The Alien quadrilogy recap, Part 4 (Alien Resurrection)

Over the next few days my friend and expert on the horror genre Lizzy will be recapping the Alien quadrilogy, reminding us what happened in the previous films and giving us some analysis, trivia and background about this classic series, then she'll be taking on prometheus, including thoughts on the alternative start and endings. Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have! Beware though, ahead are quite a few spoilers.

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Rotten Tomatoes rating 52%

Witness the resurrection 

When it opened Alien Resurrection was met with mixed reviews. Some critics praised the film as an enjoyable ride while others were rather scathing. Those who disliked the film tended to blame writer Joss Whedon stating that despite the best efforts of the actors and directors the scripting of the action sequences let the film down. Whedon himself dislikes the finished film when he was asked what he thought the problem was he blamed the actors, complaining that they did and said everything wrong. 

The director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was generally praised for revisiting old ideas and adapting them in his own quirky style. Interestingly Jeunet was the second choice of director. The studio originally wanted Danny Boyle but he was busy with A Life Less Ordinary. At the time of filming Jeunet was unable to speak English and had to communicate with the crew via a translator, apart from Dominique Pinon who as well as being a francophone had been in three previous Jeunet efforts.

At the end of Alien³ Ripley commits suicide by jumping into a vat of hot lead in order to prevent the company from getting its hands on the alien queen growing inside her. Resurrection begins two hundred years later with a shot of a young girl growing inside a tube. This shot was mocked up using photographs of Sigourney Weaver as a child,

The first time that we see Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) she is unconscious on an operating table. Dr Gediman (Brad Dourif) leads a group of surgeons in the extraction of the alien queen. The life of the host is an afterthought but on seeing that her life signs are stable, Gediman tells his team to stitch her up. Before the doctor can do this however the sedated Ripley grabs him around the neck and slams him against the viewing window. 

In the following scene Ripley emerges from a cocoon like shroud. The doctors refer to her as number 8, the number that is tattooed on her arm. The doctors are pleased with her progress but her aggression is off the chart. In a later examination she is seen strapped to a chair. 

Watching Ripley’s progress is General Perez (Dan Hedya). Unlike the doctors he is not pleased with Ripley’s progress. He is particularly unhappy with the fact that Ripley has memories as the previous Ripley sabotaged the plan they are currently undertaking. He states that he is willing to terminate Ripley at anytime. The real prize is the fully grow alien queen they have locked away.

Over another breakfast Ripley (who is in handcuffs) asks Gediman how she was created. He tells her that they searched Fiorina for her remains and through hard work she was cloned, of course this is impossible but in horror films it is often necessary to suspend disbelief.

Ripley asks if the alien is growing and Gediman answers in the affirmative. Ripley then tells him that once the queen breeds he will die, everyone in the company will die. Dr Wren (J.E. Freeman) comes in and informs Ripley that they company folded long ago and that they are on a military station. He goes on to tell Ripley that the species has potential for urban control once it has been tamed. Ripley laughs and replies that the aliens cannot be taught tricks. He retorts that they are already teaching tricks to Ripley.

Meanwhile the Betty arrives. Down in the bowels of the ship we are introduced to the crippled engineer Vriess (Dominique Pinon, Jeunet’s answer to Johnny Depp) and his patient assistant Call (Winona Ryder). Watching them work is Johner (Ron Perlman) who throws a knife into Vriess’s leg. When Vriess complains Johner points out that he can't feel the wound anyway. This enrages Call who breaks the knife rather than give it back to its owner.

The Betty is a mercenary ship and its officers Elgyn (Michael Wincott) and Christie (Gary Dourdan) are unhappy at having to surrender to military authority.

As Elgyn receives the cash payment for his services he asks Perez why a military lab is operating outside regulated space. Perez makes it clear that the Betty’s crew is not to go wandering around the ship.  Consequently there is a heavy guard as they transfer the cargo to the medi-lab.

The Betty has been transporting cryopods complete with human occupants. In the following scene the colonists are show held in front alien eggs. As one opens the unfortunate host awakes and screams while the doctors watch.

The eggs in Resurrection are different from those in Alien. Jeunet apparently felt that the static eggs from the original film were unrealistic and so had them redesigned. As well as pulsing the new ones also have a wetter looking texture.

Elsewhere the crew meets Ripley as she is playing basketball. Chauvinistic predator Johner challenges her to a game. As he invades her personal space she teases him with the ball. She then attacks knocking out both Johner and Christie who hits her in the face with a barbell cause her nose to bleed. The scientists come and call Ripley off but as she leaves she wipes away the blood and a drop falls to the floor, where it burns a hole.

At the end of this scene Ripley throws a basketball behind her without looking and it goes through the hoop. Prior to filming Sigourney Weaver took six weeks of basketball lessons and practiced this shot. Due to the difficulty in getting it right and the cost of retakes Jean-Pierre Jeunet wanted to edit in the ball being dropped into the basket. Weaver persuaded him to let her try to do it for real and miraculously managed to make the shot first time. Jeunet however was still unhappy. He thought that viewers would assume the throw was faked and wanted to edit it out completely. Sigourney Weaver, who has a production credit, persuaded him not to by telling him that making the basket first time was her third best moment ever- the first two were her wedding and the birth of her daughter. 

Night falls. In a nice little touch Perez is shown setting fire to black polish before shining his boots.

Gediman studies the captive queen. As he watches her he mimics her expression and then kisses the observation window. This suggests that he has disturbing affection. He admires it in a way that can be a little uncomfortable to watch. The queen however does not share his feelings She responds by attacking the glass with her inner jaw. Gediman blasts her and she squeals. When he goes to press the button again the queen backs away showing that she is learning. 

Johner, Christie and Call are drinking and watching a shopping channel. Call appears drunk and when she spills their liquor Johner tells her to take a walk. Once she leaves them she is shown sober and breaks into Ripley’s cell. She goes to attack Ripley but stops when she sees the scar on Ripley’s chest.

Call asks Ripley where the alien is. She then asks who Ripley is. When Ripley recites her name Call points out that Ripley died two hundred years ago and that she is a construct grown in a lab. Call states that she will die to kill the alien. Ripley states that it can't be killed.

Call is caught and the soldiers corner the Betty’s crew. They are charged with terrorism but attack and kill their captors. Elgyn interrogates Call who tries to explain about the aliens. Like all the male authority figures in these films he doesn't listen.

Meanwhile the aliens realise that they are unguarded and sacrifice one of their own to escape.  Gediman goes on to investigate and is taken out by a leathery hand. 

The alerts sound and the soldiers begin the evacuation. Vriess is separated from the others and as he sits isolated in his wheelchair an alien crawls above him. He shoots and acid drips onto his legs. Unfortunately he only feels it when a drop hits his ear and he begins to scream.

The Ripley clone uses her strength and blood to escape, the same way that the aliens have.

The soldiers evacuate in an escape pod but do not get very far as Perez blows them up to kill the alien that has managed to get inside the pod. As he salutes the explosion an alien attacks from behind.  His last action is to pull part of his brain from the back of his own head.

The mercenaries are trying to get back to the Betty. Elgyn gets separated and falls through and unstable floor. When the others try to pull him out only his torso remains. An alien rises up and the other run. As the alien investigates the corpse a gun pokes out from the hole in Elgyn’s chest and blow’s its head away. Pushing aside the body Ripley climbs out of the hole in the floor.

The mercenaries find Wren and Distephano (Raymond Cruz) who is one of the soldiers. Wren tells them there are another twelve aliens. Ripley tries to take charge but Call argues that she is not to be trusted. Christie argues that they need to work together in order to escape.

As they travel down the corridor one of the lifts beeps. They raise their guns and prepare for an attack but when the doors open it is only Vriess. His line here is Who were you expecting? Santa Claus. In the original script the line ended with Easter Bunny but Dominique Pinon couldn’t say Easter and it kept coming out eastern so it had to be re-written. As a joke the entire crew had t-shirts printed with the misspoken line. 

It is then revealed that if there is a problem the ship returns to the Earth. The survivors decide that they have to blow up the ship. No surprises there then.

As they attempt to escape Johner asks Ripley what happened the last time that she ran into the aliens. She replies I died.

In the following scene Ripley finds a door marked 1-7. Inside the previous seven attempts to clone Ripley and her offspring. Ripley enters and views tubes what look like freak show exhibits. The worst however is a living hybrid with a human face that begs for death. Call hands Ripley a flamethrower and in a reference to the death of Ash she torches the room.

Next the escapees come across the dead colonists with the holes in their chests. One, Larry Purvis (Leland Orser), is still alive hiding behind the pods. He freaks out when Ripley approaches and asks what is happening. Ripley tells him that the mercenaries kidnapped him and put a monster in his chest, which will burst through his rib cage, and he will die. He then asks who she is. Ripley tells him that she is the monster’s mother.

After an argument they take the victim with them. As they enter the cooling tanks they have to leave Vriess’s chair behind so Christie straps him to his back.

The cooling tanks are flooded. These underwater scenes took three weeks to film and like Singing in the Rain milk had to be added to the water to make it show up on film.

As they swim through the flooded rooms the aliens follow, gliding effortlessly through the water. In the ensuing flight one of the crew is lost. Ripley watches her die with an expression of curiosity.

A membrane covers the surface of the water. A ring of eggs surrounds it and another crewmember is attacked by a facehugger. As he falls Christie blasts at the eggs. Allowing the swimmers to escape before the pursuing alien attacks.

Wren leads the team up the ladder. At the top he pretends that they door won’t open and asks Call for her gun. She foolishly hands it to him and he shoots her in the chest. While they are trying to deal with Wren the alien climbs the ladder. In killing it Christie is burned with acid. Viress is left clinging to the ladder supporting himself, Christie and the alien. Christie commits the supreme sacrifice to destroy the alien by unclipping himself from Viress.

While the others are recovering from this the door opens and there stand Call dripping wet. When they demand to know how she survived she is found to be an android. Not just any android either, Call is an android built by androids. There is suggestion that Call is a mistake. She was built to be too human.

Call is forced to access the main computer by hard wiring herself to it. As already stated Call has feelings in the way that the previous androids do not. Ripley describes her as being too human to be human. Accessing the computer makes it clear that she is a piece of machinery and this upsets her.

Having the computer she discovers that the ship has lost too much power to detonate. So Ripley tells her to crash it. She changes the destination of the ship to an uninhabited area and resets the ground level. Wren meanwhile is trying to override the system but Call stops him and alerts the aliens to his presence.

Ripley and Call bond as Ripley tries to patch the android up. Glimmers of Ripley’s maternal side emerge. Call tells her that before she was recalled she accessed the government’s computer and tried to save the crew of the Betty from themselves. Ripley tells Call that she once tried to save people. She tells her about Newt but says that she can no longer remember the girl’s name.

As they near the docks the Ripley clone senses that they are near the nest and that they alien queen is in pain. She climbs into the nest and is caressed by her offspring. The studio wanted to cut this scene as they thought it could be interpreted as a love scene. Sigourney Weaver insisted that it stay in.

The crew make it back to the Betty but are ambushed by Wren who shoots Purvis. As he tries to blackmail the crew into taking the aliens back to Earth. Purvis, whose chest is beginning to pulsate, drags himself off his deathbed and attacks Wren. He holds Wren to his chest so that the baby alien burst through them both.

In the nest the cocooned Gediman explains that the queen developed a second reproductive chamber. This one was a womb with a single baby. This is a part human part alien hybrid and was Ripley’s true offspring.

The queen gives birth to an albino hybrid with a human face. This new alien kills its mother as it emerges and then attempts to bond with Ripley. It makes an almost human cry as it licks her face.

Ripley flees the nest as the hybrid kills Gediman. As always she has only moments to spare to get away making a death-defying leap onto the Betty. Distephano quips I thought you were dead, to which Ripley replies I get that alot.

As always an alien tries to hitch a ride. The hybrid surprises Call in the cargo hold. It seems either curious or scared as the Betty takes off. It then kills the final soldier and attempts to hurt Call. Ripley enters and like a mother scalding a child tells the alien to put her down. The alien complies and then Ripley sucks it out into space.

In the director’s cut Ripley and Call arrive back on Earth. Their final conversation takes place above the ruins of Paris with the Eiffel Tower broken in the background.

Alien Resurrection is one of those films that a lot of people did not see the point of. On paper it is actually one of the strongest films having a well-regarded director, writer and cast. In previous instalments the actors had been up and coming stars, most of the secondary characters in Aliens got the job because they had just done Terminator. In Resurrection however they were already established names. Brad Dourif had been some of the most critically acclaimed films of all time and would go onto be Grima Wormtongue.  He was also a legend in the horror genre for providing the voice of Chucky in the Child’s Play films.

Winona Ryder got second billing for Resurrection. By the time she made the film she had already crossed over from being a child start and had been nominated for two Oscars. Yet she apparently agreed to the film without even reading a script. Apparently she was a big Alien fan and wanted to show off to her younger brothers.

Despite being set in space several centuries in the future it is very much a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film. There are the same functional sets as the previous films but lit and stylised in a way that makes ugly things pretty. The colours in this film are vivid and sumptuous. Even the lighting has been carefully crafted. As the film goes on it gets dark.

The final reference is in the final scene of the director’s cut. Here is a ruined Paris engulfed by a rising dust line, the same as the one that covers the outside world in Jeunet’s previous film Delicatessen.

Alien Resurrection is a film that does not appear to take itself too seriously.  When he agreed to make the film Jean-Pierre Jeunet was encouraged to make it more violent in keeping with horror films of the late 90’s. He opted to make it a black comedy with lots of knowing little references to original Alien. This is always a risk however not taking itself seriously is one of Resurrection’s strengths. A third sequel is never going to be able to break new ground but being fun may make it memorable.

The Alien quadrilogy recap, Part 3 (Alien³)

Over the next few days my friend and expert on the horror genre Lizzy will be recapping the Alien quadrilogy, reminding us what happened in the previous films and giving us some analysis, trivia and background about this classic series, then she'll be taking on prometheus, including thoughts on the alternative start and endings. Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have! Beware though, ahead are quite a few spoilers.

Alien³ (1992)

Director: David Fincher

Rotten Tomatoes rating 42%

Start running…again

Alien³ had a troubled birth. When shooting began there was no finished script. The proposed director was cut before the shooting started and David Fincher, who had never made a feature film, was brought in at the last minute. Fincher was never given complete control of the script and the film was hacked to pieces without the director’s knowledge. Fincher went on to direct several Oscar winning films and has completely disowned Alien³. Unlike the Scott, Cameron and Jeunet, Fincher did not record an introduction for the box set.

As the opening credits of Alien³ , the assembly cut, unfold a facehugger crawls across the cryo-tubes and a pod jettisons from the ship Ripley and the others were escaping on. The pod crashes on Fiorina 161, a planet housing a maximum-security penal colony.

Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the only survivor and her arrival courses ructions with all male population. Some seem overjoyed at her arrival while others are angry pointing out that they have all taken the pledge. Super Andrews (Brian Glover) mindful of the fact that most of his charges have been convinced of sexual offences decrees that Ripley will stay in the infirmary until the authorities come to pick her up.

In the infirmary Ripley awakens as she receiving an injection from the doctor Clemens (Charles Dance). He tells her what happened to the others and she demands to see the wreckage. Newt is reported to have drowned in the cryo-tube. Her body was intact and was taken to the morgue. The body that is shown of Newt is in fact one of the dummies of Carrie Henn for the escape sequence in Aliens.

Ripley demands an autopsy citing a contagion. Clemens performs this and finds nothing he did not expect to see but before he can confront Ripley Andrews arrives. Clemens lies to Andrews telling that he was making sure that there was no outbreak of cholera. Andrews responds by informing Ripley of the scum that populate his prison and warning her to stay away until the rescue ship arrives.

As Andrews precedes over the cremation of Newt and Hick the carcass of an ox –in the cinema release this is a dog- begins to break apart. The religious text delivered by preacher Dillon (Charles S. Dutton) is intercut with scenes of the unobserved baby alien breaking out and running away. At the same time Ripley has a nosebleed.

Ripley, who is now shaven headed and in prison fatigues, causes heads to turn as she enters the canteen. She tried to thank Dillon for his words but he tells her that he is a murderer and rapist and she doesn't want to know him. He then informs her that he is waiting for God to return. 

Sitting above the others Clemens explains the religion that the prisoners have. Those that remain on the planet practice a fundamentalist hybrid of apocalyptical faith. They have also chose to stay on Fiorina. Having explained this Clemens asks Ripley to tell him why she really wanted the autopsy. She does not tell him.

In the pipes far below the alien claims its first prey just before Ripley is seen waking up next to Clemens who is revealed to have a barcode on his back. He tells her that he is not a prisoner but demurs when she asks for an explanation.

Clemens is called to the alien’s victim. The unfortunate man was pulled into a fan. It is assumed that the air carried him in after getting too close but there is a burn in the metal of the fan the same as the one that was on Ripley’s pod.

After seeing this, the doctor goes to find Ripley. He finds her searching the wreckage for the flight recorder. She asks for an audio computer, which the colony does not have. Instead she decides to find Bishop’s remains.

Clemens is called to Andrews. The network is interested in Ripley. They want her closely observed. When Clemens tries to walk out Andrews bullies him into staying. He hints that knows something has been going on between Clemens and Ripley and demands details about her. Clemens gives the bare minimum.

Ripley meanwhile searches the rubbish tip and finds Bishop’s remains. As she carries him back inside she is attacked by a group of prisoners. Before they can gang rape her, an angry Dillon comes to her aid and re-educates them.

In a darken chamber the alien claims its second victim. This time there are witnesses. As these men try to escape, in a rather confused way and while screaming, the alien picks another one off.

Ripley reconnects Bishop’s melted top half. She asks him to access the flight recorder. From this she discovers that there was an alien aboard the ship. She asks if the company knows and Bishop informs her that they know everything. He then asks her to be disconnected stated that he would rather be nothing than not be top of the line.

The alien survivor Gollic (Paul McGann) is found burned and raving. He states that a dragon killed the others. Andrews prefers to belief that the man was responsible for the deaths but Ripley tells another tale. When she informs him of the alien threat she is horrified to learn that the colony has no weapons and the only link to the outside is a monthly supply ship.

Gollic continues to rant as Ripley receives treatment for a number of minor symptoms. He tells Ripley that she is going to die. Clemens curtains him away and then reveals the reason he is on Fiorina. He was a morphine addict and accidently killed a patient. When his sentence was up he chose to stay.

Across the room Gollic struggles against his restrains. Feet appear underneath the curtain and a shadow fills the space. The alien reaches out grabs Clemens and kills him. The alien, who appears anatomically different from those in previous instalments, presses its head to Ripley’s but it does not kill her.

Andrews has called the prisoners together to quash the rumours. As he is doing so Ripley runs in to tell him about Clemens. Andrews doesn’t have time to take this in as the alien grabs him and pulls him into the airshaft.

The men appear disorganised without Andrews and ask Ripley to be their leader as she is the closest thing to an officer they have. Bizarrely her rank in this film seems to her increase to Lieutenant. Ripley agrees and with the help of Mr Aaron (Ralph Brown) formulates a plan. They will burn the alien out and then trap it in the foundry.

As Ripley helps cover the walls with pitch she doubles over in pain. The fire starts prematurely burning out another couple of prisoners. Ripley, Aaron and Dillon try to lead the men to safety but the alien drags one away.

With the alien again on the loose and Ripley’s symptoms worsening. She gets herself to a medi scanner and with the help of Aaron runs the test. She is looking for haemorrhage but Aaron sees something different. Inside Ripley’s chest these is the embryo of an alien queen. 

Ripley tells Aaron to get the rescue team to turn back. He refuses because he is due to go home on the next rotation. Ripley tries to make him understand that the company will not kill the alien but Aaron is desperate to get back to his wife and kid. When Ripley goes to confront the alien knowing that it will not kill her while the queen is gestating the company makes contact and ordering Ripley to be quarantined.

Ripley goes to confront the alien. Despite having already seen that the alien will not attack her she tries to goad it into doing so. Ripley knows that she is under a death sentence and that they company will want the queen inside her. Yet feels unable to commit suicide. She explains this to Dillon who is sceptical about the alien. Ripley asks him to kill her but he refuses on the grounds that he needs Ripley to kill the alien. He promises that once it is dead he will euthanize her afterwards. 

Dillon tries to rally the prisoners for a suicide mission. Aaron refuses to belief that the company won't help them and thinks that they should wait for the rescue team. Ripley repeats the crew expendable order and after some stirring words from Dillon they decide it is better to go out fighting.

The plan is to trap the alien in the foundry and burn it in the molten lead. Once the alien is trapped men in white suits arrive. The first thing that they ask is if Ripley is still alive. While she is luring the alien through the lead works they storm through the canteen.

Meanwhile Dillon sacrifices himself to pin the alien down. Unfortunately the agile creature is able to jump out of the lead and though burning it's still alive. Ripley turns the sprinklers on it causing it to cool and shatter.

Before she can relax she comes face to face with Bishop. Only this Bishop is not an android. He is the designer for the company. He tells Ripley that they are not interested in the creature and that they are going to cut the queen out of her and destroy it. The human Bishop tells Ripley to trust him. For moment she appears to do so but then escapes to the walkway below.  Aaron at this point realises that Ripley was right and hits the company man over the head, which results in Aaron being shot. Bishop then tries to reason with Ripley but she takes a swan dive into the lead and escapes the company forever. 

Many people will say that they do not like Alien³. What many people are unable to explain is why. So far the most honest that I’ve heard was from my dad who said he didn’t like it because of Newt dying.

There is a theory that a flawed production creates a vibe that follows the film. This does not mean that the film is bad just that it will always be viewed as less than perfect. It may not be fair to view the film as tainted but there were definitely problems on set.

There are two stories about what went wrong with the editing of Alien³. The first is that David Fincher got so pissed off with the lack of control in the project that he walked out before it was finished. The other is that the film was edited without his knowledge.

Another completely apocryphal suggested that there was a completely different version of the film, as happened with the Exorcist prequels a few years ago. This is not true. There is no director’s cut of Alien³ instead there is the assembly cut release in 2003. This is 31 minutes longer than the theatre release and is basically the unedited version. Incidentally this edition contains more unreleased scenes than the director’s cuts of the other three films put together.

The original teaser trailer suggested that the film was set on Earth. Apparently it used the tagline On Earth Everyone Can Hear you Scream.

This idea was based on the graphic novels that had been released after Aliens. When the studio decided to change the official timeline of what happened to the survivors these had to be reissued with the character’s names altered. The little girl went from being Newt to Billy.

Then a draft of the script was started with the action set in a monastery. They actually started building sets for this and then altering them to fit the prison.

This was also the reason for the chastity pledge and the religion that the prisoners follow. There were many changes to the script but this was one of the ones that work best. Monks would not have been as interesting as characters. As it is Ripley is forced to band together with men who are deeply flawed and disturbed human beings. It explains the motivation that they have for sacrificing themselves. They are all searching for some sort of redemption. 

According to David Fincher’s account the studio was so desperate to repeat the success of Aliens that they did not want to lose control of the picture. What they ended up though with was a film that got lowest Rotten Tomatoes rating out of all the Alien films.

- Lizzy

The Alien quadrilogy recap, Part 2 (Alien)

Over the next few days my friend and expert on the horror genre Lizzy will be recapping the Alien quadrilogy, reminding us what happened in the previous films and giving us some analysis, trivia and background about this classic series, then she'll be taking on prometheus, including thoughts on the alternative start and endings. Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have! Beware though, ahead are quite a few spoilers.

Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron

Rotten Tomatoes rating 100%

This Time It’s War

There are several taglines for Aliens but the one above neatly sums up the premise of the film.

The story goes James Cameron had written a script for an Alien sequel before he started Terminator. The studio was unsure about the project. Alien has been such a bit hit and had been so well received that they were convinced that a follow up would be a commercial and financial disaster. James Cameron undeterred did two things. Firstly he wrote a better script and got Sigourney Weaver on and board. He then held a meeting where he wrote the word Alien added an S and then a line turning it into Alien$. The combination of showmanship and hard work paid off. Not only did they green light the project they allowed him to shelf it until after he had finished Terminator.

Alien begins with a salvage crew discovering the sleeping Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and complaining that they won’t get paid. Despite the hopeful message at the end of the first film our heroine was not picked up in a matter of weeks. Instead she has been drifting in space for 57 years.

Back on earth another aspect of Ripley’s character is revealed. In the first film the delay in return home visibly distressed her. In Aliens it is explained that she made a promise to return for her daughter’s birthday. By the time that she finally does get back the little girl has grown old and died not knowing that Ripley was waiting for her.

Before she has the chance to grieve Ripley is summoned to tribunal in front of company representatives. She is charged with blowing up a commercial vehicle and it’s payload and despite her defence is stripped of her rank. When she challenges the company men to investigate the planetoid, now named as LV-426, she is informed that colonists have lived there for the past twenty years. 

Meanwhile on LV-426 a family of salvagers come across a familiar wreck. Leaving the two children in the rover the adults go to investigate. Our introduction to Newt (Carrie Henn) comes as she anxiously points out that their parents have been a long time. On cue the mother knocks on the door and Newts opens it we first her piercing scream. The camera pans back showing Newt’s father lying prone on the ground with a facehugger tightly coiled around his head.

With contact to LV-426 lost Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) appears at Ripley’s door. She slams it in his face remembering how he threw her to the wolves at the tribunal. He persists informs her of the situation and through combination of blackmail and bribery tries to persuade her to accompany a rescues party of marines. She refuses but after another nightmare changes her mind. She does however have one condition, they will be going destroy the aliens not bring them back. Burke agrees but as we know from Alien the Weyland-Yutani Corporation is not to be trusted.

The last line that Ripley gets to speak on Earth is when she tells Jones that he will be staying behind this time. The cat looks unimpressed.

As the colonial marines wake up they are revealed as stereotypical servicemen shown is just about every Vietnam War film and apparently this was Cameron’s intention.

Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) is the wise ass; Sergeant Apone (Al Matthews) shouts a lot, the lieutenant, Gorman, (William Hope) is a source of derision and Privates Drake (Mark Rolston) and Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) are clearly meatheads. Vasquez is herself a stereotype, as people tend to pigeonhole female soldiers as being extremely butch. The other woman in the troop is Corporal Dietrich (Cynthia Scott) is the pilot who seems to be there to make up the numbers. Interestingly it is these two who are the first to be dismissive about Ripley.

The marines are generally scathing about the mission, describing it as just another bug hunt. There are also references to other alien species adding more questions about the universe in which these films take place.

The only one who does not join in with the clowning around, apart from Gorman, is Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn). Hicks is set up as being more serious, thoughtful and prepared to listen to Ripley. This lines him up as a potential romantic lead.

Over breakfast the marines cajole Bishop (Lance Henriksen) into performing his party piece. This involves stabbing the table in between his and Hudson’s fingers so fast that the moving hand almost becomes a blur. Uncharacteristically Bishop hits his finger and a thin line of white fluid oozes out. Ripley is horrified to discover that they are travelling with an android. She complains to Burke who addressing Bishop and not Ripley proceeds to tell an edited version of what happened with Ash. This makes it seem as though Ash went rogue and Bishop counters by stating that Ash must have been an outdated model and that he has been programmed never to do anything like that. He then recites Asminov’s first law of robotics but Ripley remains angry.

The marines fall in to receive orders. Unfortunately Lieutenant Gorman is unable to get their names right and defers to Ripley. As she tries to tell her story the soldiers cockily interrupt her. That is apart from Hicks who sits at the back smoking and staring dreamily in Ripley’s direction.

As they prepare to go down to the surface Ripley gets her chance to show off her loading skills. She drives the suit-like machine more efficiently than the marine in the background using the opportunity to flirt with Hicks who watches her with a wide smile on his face. This is another subversion of the classic male/female relationship. In most films the man gets to parade around looking cool while the woman gazes longingly but as always Ripley does things a little differently. 

After landing in the pouring rain the advanced party enters the control area. Predictable it is deserted. The walls show evidence of a firefight but there is no movement on either the scanners or the head cameras. The only thing that they find is a hole melted in the ground and evidence of nest building. The inexperienced Gorman declares the area secure demonstrating his ineptitude. Ripley tries to point out his mistake but like all weak leaders he shoots her down and ignores her advice. 

In the medi-lab are two live facehuggers in jars. While investigating the scanners pick up a moving object. A shadow runs across the screen. With guns pointed the hostile life form is found to be Newt hiding in the gratings. When she runs Ripley follows her and soothers her when she tries to get away. Ripley’s maternal side comes out as she draws the little girl out of her protective shell. Ripley tries to reassure Newt that she will be safe with the soldiers but Newt tells her that this won’t make any difference.

At the same time Bishop is in the lab dissecting a facehugger, which he describes as magnificent.

Hudson picks up life under the heat exchangers. The marines enter what they discover to be a hive. Unfortunately for them Ripley realises that if they fire their weapons the whole building will explode. The cameras reveal the remains of the colonists set in the walls. In the directors cut one of these is found alive begging for death, which unfortunately comes a moment later when a baby alien breaks out of her chest.

The scanners show life but visually there is nothing. As the marines curse their equipment aliens fold from the walls and attack. During the firefight that follows Ripley tries to persuade Gorman to fall the men back but he refuses. So she takes matters into her own hands, steals his vehicle and goes to the rescue.

After getting the depleted force to safety. Ripley suggests that they take off and nuke the installation from orbit. Burke vetoes this citing the cost to the company. Ripley points out that Hicks is in temporary command as Gorman is unconscious. Corporal Hicks reluctantly agrees with Ripley and after being insulted by Burke orders the nuke but as so often happens the plan goes wrong when an alien attacks Dietrich as she tries to take off bringing the transport crashing to the ground. 

Ripley takes charge and with Hicks plans a defensive strategy. At last with the two most sensible characters in charge things can only get better right? 

In the directors cut Corporal Hicks gives Ripley a tracker with a caveat that it does not mean that it means they are engaged. She then gives it to Newt to prevent bad dreams.

 Meanwhile Bishop has been busy. He has analysed the structure of the facehugger. The aliens are like insects meaning that they have a queen laying the eggs. Ripley orders Bishop to destroy the specimens when he is finished but he states that he is unable to comply as Burke ordered that they be taken back. Burke then tried to bribe Ripley who tells him that she will ensure that nothing gets through quarantine. 

After the aliens attack the survivors realise that they will not be able to last out until help arrives. The only way to get off LV-426 is to remote pilot the Sulaco in orbit from the colonial control. Bishop volunteers to go out and do this.

The defences hold but only just. Ripley tells Hicks that she does not want to end up in the hive. She asks him to shoot her if the time comes. He promises that he will kill them both and then shows Ripley how to use his gun.

Ripley then curls up asleep with Newt who she finds lying under the bed. When Ripley awakes she sees the specimen jar lying on its side. They call for help but Burke turns off the cameras. Ever resourceful Ripley sets off the fire alarm. The facehuggers attack. As Ripley fends off hers Newt proves she can do more than just scream by trapping the second one against the wall.

It is revealed to the party that the plan was to impregnate Ripley and Newt in order to smuggle them past quarantine but before the marines’ fury can be vented the aliens come back. Burke runs away trapping the other behind him but in films, or this one at least, evil men never triumph. As Burke tries to escape there is an alien waiting for him to give him his just desserts.

During the carnage that follows everyone apart from our substitute family dies. Newt leads the way through the vents but falls through a shaft before Hicks can grab her. The adults try to rescue her but aliens carry her away.

Bishop lands with the ship and in getting there Hicks is injured. Bishop tries to point out how close the detonation is but Ripley is determined to go back for Newt. She tools up and tells Hicks not to let Bishop take off. As Ripley leaves the ship she and Hicks exchange first names. This is significant as it is the first time that she is known as anything other than Ripley.

Ripley enters the hive and finds the tracker on the ground. Just as she is about to give up hope Newt screams. Ripley frees the little girl, picks her up and runs. Then she stops. In what is probably the most chilling scene of the whole film, the camera pans back and reveals the arachnid form of the queen towering above.

Soldier aliens advance from either side, protecting their queen. Ripley fires a warning flame at the eggs in from of her. The queen silently responds and the smaller aliens retreat allowing Ripley and Newt to escape. It can be argued that Ripley makes a mistake here, all be it an understandable one. The queen sees a human protecting a child by threatening her offspring. She allows the human to escape but the human then sets fire to her eggs anyway. It could be argued that Ripley brings on the subsequent attack by not fulfilling her side of the bargain.

Ripley and Newt get out of the hive but there is no ship waiting for them. Cursing Bishop they wait for the attack.

Before it can come Bishop arrives. They climb into the ship and the nuclear bomb goes off but just like the first film this is not the end. As Ripley makes peace with Bishop a giant tail spears him through the middle. The queen has hitched a ride to the larger ship proving the aliens can survive in the vacuum of space.

In order to redresses the size difference. Ripley climbs into a loader and fights the queen. She succeeds in sending her out of an airlock and Bishop redeems androids by preventing Newt from following. 

Finally they can go to sleep and dream. 

Everything about Aliens is bigger and better than its predecessor, even in its length. The director’s cut of Aliens comes in at around two and three quarter hours. The film ratchets up the violence and the number of deaths. It gives us a more explosions, more spaceships and a bigger and more dangerous alien. 

Characters and ideas are developed further in Aliens. In Alien the company is referred to as a shadowy presence. In Aliens it is given a name and faces. The corporate hierarchy is shown for the first time. 

Ripley is given a backstory and a first name. Having developed a strong female lead in the first film this one takes it to the logical progression by giving her both a maternal side and the chance to show her leadership skills. She also gets a love interest. In Alien Ripley is only seen in the context of the Nostromo and what happens to it. In the follow up she becomes a well-rounded character, not just a whole person but also the one you would choose to have on your side if going against aliens.

I once heard it argued by a film lecture that Ripley in Alien was a man played by a woman.  This made me angry as it detracted from the importance of Ripley been a strong female role in the horror genre. Aliens proves that this hypothesis doesn't stand up.

- Lizzy

The Alien quadrilogy recap, Part I (Alien)

Over the next few days my friend and expert on the horror genre Lizzy will be recapping the Alien quadrilogy, reminding us what happened in the previous films and giving us some analysis, trivia and background about this classic series, then she'll be taking on prometheus, including thoughts on the alternative start and endings. Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have! Beware though, ahead are a number of spoilers.

Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott

Rotten Tomatoes rating 97%

In space no one can hear you scream

In 1979 Alien disturbed sci-fi audiences as much with its grimy realism as it did with set piece shocks.  The opening sweep through the Nostromo reveals a working ship more akin to a North Sea trawler than the bridge of the enterprise. Aside from the stasis chambers, which adhere to convention being sleek white pods, the interior is made up of chains, iron grating, functional computers and discarded equipment.

In the following scenes the hierarchy of the crew is established. Over breakfast the engineers Parker (Yaphet Kotto) and Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) complain about their share of bonuses. Later they are dismissive of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) who is able to share a joke with Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) and Kane (John Hurt) but is later not included in the search party. She is the civilian equivalent of an NCO, not in charge but not one of the workers either. The captain, Dallas (Tom Skerritt) is shown a little apart but interestingly enough defers to Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm) when it comes to procedure. In these few scenes it is made clear that Ash will always toe the company line and that Ripley is a lone wolf.

The autopilot of the Nostromo responded to what is described as a distress signal. Ash points out that the company has a clause in the contract that requires all distress signals to be investigated. So the crew lands on a planetoid and Dallas, Kane and Lambert set off across the desolate wasteland to the wreck of a giant spaceship. In what is probably the second most famous scene in the film they discover the corpse of large and technologically advanced creature whose chest bones had been broken outwards.

Meanwhile back on the ship Ripley tells Ash that she has deciphered the message and it is not a distress call. It is a warning. Ash tells Ripley that it is too late to do anything and those on the surface will soon discover if there is any danger.

Of course it is not long before the danger appears. In a chamber full of leathery eggs Kane is attacked by the facehugger. Dallas and Lambert get him back to the airlock but Ripley refuses to let them in stating quarantine procedure. Ash overrides her and lets them in anyway. When Ripley confronts him, Ash tells her that he acted in Kane’s best interest which sound suspiciously false given Ash’s previous adherence to company policy.

It is soon established that the creature attached to Kane’s face is keeping him alive but will kill him to defend itself. This is also the scene where the crew find that it has acid for blood. After a while facehugger drops away and Kane appears to recover. He states he fills fine but hungry.

The legend behind the most famous scene is that only John Hurst knew what was going to happen. Some of the actors were reportedly told that they would have to hold John Hurt down. Others apparently knew nothing. The most startling reaction to the creature bursting from Kane’s chest comes from Lambert and according to the legend this was completely genuine.

After this the hunt begins. Firstly we are introduced to the eighth member of the Nostromo’s crew, Jones the cat. It is while Brett is trying to catch the cat that we get the first glimpse of the alien proper.  Like all the most effective monsters it is revealed in stages. First the outline as it drops down from behind Brett’s back. As he turns the head and dripping jaws are shown glistening, beautiful and deadly. Then from Brett’s perspective the second mouth juts forward while the cat looks impassively on.

After the presumed death of Captain Dallas Ripley accesses the ships computer and discovers that they were lied to. The purpose of the mission was to bring back the alien and the crew were expendable. At this point Ash’s true nature is revealed. After he is thwarted in his attempt to kill Ripley it is discovered that Ash is a robot sent by the company to bring back the alien for the weapons division.  Ash is another subversion of the sci-fi genre. Killer robots had existed prior to Alien but in general these had become self aware, faulty or had broken their programming. What is chilling about Ash is that he is following orders but at the same time breaking Asimov’s laws of robotics.

With the crew reduced to three humans Ripley is suddenly listened to and she decides that they will blow up the ship and leave in the escape shuttle. Ripley in an echo of the maternal side that will be important in later films goes off to save the cat while Parker and Lambert pack. This saves Ripley’s life proving the importance of being nice to cats.

In the director’s cut there is a scene between the self-destruct sequence and the failure of the override where Ripley discovers Dallas alive in the beginnings of an alien nest. There is the further hint of prior relationship between the two as she euthanizes him. This is an interesting piece character development in the longer edition but it is not so vital that it reduces the impact of the theatrical release.

As she tries to escape Ripley almost comes face to face with the Alien.  As a fan intermittently reduces the light Ripley backs away. It is too late to stop the ship blowing up but with moments to spare Ripley gets away on the shuttle and the Nostromo explodes. It seems as though our heroine and ship’s cat are finally safe but in horror movies you should always be wary when the film keeps running.

As Ripley prepares for hyper sleep a black leathery hand shoots out from the panel of dark wires. After only a moment of distress Ripley climbs into a space suit and singing a song to calm her nerves forces the alien out into the open before harpooning and blasting it into the vacuum of space. Then she and Jones go to sleep and drift off hoping for rescue.

The plot of Alien is essentially that of the standard haunted house monster film but set in space. However through the use of utilitarian sets, clever lighting and H E Geiger Ridley Scott transcended this simple premise and created a claustrophobic masterpiece. One of the most effective devices in Alien is the lack of onscreen carnage. In the theatrical version there are only two on screen deaths. Of these only one can be considered gory. Parker’s death is noble and valiant but cut so that there isn’t the bloodshed that there is with Kane’s exit.

This leaves much of the violence to the audience’s imagination. This is a device that can be very effective as people under tension can usually come up with consequences lot more devastating than comfortable writers can.

Alien leaves the viewer with as many questions as it gives answers. The company wanted the alien for the weapons division but how did they know it was there. What was the creature in the chair? Will Ripley and the cat get picked up?

This ensures that people not only remember the film but they talk about it too.

Of course the subversive element in Alien is the female lead. In the 1970’s women in horror films tended to spend most of their time in their underwear screaming. Admittedly Ripley is shown in her underwear but she does not panic and wait to be rescued by man. She spends most of the film as the only sensible crew member and even though she commits one of the cardinal sins of horror by going back to get the cat she not only survives but deserves to.

Alien is a classic, it is a well made, atmospheric and has the greatest heroine in the whole of the horror genre.

- Lizzy