Alien Film Review

Space Oddities

Alien (1979)

By Kimberley Davis

   A behemoth in the world of horror and sci-fi, the production of “Alien” was to bring about a new gritty, dystopian persona to the genre. Following the civil right movement of the 60’s and early 70’s, the appeal of an Eden-like future had taken an more expressive turn. No longer was there thoughts about bright, utopian cities where streets were clean and lit, a place where harmony was conceded by all. Instead, sci-fi narratives concentrated on the slow, dirty development of technology, and the troubling aspects that come with it.

 Originally written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shuset, Alien’s plot revolves around a carnivorous extra-terrestrial being gaining access to the cargo spaceship, The Nostromo. Being woken early on their return to earth after mining, the ships crew (consisting of 7 people, 5 men, 2 women and 1 unknown AI) respond to a near-by distress beckon. Upon bodging the landing on the planet and discovering the remains of an alien ship, they quickly realise it is completely devoid of life. This should have been a warning sign. Instead, they delved further into exploration, causing one crew member (Kane) to become impregnated by a face hugger. Following returning to their ship, the unknown being breaks free from Kane’s chest, ensuring chaos and bloody carnage in its wake. In the development of this story, we discover that the AI (Ash) has ulterior motives in capturing the beast, in hope of bringing it back to earth for study and weaponization. The crew’s lives are considered expendable. Our alien entity picks off its victims one by one, leaving only our female lead (Ripley) to face this living embodiment of terror alone. Having escaped the ship and blowing up the Nostromo with the supposed life form on board (and not before saving the cat), she soon realises she is not alone. Succeeding in using the escape hatch to sweep the alien away into space, she then seems to calmly enter hyper sleep and returns onward to earth.

The plotline is simple, but its simplicity is what makes it so effective. The thought of an innocent mission being complicated by an ulterior motive can be seen in many previous films, one to compare to is the likes of the original King Kong (1933, also a monster movie). It’s not so much the story scenario that made "Alien" so successful, but its mix of antagonist, environment and most of all, a strong female lead. "Alien" is more about suspense than full on slashing and gore. It manipulates the constricted environment of the ship by bringing an ominous atmosphere, making the audience scared about what is around each corner, never truly showing the xenograft.

“If the film has something new to offer, then, it is certainly not its theme, which echoes affectionately with misquotes from a clutch of fantasy classics, most noticeably from The Thing and Creature from the Black Lagoon and most unavoidably from Star Wars and Dark Star”

 BFI, March 2019.

The opening scene involves the entire crew eating food together, leaving us guessing who our lead character is. Being part of a cargo crew, Ripley (acted by Sigourney Weaver) is an “out of the mould character”. She’s intelligent and headstrong, holding a ruggedness whilst maintaining her femininity. When meeting our Alien, she doesn’t fall apart and weep uncontrollably (unlike some previously watched films). In the midst of danger, she is able to calculate quickly and ensure her survival, unlike her male counterparts. Sigourney plays this role marvellous; performance influences female lead roles in future features, moving away from the swooning starlet that needs a man to save them.

“One of the reasons she works so well in the role is that she comes across as smart; the 1979 "Alien" is a much more cerebral movie than its sequels, with the characters (and the audience) genuinely engaged in curiosity about this weirdest of lifeforms.”

Roger Eburt -October 2003

The other characters, although holding their importance, seem to disappear behind Sigourney’s role. They give the typical mercenary attitude of “only money matters”, however they are not Gun-ho. They prefer the easy way, and when our captain must face his adversary to save his crew, he isn’t pumped or rearing for battle. So, this gives quite a selfish perspective.  Our other lady is quite the opposite to Ripley, she is often seen moaning and complaining, crying in a bad situation.  When looking at Ash, we would not know he was an AI. He comes across cold, calculated but curious. Often becoming perturbed when approached by Ripley, almost out of fear for the real plan being revealed. A forgotten character is “Mother”, she is the all-powerful being that holds over the crew’s lives and has this god life persona when she is called for. 

“You have a captain [Skerritt], he knows what he's doing, but he's not like a starship captain in 'Star Trek.' He's not this brave hero standing down the enemy. When he makes a decision, when he knows he has to go into the air ducts with the flamethrower, he's not happy about that decision,"

Scott Snowden -April 2019

  

The Alien antagonist is an embodiment of metamorphosis and evolution. Starting almost like a parasite, it quickly grows from a gastropod (slug-like appearance), to a reptilian humanoid hunter. Ridley employing Giger gave our predator the terrifying nightmarish aspect required, also influencing the design of the sets. obsessed with the idea of a nuclear cold war, many of Giger’s works topiced what would come afterwards, harbouring the possibility of insemination between machine and humans. In the designing of the crashed alien ship, Phallic and vaginal symbolism can be seen throughout, even some referencing to rape. At the start of this feature, even the helmets hold a gag like appearance in representation to BDSM. In terms the alien itself, having a long piercing tongue and phalloid cranium, its body is constantly covered in drool and a thick mucus (almost like bodily fluids). The original suit was made from rubber and was over 2 meters tall. Being extremely hot to wear on set, its multiple accessories made it impossible to sit.

In the set designs, there is two complete opposites aboard the Nostromo. The main ship is chucky, dirty and dingy. It holds inadequate machinery, controls with far too many buttons for functionality and areas that are almost neglected. Although based in the future, it portrays that its old for its time. Giving an oppressed aura and that the crew and its cargo are not really care for. However, the sleep pods and medical bay are completely different to the rest of the ship. They are bathed in white surroundings, giving the clinical empathises that may have once been revered for the future, the same “Mother’s” control room.  The film is constantly noisy, the white noise droning of the spaceship makes the environment so much more believable. When the noise stops, its builds on the suspense like a film track would.

Having watched Alien many times, I still find it as frightening as when I first saw it. It oozes sexualism, build ups up suspense without showing copious amount of un-need gore, and it’s a master in bringing a claustrophobic atmosphere. Moving forward in the civil rights act in the 60’s, “Alien” switches the viewpoint sexual abuse and rape. The face hugger forces insemination on a male character, his body becoming a host to a horrific monster that will carry on this cycle. This growing into fear and hatred to ones-self, playing on the psychological aspect.

Bibliography

- British Film Institute. (2019). Our original 1979 review of Alien: “a spectacularly British xenophobia” | Sight & Sound. [online] Available at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/alien-original-1979-archive-review-spectacularly-british-xenophobia [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

- Ebert, R. (2003). Alien movie review & film summary (1979) | Roger Ebert. [online] Rogerebert.com. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

- Snowden, S. (2019). The Allure of 'Alien': 40 Years Later, It's Still One of the Best Sci-Fi Movies Ever Made. [online] Space.com. Available at: https://www.space.com/alien-movie-40th-anniversary.html [Accessed 5 Nov. 

2019].

Image Bibliography

- Professional Moron. (2018). Alien: Still One of the Scariest Scares in Scary Horror History. [online] Available at: https://professionalmoron.com/2018/05/23/alien-still-one-of-the-scariest-psychological-things-ever/ [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].

- HeroCollector. (n.d.). Hero Collector. [online] Available at: https://www.herocollector.com/en-us/Article/making-the-alien [Accessed 5 Nov. 2019].