Film: Alien
Director: Ridley Scott
Country: UK / USA
Released: May 1979
Runtime: 116 minutes
Genre: Science Fiction
Studio: Brandywine / 20th Century Fox
Influenced: James Cameron, David Fincher, Neill Blomkamp, Denis Villeneuve, Julia Ducournau
With its unique blend of science fiction and horror, Alien revolutionised both genres and was an instant hit with audiences. The idea for the film came out of a collaboration between scriptwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, who were inspired by various sources, including H.P. Lovecraft's works and the 1958 sci-fi film "It! The Terror from Beyond Space". O'Bannon developed an earlier script he wrote called Memory to tell the story of a commercial spacecraft Nostromo and its crew who receive a distress signal from a nearby planet and investigate, only to discover an alien spacecraft and a chamber filled with mysterious eggs. One of the eggs hatches, and a creature latches onto the face of crew member Kane. The crew brings Kane back to the ship, unaware that the creature has implanted an alien embryo inside him.
The initial encounter with the facehugger, which attaches itself to Kane's face, is a scene that still jolts me despite repeat viewings of the film and Scott uses it cleverly to set the stage for the horror that follows. As the crew eats a meal, Kane suddenly convulses and a small alien bursts from his chest, quickly growing into a larger, aggressive creature known as the Xenomorph. The chestburster scene is one of the most memorable and shocking moments in cinema history. The Xenomorph begins hunting down and killing the crew one by one, using its unique abilities and acid blood to deadly effect. The remaining crew members, led by Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), attempt to destroy the creature and escape the ship before it's too late.
One of the film's great strengths is its visual style, largely masterminded by Swiss artist H.R. Giger, whose biomechanical designs, especially the Xenomorph, were unlike anything seen before and added a new level of visceral horror to the genre. The influence of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos is clearly evident in Giger's designs, while his background in industrial design led him to incorporate elements such as pipes, cables and skeletal structures into his vision for the film, giving it a mechanical and industrial feel. Alien is also notable for the groundbreaking way in which it feature a strong, resourceful female character in the lead role. Weaver's portrayal of Ripley shattered gender stereotypes in the genre and she was backed up by fine performances from English actors John Hurt and Ian Holm, the latter particularly masterful in the way he balances Ash's seemingly benign demeanour with an underlying sense of unease.
Scott builds the tension in the film to an almost unbearable level, especially during the scenes in which Captain Dallas attempts to flush the Xenomorph out of the ship's ventilation system, only to be ambushed and killed in one of the film's most suspenseful sequences. The climax of the film sees Ripley, the last surviving crew member, face off against the fully grown Xenomorph. The film's success led to a franchise that includes sequels, prequels, spin-offs, novels, comics, video games and more. The most notable sequel, Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron, further expanded the universe. Alien's themes of body horror, corporate greed and the fear of the unknown continue to resonate with audiences, and its cinematography and groundbreaking visual effects have made it a seminal film in the science fiction genre.
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