31 Days of Halloween Films #13: Alien
The Lowdown: An intergalactic freighter gets terrorized by an alien presence, seemingly incubating itself in human bodies and bleeding acid, making it a very hard to kill adversary. Shit goes down.
The Breakdown: What can you say about Alien that hasn’t already been said? It’s a bonafide classic, launched Sigourney Weaver into the forefront of Hollywood stardom and helped make Ridley Scott a household name. From the opening title sequence to the spectacular finale, Alien remains one of the best examples of sci-fi/horror out there. From the tense atmosphere to the claustrophobic cinematography, Alien creates a mood and tone of unknown fear that permeates every frame of the film. By elevating the sci-fi genre into something of high-art, Alien continues to be a staple of the Halloween season for me because of its’ effective score, fantastic direction and superb acting.
Alien, at its’ core, is a story about survival. Despite being in outer space, the characters in the film are put at odds with everything surrounding them. From moments where the alien appears out of the darkness to scenes where Ripley must expose herself to the coldness of space to blast the creature away for good, the film does an adequate job reminding you of the struggles of a situation where there really is no escape. In a post-Gravity world, it’s easy to call Alien cheesy, but it is important to remember that this type of situation hadn’t been explored before Scott made this film, which gives me a lot of adoration for the film.
The creature effects, coupled with the casting, are probably my two favorite elements of the film. The entire cast is a group of true heavy-hitters, from Sigourney Weaver all the way down to the amazing Harry Dean Stanton. Everyone here is on their A-game and it shows. The creature effects, designed by H.R. Giger, are just as impressive. By employing a highly sexualized approach to the alien’s design, it comes across as something darkly compelling, with certain lines in its’ “genetic” makeup that give it a look of perpetual motion and momentum.
The Comedown: Alien is revered amongst film fans for a reason. While it doesn’t scream “Halloween film”, it is one of the very best films the sci-fi/horror genre has to offer, and fits right in with other films to watch in October. While I, personally, am not a fan of the sequels/spinoffs beyond Aliens, the original film’s legacy can still be felt with films as recent as the aforementioned Gravity taking cues from it. Plus, any film where the cat lives in the end is alright by me.