Admiring the Purity of the ALIEN Franchise

                                 

The horror/sci-fi franchise has managed to remain inventive (for better or worse) for almost forty years. And with a new film on the horizon it seems to show no signs of stopping.

  Today marks what 20th Century Fox patented as Alien Day last spring. Perhaps this is a way to compensate for the fact that the studio can no longer officially celebrate Star Wars Day on May the 4th. Whatever the case may be, for those who are confused, the date is 4-26 which relates back to the uncharted planet our main characters land down on in both Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens; LV-426. In honor of this date, Fox is doing plenty of corporate tie-ins with many different clothing lines, art galleries, and theater chains to provide tons of goodies to fans of the ALIEN franchise. What makes this second annual event all the more special is how it coincides with the upcoming new entry in the ALIEN saga; ALIEN: Covenant. With all of this excitement about the infamous horror franchise spreading around, I thought now would be a good a time as ever to explain why I believe that the ALIEN franchise, even when it's bad (And trust me; it's been VERY bad some-times), is one of the most unique and inventive in both horror and science fiction cinema.

    When talking about the impact that these films had on pop culture and their lasting impression on many genre films and filmmakers of the years, we have to start at the beginning; Ridley Scott's masterpiece, ALIEN. Released on June 22nd, 1979, ALIEN was released at the perfect time. After films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and, most recently, Star Wars allowed the American moviegoer to feel comfortable with exploring the grand, mysterious vastness of space yet again, ALIEN pulled the rug out from under them. As Ridley Scott has said in countless interviews, while 2001 let people experience the wonders of where science could take us in the future, and Star Wars presented an intergalactic fairy tale, ALIEN was an experiment to see what it would be like if you set The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in space.

   There has been so much written about the impact of ALIEN and what the harsh conditions were like for the cast and crew behind the scenes that if I went too in depth with all of the tidbits of the film I would certainly not add anything new. I can, however, speak of my personal connection to the movie and what I believe are the things a viewer can still take away from it to this day.

  The debate of which is the superior film, ALIEN or ALIENS, is one that has haunted and divided film buffs for decades now. And while I certainly have an affinity for James Cameron's sequel (which I will get to shortly), ALIEN is so simple, streamlined, and feels so raw in comparison. This was quite obviously a breakout directing job by the soon to be revered Ridley Scott, who had prior to this made countless television commercials and the Harvey Keitel, independent period drama, The Duellists in 1977. His direction is cold, patient, and observant. The way in which he uses the monster sparingly for a large chunk of the film and focuses more so on the incredibly eerie, dark corridors of the Nostromo or the downed "Space Jockey" ship along with the actors' reactions to the horror is a masterclass in creating tension. 

While speaking of the actors, the thing that always struck me about ALIEN compared to other science fiction films was the way in which the crew of the doomed cargo ship interacted with one another. Tom Skeritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, the late John Hurt, and the then newcomer, Sigourney Weaver must have been encouraged to do a lot of ad-libbing, because the stutters and awkward laughs in their mundane conversations during the films quiet scenes feel too real to have been written by either Dan O' Bannon or Ronald Shusett. These conversations and the way they approach the tactility of the spaceship tech with such a sense of monotony is fantastic and something you still rarely see in big science fiction films. 

I mean, I've never once seen Luke Skywalker talk to Han Solo about his union benefits. 

This is a real attribute when your characters are not scientists set to explore some uncharted territory, but rather space truckers who aren't prepared for the kind of attack that confronts them once terror boards their ship.

The performances are also what make the most memorable sequence, the chest burster, as impactful as it is. Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London) once stated that if you look at the puppet that bursts out of the character Kane played by John Hurt, it's not all that impressive all on its own. In fact, with just a few more frames of footage added, it could come off looking a tad bit goofy. However, much like the cast of Jaws, the performers in ALIEN give reactions that seem so genuine (most of which are because the cast wasn't quite sure how the effect was going to work) and terrified, that the looks on their faces and Scott's choice to focus on them is what resonates amongst the audience.

  The real star of Alien though, of course, is H.R. Giger's designed Xenomorph. Perhaps, the greatest screen monster of all time. From the intricacies of the bio-mechanic extremities running all over its body that blend in perfectly with the mechanic environments, to the incredibly frightening yet graceful tail, to the disturbingly phallic head shape it is a masterpiece of creature construction. The disturbing origins of the creature are so simple yet frightening as well. From oral impregnation from a "face hugger" to bursting through your chest, killing you after being its host while it forms within the warmth of your body. It is a brilliant use of body horror that would become more prominent in the 80s from films like John Carpenter's The Thing or any of the horror films by Canadian filmmaker, David Cronenberg. 

  As ALIEN concludes we see our surprising lone survivor, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), escape the Nostromo, kill the Alien by "blowing it out of the goddamn air lock", and put herself into cryostasis, where she will awake back on Earth. 

  Of course, when a film is successful, that is not meant to be. 

   1986's ALIENS was promoted with the tagline, "This time it's war". Director James Cameron (fresh off his surprise hit, The Terminator) delivered on this promise in spades. More action film than horror movie, Cameron took the original ALIEN's world and expanded it by delving deeper into the nefarious Weyland-Yutani corporation and introducing audiences to the massive Queen Alien. While these expansions may have ended up hurting the series in the long run, it makes for a film that seems far more vast and larger in scale than the previous haunted house movie in space.

   Yet again, there are so many wonderful things to gush about in this film. From the expert pacing that Cameron puts into his script and his directing style. The performances of all the grunts are fantastic from Michael Biehn as Hicks to Jenette Goldstein as Vasquez. Of course, of this group, it is the late Michael Biehn who steals the show. Everyone quotes his "It's game over, man" dialogue all the time, but there are so many other fantastic comedic moments that his character of Hudson brings to the table, in what is essentially a pretty grim movie overall. Lance Henrickson is fantastic too as the mysterious android Bishop.

  The aspect of the movie that resonated to me more than any other however was the relationship between Ellen Ripley and the orphaned character of Newt played by Carrie Henn. The film has a director's cut that, while I think is overall inferior, has a very important sequence near the film's opening where we see that Ripley once had a daughter back on Earth. During the period of her cryosleep between the first and second film, we realize that she had been out for 57 years. Ripley learns that her daughter died only two years prior to her awakening. This is a plot point that almost seems vital to understanding Ripley's character in this film and her relationship to Newt. The fact that the producers wanted that scene cut is pretty odd and doesn't make much sense.

 Sigourney Weaver absolutely kills it as Ellen Ripley in ALIENS. This is the film that solidified the character as one of the most influential female badasses in film history. However, it's the vulnerability in her performance that people seem to forget about. Her love for Newt and her willingness to do anything to save this girl is just wonderful and Weaver is so committed. She even earned on Oscar nod for her role in this film, which is pretty amazing when you take into account how science fiction doesn't usually fair very well in major categories during awards season.

 One of my favorite sequences with her is early on in the film when she's speaking to the smoking, corporate hacks at Weyland-Yutani who seem to reflect a perfect Reagan-era tradition of covering their company's ass when things go wrong. Ripley is trying to explain to them the danger of the Xenomorph and what exactly happened to the crew members of her ship in the previous movie. They all are just dismissing her claims, completely negligent, and disbelieving that any creature could exist, let alone cause any damage. Ripley loses her cool at one point and the frustration is fantastically played by Weaver.

  The Xenomorph designs and set designs, while certainly not as eye-catching as H.R. Giger's work in the first film (in fact, I would say they're quite distractingly rubbery at times), are full of interesting slight variations on the already classic designs. The Alien Warriors have the same basic structure of the Xenomorph from ALIEN but the oddly sexual, biomechanic look is substituted for skin that seems more like an exo-armor. While I personally think this makes them less intimidating and seem more like moving targets rather than threats, the decision does work when you are trying to make what is essentially a war film in outer space.

   The one area where I believe the film absolutely shines in terms of creature design and special effects is the look of the Queen Alien. It's massive and the way in which it moves around is incredibly unsettling. Of course the final battle between Ellen Ripley in the awesome Power Loader and the giant Alien Queen is definitely one of the best confrontations in action movie history.

  The ALIEN franchise was two for two at this point in its film franchise. It had skyrocketed the careers of two filmmakers who would go on to be game-changers in the business and were not only box office, but critical successes as well.

  However, in 1992, things began to take a turn for the ALIEN movies.

   ALIEN 3 is not a bad film. In fact, I would argue the themes and ideas posed by the ill-received threequel may be some of the most unique in the entire film series. Mainly the way in which the Xenomorph and Ripley's connection becomes familial. It is also the first feature film of one of my favorite modern filmmakers, David Fincher. And while he has disdain for his experience on this movie, his artistry behind the camera is hard to ignore. Granted, many of the problems fans and critics seem to have with this movie are absolutely warranted.

  The film does not get off to a good start. Before the opening credits are finished we find out that the three of Ripley's accomplices from the previous film (Newt, Hicks, and Bishop) have all been mysteriously killed in cryosleep between the events of the last film to now. Killing off these characters before the film even begins is such a dumb decision from a screenwriting point of view. This basically puts Ripley back at square one, the way we saw her at the beginning of ALIENS. I don't think this is something that one can blame on David Fincher entirely though. It has been publicized many times that ALIEN 3 went through countless different scripts with different screenwriters attached with ideas ranging from interesting to ludicrous (One of the more publicized ones focused on a planet made of wood that was inhabited by priests). And in about 75% of these scripts, Newt, Hicks, and Bishop are dead. Perhaps Fox didn't quite understand the fan base's love for these characters before killing them. 

  ALIEN 3 also overpopulates the screen with too many characters who aren't all that distinguishable from one another. Aside from the fact that on this prison planet, the majority of people are bald, gruff, British guys, none of their individual quirks stand out to me. It's a shame because the film is full of great character actors such as Charles Dance (who actually has a romantic relationship with Ripley), Brian Glover, and Paul McGann. 

  However, Charles S. Dutton, as the prisoner Dillon, is absolutely fantastic. His relationship with Ripley blossoms really well over the almost two hour runtime. 

   One of my favorite sequences in the movie is when Ripley wants to get to know Dillon and he responds by saying, "You don't wanna know me. I'm a murderer and a rapist of women,". To which the newly bald and battered Ripley responds, "Really? Well I guess I must make you nervous."

   Badass.

  I also like David Fincher's approach to take the franchise back to its horror roots from the first film, rather than just trying to one-up James Cameron with another action movie. The idea of a Xenomorph finding its host in a dog, rather than a human being, and then basing its anatomy off its host, is a really cool concept as well. It also opens up all different kinds of possibilities for variations on the classic design. Giger actually was called up again after being absent from ALIENS for held designing the Dog Alien. While the blue screen effects are pretty terrible when it is running around the corridors killing the prisoners, the actual design for the creature is really neat and I prefer its sleekness over the tactility of the Alien Warriors from the previous movie.

  ALIEN 3 is far from perfect, but the performances, atmosphere, and what seemed to be a fitting conclusion for Ellen Ripley were all welcome additions to the franchise in my opinion. And if we knew what was to come for the saga five years later and beyond, perhaps we wouldn't have been so hard on this film.

    ALIEN: Resurrection is pretty terrible. Having only seen it all the way through once, I can't quite go as in depth as I did with the three prior films in the series, but I'll tell you what my initial thoughts were while watching the movie.

  After Ripley sacrifices herself after finding out she is the host of a new Queen Alien in ALIEN 3, scientists decide to use a strand of Ripley's DNA to create a clone of Ripley that is also embedded with Xenomorph DNA (?) or something. It's pretty much as stupid as it sounds. 

  The directing style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet falls in line with the three directors before him, meaning that his style is very distinct and while still telling a similarly structured story as all of the movies do, he makes it feel different and like his own thing. While I appreciate his commitment to his own style, the film looks really weird. Everything is so overly exaggerated with these close ups on our actors faces with an odd fish-eye lens to make their faces seem stretched out across the screen. The weird red, green, and brown color palate make the movie feel like some sort of weird comic book.  Jeunet had already made a mark for himself in French cinema, and would go on to make his most revered movie, Amelie, just four years after, but perhaps he just wasn't the right choice for this material. Neither was young screenwriter Joss Whedon, who injects far too much humor into the script. 

  The performances are all stupidly over the top as well. From Ron Perlman to Winona Ryder to Brad Douriff to even Sigourney Weaver herself. Weaver's interpretation of the Ripley clone is incredibly over-sexualized and she doesn't even attempt to be the same character. 

  The final act of ALIEN: Resurrection is absolute insanity. To the point where you actually do end up getting some morbid enjoyment out of it. Ripley gets sucked into this big hole in the ground made up of Xenomorph extremities, cuddles up with a weird Alien hybrid known as the Newborn that is part human and her child...or something. And then it gets sucked through a tiny hole in the side of a cargo ship, into the vastness of space while its intestines spill out and gets the entire flesh ripped off its skull. 

   Absolute craziness.

   Not at all a good film. But like the others; unique. Plus, it's certainly more entertaining than those Alien vs. Predator movies which I won't even touch on because they are so awful and below the series' standards.

  

   I suppose the first "ALIEN" movie I saw in theaters was Ridley Scott's quasi-prequel, Prometheus, in summer of 2012. A far more heavy divisive entry in the ALIEN saga, I still don't quite know how I feel about Prometheus even five year after its initial release. My first reactions were that it was complex, but in the end tied into ALIEN wonderfully. However, after a couple of weeks and after rewatching ALIEN again, I began to feel a bit frustrated on how the movies connected exactly.

   Aside from its connection to ALIEN, Prometheus is a very well-made science fiction film with deep themes of our creators and what lies beyond. More in line with something like Ridley Scott's Blade Runner than any of the ALIEN films. Ridley Scott's return to science fiction is welcome and he shows no signs of age when it comes to creating futuristic technology and beautiful landscapes over extraterrestrial planets. It's a very sleek science fiction movie. Perhaps too sleek since the movie is set something like 100 years before the events of ALIEN and they had no holograms or wild tracking devices on their ships. But either way, the artistry cannot be ignored in this prequel.

  The performances are all great as well, even though there are too many characters in play yet again. The real standout is Michael Fassbender as David. One of the best actors of our time and he is just absolutely incredible as the lone android in the film.

  Many of my problems with Prometheus may be due to the fact that I am an ALIEN fan and wouldn't have minded a bit more connection to the ALIEN universe, but I also think that it's partly due to the fact that the film answers absolutely none of its own questions. That wouldn't be a problem if the main credited screenwriter wasn't named Damon Lindleof. After finishing the series of Lost, Lindleof  has been known for creating intriguing questions that wind up having no answer or are just complete nonsense. It makes me wonder if all of the confusion in Prometheus is at the service of nothing. 

  I remember watching the special features on the blu-ray for Prometheus. The one that was advertised saying, "Questions will be answered," and unless your main questions were about Noomi Rapace's workout regimen, you'd be severely disappointed. Anyway, I found out that Prometheus  had another screenwriter, whose original script was a straight up ALIEN prequel full of facehuggers and chest bursters. It wasn't until Lindleof came in and sucked all the energy out of the film's final act that it became more of an oddity. It's a shame, but I feel like Ridley Scott is going to retcon this with the upcoming Prometheus sequel/ ALIEN prequel; ALIEN: Covenant.

  All in all though, Prometheus still may be the best ALIEN film since ALIENS. It does something new and expands the world in interesting philosophical ways, even if I can't always quite understand it. It's brutal and is smarter than your average modern blockbuster....or at least I think it is. So many conflicting feelings.

 Well, as you can see the ALIEN franchise has had a long road with ups and downs, but with more stories on the way,  it is the series' unpredictability that will keep me coming back for years to come.

Happy ALIEN DAY!

Article by: Josh McCormack