a successful idea without fresh injections. It’s too early to talk about the success or failure of Alien: Romulus, but critics and the first viewers are quite satisfied with the movie. Some even call it a direct sequel to the first two films of the famous franchise. Let’s remember the classic Aliens, as well as other films in the series, before going to the theater. Or maybe afterwards, or instead.
The birth of the Alien
The movie about the most famous flight of the Nostromo and its difficult return home was not easy to create. This story begins with Dan O’Bannon, a screenwriter and student at the University of Southern California Film School in the early seventies. Dan’s graduation was marked by a graduation project called Dark Star. The genre is dark comedy and science fiction. The future star screenwriter filmed it together with another newcomer, John Carpenter, who acted as director. O’Bannon himself did everything else: scripting, editing, special effects, and even played one of the roles.
In the process of creating the film, producer Jack Harris saw it. He was impressed by the young talent’s film, and he allocated funds to improve the film so that it could be released in wide release. Although Dark Star didn’t turn out to be a masterpiece, it pushed O’Bannon and Carpenter’s careers in the right direction and in some ways became the forerunner of Alien. Because the movie, despite its comedy, also featured a spaceship crew that faced unexplained events and dangerous situations during the mission. In particular, a conflict with a smart bomb and a fight with an alien in the form of a beach volleyball. It would seem that there is a living ball and a monstrous xenomorph with a double retractable jaw and acid instead of blood. It’s time for the Swiss artist Hans Rudolf Gigerr, whose perversely disturbing and strange works have struck Dan O’Bannon to the core.
In addition, Dark Star pushed O’Bannon to collaborate with the up-and-coming Ronald Shusett. Together, they dreamed of making a serious sequel to the comedy film.
O’Bannon was inspired by various sources. Here you have an aggressive alien from The Thing from Another World (1951), a ship receiving a signal from a dangerous planet from Forbidden Planet (1956), and a giant alien skeleton from Terrore nello spazio (1965).
But the real impetus came from working on Chodorowsky’s Dune. Although the film was never made, it was while working on it in France that O’Bannon met Giger.
Upon returning to the United States, Dan O’Bannon decided to urgently write a screenplay to get out of poverty. The plot did not come easily. O’Bannon imagined the first act, where astronauts land on an unknown planet and encounter an alien. And then there was a dead end. Shusett suggested crossing this story with another O’Bannon idea about gremlins on a bomber. They replaced the airplane with a starship, the gremlins with an alien, and it was off and running.
But how could an alien get on board? And then Shusett came up with a shocking idea: a parasite that actually rapes humans. O’Bannon loved it, and he made it even more disgusting: the parasite injected a fetus into the victim, which then grew and burst out of the living person.
To make the “rape” scene even more perverse, they decided to make the victim a man, as opposed to traditional horror stories that featured mostly women.
But why don’t the heroes just shoot the Alien? Here Ron Cobb came to the rescue with the idea of acidic blood that could eat away at the ship’s hull. That’s how one of the scariest monsters in movie history was born.
Чужий / Alien
Release date: 1979
Genre: horror, science fiction
Director: Ridley Scott
IMDb: 8,5/10
After numerous adventures, Ridley Scott got hold of the script. Nowadays Ridley Scott is a famous director, author of masterpieces, but at that time, like most of the people featured in the article up to this point, he was a beginner who made only one feature film, The Duellists (1977).
So, a small crew of the commercial spacecraft Nostromo is returning home with a cargo of minerals. The crew are not high-minded scientists, as is usually the case in other science fiction films. Most of them would be more accurately described as space truckers. Suddenly, the ship receives a distress call from an unknown uninhabited planetoid, and the crew is jerked out of hypersleep. According to the rules of the contract with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (not named in this film, the name appears only in the sequel), they cannot ignore the signal or they will not receive any remuneration for their work. Through a series of events, a mysterious organism appears on board the Nostromo, and from that moment on, the eerie “hide-and-seek” in a confined space that became a classic after this film begins.
The image of the Alien turned out to be so distinctive and successful that it practically appropriated the word Alien, which was once used to describe all aliens from other worlds (and even other countries).
But not only because of the successful simple concept and cool special effects, the movie became successful and spawned a lot of imitators. There were other reasons as well.
For example, the atmosphere. “In space, no one will hear you scream”. This short tagline describes a lot. Although the film is large-scale, it is also intimate. There are a small number of characters, and the main scene is rather static. There is also an eerie silence that can be interrupted at any moment by the hissing, growling, grinding, or roaring of a xenomorph. Add to this the wonderful music performed by a symphony orchestra and the sounds, and the picture of the hopelessness of people stuck in a confined space in space with an extremely dangerous creature will be complete.
If you listen closely to what the characters say and how they act, it becomes clear that there are even more than one antagonist. In addition to the obvious (well, not immediately obvious) Alien, the evil here is also a corporation that abandons its people to their fate for its own benefit. It is the corporation that secretly infiltrated the ship’s crew with an android programmed to bring back xenomorph samples and ready to sacrifice the people on board for this purpose. This plot twist is evaluated differently. Some people like the surprise, while others think it’s a bit of a stretch.
From a dramatic point of view, The Stranger can be seen as a classic Odyssey – a journey home that is complicated by unexpected and deadly obstacles. However, the film plays on the audience’s expectations and does not immediately make it clear whose Odyssey it is, who is the main character of this story. At first, it may seem that the captain of the ship, as is expected according to the canons of the genre, will be the one who will lead the crew out of the crisis. However, Ripley, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, gradually becomes the center of the action, a naval officer who turns out to be not just a survivor, but a true leader and heroine.
At the time, Ripley’s character was quite unusual for the film industry. Usually, women in horror films played the role of victims, but Ripley broke this stereotype. Not only does she survive in the face of mortal danger, but she also makes the difficult decisions that allow her to survive. She and Jonesy, the ship’s cute cat.
The critics evaluated the movie differently. Some thought it was an ordinary horror movie. But the audience loved the film, so it brought its creators more than $184 million against a budget of $11 million (adjusted for inflation, the film earned $778 million in today’s money). And with the passage of time, the first Alien became what it is today – a classic of science fiction cinema.
Aliens
Release date: 1986
Genre: action, horror, science fiction
Director: James Cameron
IMDb: 8,4/10
After the success of the first movie, the producers decided to continue the story of the xenomorph. However, Ripley’s awakening from cryogenic sleep occurred only seven Earth years after the original film was released. We won’t go into details, but some producers were so reluctant to make a sequel that they tried to prove to those who wanted a sequel that Alien was actually a completely failed project by manipulating the numbers.
After several years of controversy, including court cases, James Cameron accepted the challenge, who had already established himself as a talented director by the time he directed the cult film Terminator (1984). In fact, Cameron wanted to work on the second part of Alien even earlier, and offered the producers his own draft script. However, at that time, the little-known director of the failed film Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) seemed a very dubious candidate. It’s quite another thing to direct a superhit about the uprising of machines, isn’t it?
A few decades later, the shuttle with Ellen Ripley sleeping in cryogenic sleep is found by rescuers. Her little daughter has already grown old and passed away (by the way, her photo in the movie shows the mother of actress Sigourney Weaver, a very nice detail, if you ask me). The protagonist finds out that the planet where the Alien was found has been colonized and is home to more than fifty families. When the connection with the colony is cut off, Ripley agrees to join a group of marines to investigate. Little does she realize that they are in much greater danger than a single xenomorph.
Cameron reinterpreted the original horror atmosphere created by Ridley Scott by adding intense action. He skillfully manipulates the expectations of viewers who are familiar with the first film and offers unexpected plot twists.
An important difference between the films is that while in the first part the confrontation was based on the scheme of “weak and unprepared against an unknown strong evil,” here Ripley is not alone – she has a team of experienced and well-armed marines with her. But the Alien is not alone now either. So the audience is in for a good fight. And the cuteness here is the responsibility of a little girl who survived on the planet and in some ways replaces Ripley’s daughter who died of old age.
Cameron changed the tone of the movie, emphasizing teamwork, combat, and a massive confrontation with the Alien army. This turned the film from a chamber thriller into a large-scale action movie, where each of the characters gets a chance to prove themselves in extreme danger.
The soundtrack and music composed by James Horner enhance the film’s dynamics, and the harsh sounds of xenomorphs attacking the characters evoke a sense of constant threat.
In Aliens, the character of Ripley is revealed even more vividly, as she transforms from a frightened “survivor girl” into a true leader and mother, ready to fight to the last for the lives of her comrades and her child. The other characters are also beautifully revealed. At the same time, Cameron deepens his social criticism by showing how corporate interests are placed above human life.
The film was highly praised by critics and audiences, won two Oscars, and became one of the most successful sequels in the history of cinema. From the chamber suspense of the first part, a dynamic action movie grew. Even today, you can hear fans debating which of the first two films is the best.
Alien 3
Release date: 1992
Genre: horror, science fiction
Director: David Fincher
IMDb: 6,4/10
After the triumphant success of Aliens, the studio finally realized the potential of the franchise and decided to continue it. But this time, the young director David Fincher faced a difficult task: to maintain the tension of the previous films, to give a new direction to the story, and all this for little money and very quickly. It was at this point that the Alien universe went into circulation in a sense… the producers wanted to make a box office movie, so they approached the filming in this way.
A bunch of scripts were made for Alien 3, but none of them appealed to Shussett and O’Bannon. Ideas about battles between states over biological weapons, animals turning into Aliens, and hermit monks with xenomorphs were quickly trashed.
Because of these script changes, the sets were also redone several times. They spent $13 million on extra props, which was a waste of budget. As a result, the producers settled on a story about prisoners on a prison planet. It is there that the ship with Ripley crashes. Only she survives… More precisely, she and one of the xenomorphs, who now threatens all the inhabitants of the prison planet. Among the interesting findings of the film is that there are no weapons in the prison, so the heroes have to look for other methods of fighting the xenomorphs. There are some really cool moments in Alien 3: dynamic chases through tight corridors, scenes with the Alien in the first person, interesting characters, such as religious criminals, and, of course, a tragic ending.
But despite all this, the movie turned out to be uneven. Fincher, nervous about conflicts with the producers, who did not take his ideas and suggestions seriously at all, left the project immediately after filming was completed. Even the final cut was done without him. Unfortunately, instead of a masterpiece, it turned out to be just a good action movie with a messy realization and not the best plot decisions. The sudden death of several key characters from Aliens was especially outrageous for most fans. This move seems to have wiped out the previous installment and all its achievements. And the audience doesn’t like that.
Alien: Resurrection
Release date: 1997
Genre: horror, science fiction
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
IMDb: 6,2/10
After mixed reviews for Alien 3, the studio decided to try to resurrect the franchise once again, inviting French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, known for his unique visual style and unusual approach to creating atmospheric films, to work on the film.
It may seem a bit strange, but the director of the fourth Alien directed one of the most famous romantic comedies, Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001). Although if we recall the director’s other films, such as Delicatessen (1991) or La Cité des enfants perdus (1995), his participation in the xenomorph franchise seems a little more logical. In fact, Jeunet is not a director of romantic comedies. The main features of his films are aesthetics, eccentric atmosphere, grotesque and unusual shooting angles that visually enhance the grotesque. And these features, although not as pronounced as in the director’s French oeuvre, can be seen even in Alien: Resurrection. However, they didn’t save the movie. The movie turned out to be quite controversial.
The plot takes place 200 years after the events of Alien 3. Scientists decide to clone Ripley to recreate the Alien that was inside her. As a result, Ripley comes back to life, but now she has mixed human and xenomorph genes, which gives her new abilities. In fact, she practically becomes an all-powerful superheroine. At the same time, the xenomorphs are getting out of control again, and Ripley and a group of mercenaries must stop them before they reach Earth.
Critics noted that while the visual aspect of the film and its style were praiseworthy, the plot often felt strained and artificial. Some plot twists, such as the appearance of a hybrid xenomorph-based creature, were perceived by viewers as overly fantastical and out of place in the context of the series. However, Sigourney Weaver’s acting, which has returned to the role of Ripley, was as good as ever.
Crossover
Let’s pause here and recall two crossovers that hit the audience in the mid-noughties.
Alien vs. Predator
Release date: 2004
Genre: action, horror, science fiction
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
IMDb: 5,6/10
The idea of pitting two iconic monsters from different franchises against each other seemed appealing and commercially viable, but the result was far from what was expected. Paul W.S. Anderson, known for his simple action films, created a picture that, in the opinion of many fans, negatively affected the reputation of both cult series, and disappointed fans and critics alike.
The story centers on a team of researchers who accidentally discover an ancient pyramid under the Antarctic ice. It turns out that in this pyramid there are ritual battles between Predators and Xenomorphs, where Predators use Aliens to test their strength. The very idea of these two creatures fighting in a pyramid in the middle of an icy desert seems far-fetched and ridiculous. It is even more absurd that this battle is supposed to be some kind of “test” for the Predators, with humans as accidental victims.
The dialogues and behavior of the characters often cause laughter, but not because of comedy, but simply because they are clumsy. The characters make ridiculous decisions and seem like toy figures created for the sake of destruction. They don’t seem to realize the danger they face, and this makes their deaths funny rather than horrifying.
Many critics have pointed out that the film is almost devoid of the tension and atmosphere of horror that were so important in the original Aliens and Predators films. Instead, the audience was offered a soulless set of action scenes where both monsters appear ridiculous rather than scary. It is particularly disappointing that even the clash between the two legendary creatures does not evoke the desired excitement – everything feels like a cheap stunt to raise money.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Release date: 2007
Genre: horror, action, science fiction
Directors: Greg and Colin Strause
IMDb: 4,6/10
If Alien vs. Predator could be criticized for its clumsy concept and artificial plot, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem surpassed its predecessor in terms of how much it could ruin an already bad situation. The Strauss brothers, known for their work on visual effects in Titanic and Terminator 3, decided to take on the task of creating a sequel to this clumsy hybrid, but instead of correcting previous mistakes, they made an even more questionable film.
The plot. The Predator’s ship crashes on Earth, and now the xenomorphs are free to roam among humans. They are joined by a new hybrid of Alien and Predator. This creature loses the mystery and terrifyingness of both of its “parents”, becoming just another monster. All this takes place in a completely banal context: a typical American town, which contrasts sharply with the atmospheric locations of the original films – a spaceship in Alien and the jungle in Predator.
One of the biggest visual problems of the movie is its darkness, and not in a metaphorical sense. The audience literally has a hard time seeing what is happening on the screen, as most of the scenes are shot in such darkness that it is almost impossible to make out anything. This does not add to the film’s atmosphere, but simply annoys and makes it impossible to appreciate the special effects, which should be the directors’ strong point.
The characters in Requiem are so devoid of depth that they can hardly be called even clichés. They are so flat that even their deaths do not evoke sympathy. By the way, there are plenty of deaths here: the movie tries to be more violent and bloodthirsty than its predecessors, but it makes no sense from the point of view of the plot. The excessive violence seems to be an attempt to compensate for the lack of tension and real horror that were key elements of the original franchises.
Unsurprisingly, the movie received devastating reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of only 12%, and critic Roger Ebert called it “pointless, disgusting, and boring.” Viewers were also disappointed, as evidenced by the low scores on IMDb and other platforms.
Prometheus
Release date: 2012
Genre: science fiction, horror
Director: Ridley Scott
IMDb: 7,0/10
Prometheus, released in 2012, was Ridley Scott’s long-awaited return to the universe he had, in a sense, created. The new film promised to reveal new aspects of the Alien mythology and answer long-standing questions about the origin of xenomorphs and their relationship with humanity.
“Prometheus is not a direct continuation of the story of Alien, it can be seen as a prequel to the main series, taking place about 30 years before the events of the original film.
Prometheus is actually the name of a starship that is going to a distant planet on a research mission. Scientists, having studied ancient drawings, have come to the conclusion that this planet may be the key to unraveling the origin of humanity. The crew explores the ruins of alien structures and discovers that one of them is a spaceship that was headed for Earth. Its entire crew was killed, except for one humanoid, whom they named “Engineer”. He remained in the cryogenic chamber. Attempts to establish contact with this alien fail – it reacts aggressively to humans. In addition, vessels with a black liquid are found on board the ship, which causes dangerous mutations in humans. This eventually leads to the emergence of an Alien-like creature, which creates a direct link to the original franchise.
Thanks to its visual design, Prometheus leaves a positive impression. But if the picture is visually captivating, its plot seems somewhat incomplete.
The film raises questions about faith, the meaning of life, and the relationship between humans and robots. The android David, played by Michael Fassbender, is a particularly memorable character who looks friendly on the outside but has hidden grudges against his creators. Other characters are also sympathetic, although sometimes they don’t act the way professional researchers should. For example, archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) personifies the conflict between scientific skepticism and religious faith, and ship captain Janeck (Idris Elba) adds the necessary charisma and humanity to the film.
Critics and viewers have repeatedly pointed out numerous plot holes and unclear character motivations. Scenes where characters who are supposed to be scientists take obviously dangerous and illogical steps caused some disappointment. For example, a biologist who is afraid of a dead alien but doesn’t hesitate to try to pet a living snake-like creature, or a geologist who gets lost in a room for which he made maps.
The movie received mixed reviews. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4, calling it “a majestic, gripping wonder.” In contrast, Andrew O’Hehir of Salon.com wrote that the movie is “beautiful, exciting, and even clever at times, but ultimately empty and pointless.” Nevertheless, Prometheus can be considered an interesting addition to the Alien universe, especially against the backdrop of other attempts to relaunch the franchise.
Alien: Covenant
Release date: 2017
Genre: science fiction, horror
Director: Ridley Scott
IMDb: 6,4/10
Alien: Covenant, released in 2017, was supposed to combine the Prometheus prequel with the original Alien series. The audience was promised a return to horror with terrifying xenomorphs and bloody scenes.
The movie really reveals the origin of the Aliens, their creator, and even the reasons for their behavior. Visually, the movie looks great, especially in terms of creature design and gloomy atmosphere. Ridley Scott introduced new forms of Aliens, such as neomorphs and protomorphs, which add freshness to the familiar monster design.
The film tells the story of the crew of the spaceship Covenant, which is heading to a distant planet for colonization. However, the crew unexpectedly discovers an unknown planet that seems to be the perfect place to live. After landing, the crew finds the remains of the Prometheus expedition and is once again confronted with the terrifying consequences of contact with extraterrestrial life forms. This storyline directly connects Covenant to the events of Prometheus, answering some of the questions left by the previous film.
Michael Fassbender plays two androids at once, Walter and David, and he is the central figure in the film. His characters are different: Walter is an ideal assistant, and David is a creator who puts himself above people. This duality adds depth to the film and raises questions about the nature of artificial intelligence and its relationship to humanity.
The movie is beautiful and spectacular, but… Perhaps one of the biggest problems with The Testament is its attempt to combine philosophical reflections on the origin of life and religious motifs with classic horror elements. This mix was not entirely successful, as serious issues remain superficially addressed, and the horror elements often seem secondary and predictable.
The reaction of critics and audiences to The Covenant was mixed. Many praised the film’s visuals and Michael Fassbender’s performance, but criticized the predictable plot and illogical actions of the characters. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 65% from critics and 56% from viewers, which is lower than the original Alien but higher than Prometheus.
Compared to the other films in the franchise, Covenant tries to balance the sci-fi horror of the original Alien with the more philosophical approach of Prometheus. However, many fans believe that the movie does not reach the heights of either of the first or second films.
What’s next? Romulus and other great expectations
At the time of this writing, I have not yet had time to watch the latest film in the Alien: Romulus series, which was released on August 15, 2024. However, critics and viewers who have already seen it were mostly satisfied. So there is hope that the franchise relaunch was a success. As a reminder, we already have our own review of the movie.
In general, Alien has long been not only about movies, but also about four dozen video games of different quality, short films released on the 40th anniversary of the series, numerous comics, novels, action figures, and other attributes of nerd culture. Among the most famous video games are Alien: Isolation, which received high marks for its atmosphere and fidelity to the spirit of the original movie.
We would also like to remind you that we are working on the series Alien: Earth, directed by Noah Hawley. The series, expected to be released in 2025, promises to bring the franchise to Earth, exploring the consequences of the appearance of xenomorphs on our planet. Let me remind you that Hawley took the Coen brothers’ classic film Fargo (1994) and, with great respect for the original, created a series whose first seasons may even surpass the movie. What if the same fate awaits Alien?
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