Film Review - Alien

Fig.1 Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) is the go to for a simple yet classic Sci-Fi horror, crew members suddenly end up inviting this alien creature onto their ship that kills of each member one by one, but it's presented in such a way that makes it so effective. Natural acting, tension building, and the overall atmosphere of this dystopian futuristic world that the movie throws us into.

Fig.2

In the first few minutes of the movie the set design is rather simple with parts of it sticking to this aesthetic of control panels, wires and cables, buttons and flashing lights. The 80's aesthetic of future films, the opposite of simple, the older conventions of cyberpunk. It adds to the the horror when we delve more into the movie, it becomes more crooked and steamy. "Alien was conceived as a gothic horror film set in space and much of the production design evokes a gothic atmosphere. The film is set aboard the Nostromo, a commercial towing vehicle drifting through deep space. The ship is essentially a giant oil-refinery, but Scott wanted it to look like a gothic cathedral floating in space." (Zouch. 2010) It gives this sense of claustrophobia, that you're in this maze and with the alien added to that, it takes us to an underworld version of the ship, almost like the alien owns the ship and the crew members are the intruders.

Fig.3

During one of the most notable scenes from the movie, the "Dinner scene" it's paints a rather vivid scene of reproduction and birth, something that the movie perceives a lot in its shot design and concept art for the alien. Just after Kane comes to after his attack of the face-hugger, he seems rather content and with no memory of what he was put through, it brings the atmosphere back to a reassuring state and they resume their journey back to earth, we soon start to feel something is off. Before, we found Kane with this giant leech alien feeding something into him and strapped to his face, it was planting something and giving it life, almost like the stages of pregnancy. "Giger’s design for the face-huger resembles an insect, but it also suggests skeletal human hands, implying that the victim is in the grip of death. Ultimately, the design is obscenely sexual because it is a reproductive organ." (Zouch. 2010) Coming back to the Dinner scene you slowly start being brought back to the problem, Kane turns erratic, ballistic, he starts squirming and screaming in pain suddenly frustration, confusion and anger is thrown all around the room, they try to hold him down ad restrain him and in that second of silence the true horror erupts from his chest, this being that he has given out now has life and is free.

Whats interesting is how the movie paces this, "A recent version of this story would have hurtled toward the part where the alien jumps on the crew members. Today's slasher movies, in the sci-fi genre and elsewhere, are all pay-off and no buildup." (Ebert.2003) the moment where kane wakes up it takes you away from the eerie discovery of the alien ship breeding eggs, the face-hugger and instead tries to make you feel that everything is okay it builds up this disturbing discovery and takes you back a few steps and completely shoves you back into this downfall which is the birth and growth of the alien.

Overall the movie, on the outside tries to be a dark, gritty simple sci-fi film but it really depicts the means behind reproduction and the fears of what come of it, it can be perceived in many ways from that and it's what makes it so adaptable today.

Bibliography:

Ebert. R  2003 Alien At: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-alien-1979 [Accessed 22/10/17]

Zouch 2010 ‘Building Better Worlds’: the production design of Alien At: http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien/# [Accessed 22/10/17]

Zouch 2010 ‘Building Better Worlds’: the production design of Alien At: http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien/# [Accessed 22/10/17]

Illustration:

Figure 1. Alien (1979) [Poster] At: https://www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/film-info/alien#SA5JDVErKWkYGiTG.97 [Accessed 22/10/17]

Figure 2. [Screenshot] At: https://www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/film-info/alien#SA5JDVErKWkYGiTG.97 [Accessed 22/10/17]

Figure 3. [Screenshot] At: http://zouchmagazine.com/building-better-worlds-the-production-design-of-alien/# [Accessed 22/10/17]