- Nate Lemann
ALIEN HORROR SUMMER - NO. 1: ALIEN (1979) MOVIE REVIEW
Our number one is not much of a surprise as Ridley Scott crafted one of (if not) the best sci-fi horror movie of all-time, a monster movie that changed the game in profound ways.
by Nate Lemann
There is a time before “Alien” and a time after “Alien”. That is how big of a hit and game changer this 1979 picture became. In the wake of the massive hit “Star Wars” was, director Ridley Scott claims he fell into a depression, no longer wanting to make a version of “Tristan & Isolde”. Instead, Scott got quickly attached to the script for “Alien” and the rest was history. Building off the technical achievements of “Star Wars” and “2001”, Scott is able to create his own visual language…a much more ominous and nihilistic one at that. He even further builds on the dangers of AI that “2001” warned about but takes the conclusion to a far darker and real place than that landmark piece of sci-fi.
For those who haven’t seen the film (seriously, rectify that at once), this story picks up with the crew of the Nostromo, a deep space hauling rig. The crew is in cryo sleep when they are awoken. The crew is led by Dallas (Tom Skerritt), his second in command Ripley (the GOAT Sigourney Weaver), Nav Officer Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), Pilot Kane (John Hurt), Mechanics Parker and Brett (Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton), and Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm). While they at first think they are about to arrive home from their long journey, they realize the ship’s operating system “Muthor” has woken them up years earlier than expected: the reason is that there is a signal of alien life from a nearby planet. While this crew isn’t a science expedition, the company they work for has a mandate to investigate whenever the opportunity arises. (Credit to this script for being a pioneer of the ominous SOS signal in space trope).
The crew reluctantly makes landfall on the planet but the conditions here are much harsher than expected. A small team of Dallas, Lambert, and Kane go to investigate the source of the signal. They end up finding a ship of unknown origin, with a dead body about twice the size of the average NBA center. As Kane journeys deeper into the bowls of this ship he comes across…a room of nesting eggs. Kane moves closer to investigate but breaks the mist layer, setting off a nearby egg to hatch and give birth to unspeakable horror.
A hard cut to the ship’s outer doors reveals Kane has been attacked by an insectoid-like creature that is wrapped around his face, with a tail gripping Kane’s neck if anyone tries to remove it. Ripley, who is in charge once Dallas is off ship, refuses to let them back on, holding fast on quarantine protocols. Ash does the “humane” thing and refuses those orders. As they start to treat Kane, they discover this beast can’t be cut off, possessing acid for blood. Any leak could breach the haul and kill them all. They are forced to watch helplessly as Kane is held prisoner by this creature in med bay…but then it just falls off, dying by seemingly natural causes not long after.
The crew feel like they dodged a bullet, deciding to have a celebratory dinner before they head back to cryo sleep for the long journey home. That is where shit goes sideways: (SPOILER ALERT FOR ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SCENES IN MOVIE HISTORY) as Kane appears to be choking, the crew try to wrestle is writhing body still but watch in horror as a small lizard like creature bursts through his chest. Kane is dead and the creature scurries off as the crew watch on stunned. It appears Ripley was right to not let them back on and Ash…well, Ash’s motives weren’t exactly pure.
The film becomes a claustrophobic terror show from here on, with Scott expertly using the harsh, wet, and metallic environment of the ship to great effect, building an atmosphere of pure dread. Scott’s vision is so controlled and inventive, his shot selection impeccable and iconic. The sets…my, God the sets: watching this in the wake of watching 25 films that are very much chasing after this film’s aesthetic just proves that practical sets/effects have a much longer shelf life than digital vistas. Everything feels natural and organic, and especially tactile in brilliant ways. It boggles the mind to think that the spaceship docking scenes are so much more believable than the scenes from the more expensive and larger sequel 7 years later.
The cast is just perfection, one of the most iconic ensembles ever. Weaver really comes into her own here and establishes herself a true movie star. Hurt has the least amount of screen time but is one of the most memorable characters in film history (it is so funny to me that he has the exact same voice he has when he is in his later year roles). Skerritt plays Dallas like the hero of this tale but really does a great bait-and-switch. Kotto and Stanton are so funny and great as the more working class of the crew, funnily arguing about share percentages during the film’s first half. Cartwright is given too little to do but does have one of most iconic screams in all of horror history. Holm was just…just incomparable. Ash is a widely inventive other form of monster: corporate banality run rampant. His speech describing his admiration for the species they brought on board is one of the best delivered monologues in horror history. Seriously…I don’t get why every “Alien” movie trailer since isn’t just that speech playing over quick-cutting images of the new film’s horrors. It would be perfect.
The real star, though, was the Xenomorph: H. R. Giger’s now iconic design is perhaps the best monster design in the history of film. It is a beautiful and tactile mix of flesh and metal, with a serpent and snake-like hunting style. At first, an almost innocent looking beast, it quickly morphs into the stuff of nightmares. Pray you never end up in the same room as one of those beasts. Designed as an allegory for violent rape, this beast is built with very overt sexual overtones and has just purely nasty inner tongue poker.
After watching so many alien horror movies over these last few months, it becomes abundantly clear that they are all chasing after the example of this game changing picture. Horror was never the same after and, for both good and bad, it’s legacy cannot be denied.
FINAL RATING: 5/5 Stars (One of the best movies ever made; Horror doesn’t get better than this)
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