Left Field Cinema

WARNING: Contains spoilers throughout.

This is the possibly most influential science fiction movie of all time. It was the first film to blend horror and science fiction and the first ‘realistic’ view of the spacecrafts as grubby, clunky machines that don’t always work. At the time of release, Alien was the first dark science fiction film to reach a wide audience. With the recent success of Star Wars and Star Trek, Alien’s tagline ‘In space, no one can hear you scream’ promised a very different experience.

It is arguable that Alien is as much, if not more or a horror film than it is a science fiction films, although of course, it has numerous elements both. The setting is both futuristic, scientifically fictitious and yet barren, claustrophobic and very limiting to the characters. The number of characters is small, and through this tension is heightened, and human (or ironically not so human) conflicts arise.

Alien has its fair share of scares, but they aren’t cheap thrills, but legitimate shocks. The most notable is the scene when the alien explodes through Kane’s (John Hurt) chest. Still one of the most iconic scenes in science fiction and horror cinema history as was the first time a mainstream film contained true gore in its purest sense.

Like Jaws or Psycho, Alien is a perfect example of a director elevating the levels of tension and menace by relying on the viewer’s imagination. Although you see the crew member’s lifeless bodies throughout, you never get a full picture of what the alien is doing to them, but there is a perfect amount of detail to provide us with horrifying images in our minds.

As you know, the plot is incredibly simple. Alien begins slowly, introducing us to the crew of seven, creating a sense of ordinariness. This is a group of people who simply want to get home; however, they are forced, by protocol, into investigating a distress signal. Once the infant alien bursts from Kane’s chest, one by one, each of the crew are picked off by the xenomorph, ‘the perfect organism, unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.’

In essence, Alien is a slasher film. A slow beginning introducing the characters, followed by the first death and introduction of the unbeatable enemy and then slowly each character is picked off until one is left; defeating the antagonist, only to find that they aren’t dead, and then they have a final standoff. This happens in countless horror films, but in this case it was done to best effect. But, this is not a simple movie at all; the layers of meaning that are never revealed fully are outstanding.

Although personally I do not subscribe to the rape metaphor theory, Alien is undeniably sexually oriented. Why else would Ridley Scott choose to show the alien bringing its tail up the Lambert’s leg before killing her? This is the only woman killed in Alien, and the only (totally) off screen death. That shot seemed far too unneeded in any other circumstance to go unnoticed. Also, H.R. Giger's incredible design is entirely sexually oriented. I would not call myself a fan of his artwork, although I do find it rather amazing to behold. Often his work is of women in strange positions melding with their environment, which would come back later in the sequel, Aliens. I do not need to go into detail, but it is clear that the alien’s spacecraft is most definitely based around sexual biology. Also, the film focuses on penetration, motherhood and birth throughout. All of these are unavoidable obvious, and it is also very notable that the last survivor of the Nostromo is a woman.

Alien is a completely loveless film. It’s brilliant that Ridley Scott cut the scene that supposedly involved Ripley and Dallas in a relationship. The choice of lovers would be natural given their position as crew members, but Alien does not allow relationships to distract the viewer or detract from the fear by any stretch of the imagination. This loveless attitude the film has makes brings up parallels between the crew and the alien itself.

Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack is exceptional. The terror is enhanced by this wonderful score and the scarcely audible metallic chattering are both scary and fit with the setting perfectly.

However, every masterpiece has to have a slight downside, and in this case it's the emphasis on computer screens. The design of the ship is fantastic and to be honest, more realistic than most modern science fiction films, however, the amount of old-school screens, pixels and old-school beeps a plenty, certainly aren't up to the standards of the rest of the film. But, I personally do not downgrade films for aging in that sense, especially when the rest of it is up to this standard.

Here we are, decades later, still gushing over what is essentially a slasher movie made with a mind-blowingly low budget and a relatively new British director. However, Alien is well made to the point of perfection, and the substance balanced with style makes this in my opinion, a flawless film that shall never be equalled in quality or scares. A near timeless classic.

Sam Boullier