The Alien Franchise

[BatmanFurst]

I know that this is art, and I like it!

What an amazing poster. Probably the best fan made Alien poster I've seen for the original film.

[The Laughing Fish]

I watched the short film Rakka starring Sigourney Weaver and directed by Neill Blomkamp a year ago, and was amazed and impressed by how brutal it is. This is the sort of sci-fi horror artistry that Alien as a franchise hasn't had for a long time, and I think Blomkamp not being able to bring his vision to life is a missed opportunity. Watch this and imagine an Alien (or even a good Alien vs. Predator crossover) could be if the setting took place on Earth.

Just keep in mind that this is obviously ***NSFW***.

[thecolorsblend]

Aliens tonight. As I say, I haven't seen it in decades. So I dimly remembered some parts (basically nearly everything with Bishop) and totally lost others (the queen getting dropped out the airlock).

All in all, it's a worthy sequel. And tbh, it's probably hard to follow Ridley Scott's thriller/horror approach. So, something a bit more like an action movie probably was a good call. And to give Cameron credit, the shift in tone isn't jarring at all. Noticeable but not disruptive.

Since I just finished a rewatch of Aliens, I want to revisit this.

At this point, I'm torn as to whether I still like Scott's film better than Cameron's. Because Aliens does deliver the action-adventure quotient in a huge way.

Strangely enough, my quibble about Aliens is the fate of Burke. He needed to get his comeuppance, yes. But in retrospect, I think it should've been at the hands of one of the characters. There's poetic justice, I suppose, in Burke being killed by the very monster that he was trying to capture. Still, I think Ripley or MAYBE Hicks should've given Burke his due.

I also admit that my own biases could be clouding my judgment. I used to know a similar kind of ruthless, spineless little worm like Burke. And oddly enough, his last name was also Burke. So, that could be affecting the way I see things.

Still, it was a blast watching Aliens. I ate plenty of popcorn and had a great time with it.

On a semi-related note, between Alien, Halloween, The Matrix and maybe other franchises that I'm forgetting, I'm starting to think that titling any movie in your series with "Resurrection" is the kiss of death. Yes, I love Halloween Resurrection. But I love it because of its flaws. The facts are that those flaws exist and they're a major turnoff for 99% of audiences. Same with the flaws in the other films with "Resurrection" in their title.

[Silver Nemesis]

At this point, I'm torn as to whether I still like Scott's film better than Cameron's. Because Aliens does deliver the action-adventure quotient in a huge way.

That's one of the eternal questions, like which is better out of Godfathers I and II. I think Alien is probably a better film, and certainly must be credited with introducing the entire mythology, but I generally enjoy Aliens more. It's a superb sequel that builds on the first film and expands the mythology. I'd rate them both 10/10, but if you told me I had to watch an Alien movie tonight, I'd pick Cameron's film.

As for which version of Aliens is better, the theatrical cut or the extended special edition, I'd take the extended version any day. The subplot about Ripley's daughter adds a whole extra layer to her character arc and to her relationship with Newt, and the sentry gun sequence is one of the most suspenseful and well edited scenes in the movie. I also like the before-and-after contrast we get from seeing what Newt and the colony were like before the Xenomorphs found them.

Strangely enough, my quibble about Aliens is the fate of Burke. He needed to get his comeuppance, yes. But in retrospect, I think it should've been at the hands of one of the characters. There's poetic justice, I suppose, in Burke being killed by the very monster that he was trying to capture. Still, I think Ripley or MAYBE Hicks should've given Burke his due.

You might enjoy the following deleted scene. It takes place during the sequence where Ripley is searching for Newt in the nest. It reveals that Burke's fate was not as quick as the final edit makes it appear.

On a semi-related note, between Alien, Halloween, The Matrix and maybe other franchises that I'm forgetting, I'm starting to think that titling any movie in your series with "Resurrection" is the kiss of death. Yes, I love Halloween Resurrection. But I love it because of its flaws. The facts are that those flaws exist and they're a major turnoff for 99% of audiences. Same with the flaws in the other films with "Resurrection" in their title.

I'm trying to think of an exception to that rule, but I can't. Hopefully Mel Gibson's sequel to The Passion – which is subtitled The Resurrection – will break the trend.

[The Dark Knight]

I prefer the original film but have plenty of time for Aliens. They're some of the best films ever made in my book. I started out as a big Predator fan and there was no question I preferred them over the xenos. But over time I've gone the other way. The original Predator film is a classic, but I find the xenomorph lifeform and the futuristic settings more interesting. Just like the first two Terminator films, we will always have the first two Alien films and that's all we'll ever need.

[thecolorsblend]

I bought the set of all six Alien films. But my only real priorities were the first three. But watching Aliens last night made me curious about the others. I've seen Resurrection at least once before. Which was arguably one too many.

But I never did get around to Prometheus. Given my respect for Ridley Scott, that seemed like an unnecessary oversight. And so, here I am.

I'm 48:56 into Prometheus and I'm enjoying it. I understand what others mean when they say this isn't a conventional Alien film. Which is whatever. Still, I am enjoying this thing as an imaginative sci-fi film. But as I say that, I do have to acknowledge that so far, this thing isn't shaping up to be my first choice if I want to watch a movie about xenomorphs tearing stuff up.

[The Joker]

Alien EC Comics Style

[Silver Nemesis]

Alien EC Comics Style

Very apt, given that Alien was partly inspired by stories published in EC titles. One in particular was 'Seeds of Jupiter' from Weird Science V1 #8 (July 1951), in which a mysterious orb falls from the sky onto an American aircraft carrier. It breaks open on impact and spills seeds onto the deck.

A sailor tricks his friend into eating one of the seeds. You can see where this is going.

The sailor does not react well.

His friends rush him to the ship's medical officer, who tries operating to save his life.

When they cut the sailor open a slimy alien emerges from his stomach.

The crewmen look on in shock as the gruesome little creature flees overboard.

But it later returns, having rapidly grown to an enormous size.

On the Alien Quadrilogy DVD features Alien screenwriter Dan O'Bannon confirmed this story was an influence on the first movie:

'There were comic books too: EC's Weird Science and its companion publication, Weird Fantasy. I recall one fondly, about seeds from outer space which fell onto the deck of a Navy destroyer, and an incautious sailor ate one. A horrible, tentacled monster hatched out of him.'

In the 2019 documentary Memory: The Origins of Alien the filmmakers highlight some other comics that influenced the original film, but I forget what they were.

And while we're on the subject of comic connections, it's worth mentioning that Alien producer Walter Hill later went on to produce the HBO Tales from the Crypt TV series that adapted many of EC's classic horror comics. So he was clearly a fan of the publisher too.

[The Joker]

Learn something new every day I guess.

I had no idea about the "Weird Science/Seeds of Jupiter" influence on Alien, but that's pretty cool.

[Silver Nemesis]