[HorrorScience] Alien (1979)

HorrorScience returns and does so with one of the most important films in genres such as horror and science fiction: Alien, also known as Alien, the eighth passenger.

A few months ago I commented on the movies Item! The Terror From Beyond Space and Terror in space, which are direct inspirations of what we will see in this film. So if you are fans of the saga, I recommend taking a look at them.

I am sure that many of you already know this film due to its fame and the fact that it was the beginning of the saga. Alien, which is currently back in fashion because a new movie is coming soon (for better or worse).

The commercial ship Nostromo interrupts its long journey back to Earth after detecting a strange signal from a nearby planet. Despite the resistance of the crew, Dallas (the captain) decides to stop on the planet to see what it is all about.

The landing ends up being more spectacular than expected and damages the ship slightly, so while the engineers (Bret and Parker) repair it, Captain Dallas and his two officers (Kane and Lambert) go out to explore the planet and look for the origin of the signal, which remains indecipherable, despite the efforts of Petty Officer Ripley and Science Officer Ash.  after a while They discover a huge spaceship, which seems to have been abandoned on that planet for a long time. Initially they find a single crew member, with a humanoid appearance but much larger in size who seems to have been dead for a long time, but after an exhaustive investigation they also find an area full of strange eggs, from which a creature will emerge that will attack Kane and stick to his face.

After returning to the Nostromo ship to try to save Kane's life, they will discover that the creature has acidic blood, making it impossible to remove it from its face, so they leave their companion's body locked up and under observation while they debate what to do. At this point in the film, the friction between the crew members is already more than evident and only the news of Kane's improvement will momentarily unite them, just enough time for a strange alien being to emerge from the chest of the battered officer, killing him on the spot and then fleeing and hiding among the recesses of the ship.

Determined to eliminate the creature, the 6 remaining members begin to explore the ship, but they will be unpleasantly surprised that the Alien is now in its final form, being now much larger, more agile and stronger than a human.

Alien is a gem of horror and science fiction cinemaI hadn't seen it in more than 10 years and it surprised me. how well it has aged in practically every aspect. The atmosphere is excellent throughout, largely thanks to the sets, which are spectacular (the alien ship appears to be otherworldly and feels huge, and the Nostromo is full of hallways, doors and ladders, which is ideal for the Alien to hide in).

Despite the years that have passed, the Alien is still fearsome. While it is true that when it is in its final form there are some scenes in which it looks something “artificial”, in the majority of the film it is terrifying. H.R. Giger designed a creature with no expiration date.

The characters are somewhat typical, but they are not ridiculous or act strangely (well, maybe one of them does, but then they explain why).  Little can be said about Ellen Ripley that hasn't already been said, since she is the quintessential heroine of science fiction and the best of all is that in this film she doesn't even act like one, she simply seeks to survive or do the right thing, no one-liners for life and exaggerated action scenes, that makes the character much more relatable and pleasant.

The only drawback I see with this movie is that some scenes are a bit slow and break the rhythm slightly, something that I personally don't like too much. It is also true that if you have seen Item! The Terror from Beyond Space and Terror in space This film is less surprising due to the similarity in concept and scenes with the two, although this is not a bad thing either, since Alien It undoubtedly surpasses them.

Curiosities about the film:

• The Alien's slime was not originally planned, it was a side effect of the suit's lubrication. Seeing that it gave the creature a terrifying appearance, they decided to use it and increase it.
• Inside the Alien suit was Bolaji Badejo, who got the role because he was very tall (2 meters and 18 centimeters) and thin.

• The egg that appears on the poster is a chicken egg and its design is different from the one we see during the film because the poster was made before filming began.
• The title of this film was going to be Star Beast
• H.R. Giger was responsible for the design of the Alien (in all its forms) and the sets. He was apparently chosen after the film's creators saw his Necronom IV drawing, which was used as inspiration for the Alien design.

• In the original script the only survivor was going to be the cat.
• To make the film cheaper, the interior sets of the Nostromo were shot in an airplane graveyard.