Duck and Cover

Watched it on cable the other night. And after having sung the praises of Aliens over the years for being the overall better movie in every sense, I'd forgotten how much of a jewel the original is. Especially compared to what passes for scary movies these days, Alien is a brilliant piece of well-plotted, well-crafted horror filmmaking. The buildup to when the creepy alien shit starts going down is perfectly paced, and the fact that the alien is only briefly glimpsed throughout the movie is about 99% of what makes it so scary. It's such a quiet movie, too - it's not afraid to give the audience a breather and let a bit of contemplative suspense-building into the mix before the next onslaught of terror, which itself only lasts a few minutes. Aliens is pretty much non-stop action in comparison, which does offer its own pleasures, but if you're in the mood for something overall less steroidal Alien is the way to go. Rent it again, it's probably been a while since you've seen it.

Subhuman's Rating: 4/5 bell-bottoms

So what was the negative that it didn't earn a 5/5?

I liked the idea of a kid that had outsmarted/survived the aliens somehow. She could've been a bit more, or even less, feral.

It feels like she's not been there long enough to have gone "animal-mode", or that she didn't go totally insane. I guess either would be hard for a kid her age to act...

It remains an all time favourite, and I'm glad I decided to buy it on dvd.

The extended version, or directors cut, is alright. Mainly it includes one of the marines mouthing off a bit more, so it's not like you get a new experience out of it.

I've always been a harcore fan of the series, so without a doubt, I can second about everything you said, Subhuman.

It's also interesting how much it was developed over the years, the Xenomorph species itself becoming a diverse story of natural selection and death. It's fascinating in almost every aspect.

But on the subject of kids, it really pisses me off that the legends-- Aliens, Predator, Jason, Freddy-- all are slowly seeming to be replaced by ghosts of japanese children (with long hair and/or cat noises). It's aggravating that hollywood is progressively moving towards horror that is less about the fear of a rational, physically-superior threat, towards spirits of angry little asian kids that manifest from strange places (ie, television sets, closet roofs, jackets).

Smiley wrote:The extended version, or directors cut, is alright. Mainly it includes one of the marines mouthing off a bit more, so it's not like you get a new experience out of it.

Doesn't it also include the sentry gun footage? or is that in the original cut?

Yeah, the sentry gun scene is in the director's cut. Another scene you get is the one at the beginning when Ripley learns how her daughter lived the rest of her life while she was gone. Touching and subtle in a mostly gore-packed macho movie. I don't know why they cut it.

Walt wrote:So what was the negative that it didn't earn a 5/5?

I reserve the 5/5's for unqualified masterpieces of mind-blowing awesomeness; Alien is a very good movie, but not quite at that level. Aliens would get a 4.5.

I like the fact that its untainted by cheesy action sequences; you don't get that very often. Also, the distinct b-movie feel to it is appealing to me. Still, haven't watched it in a while.

Wolfman Walt wrote:So what was the negative that it didn't earn a 5/5?

Lack of butt secks.

VasikkA wrote:Lack of butt secks.

I dunno, I think seeing Sigourney Weaver in her panties made me hit puberty at an early age.

I don't know why they cut it.

Screen time, I think. Movies back in the 80's seemed to like to last at 90 minutes instead of the 120 minutes alot of movies now adays run.

it really pisses me off that the legends-- Aliens, Predator, Jason, Freddy-- all are slowly seeming to be replaced by ghosts of japanese children (with long hair and/or cat noises).

You forgot to mention that all of those currently have pretty cruddy movies to their names that were out recently.

Alien I & IV are where it's at, I for its horror and IV for its comic.
II & III just seemed like generic actioners.

Wolfman Walt wrote:You forgot to mention that all of those currently have pretty cruddy movies to their names that were out recently.

True enough. They could pay me half as much and I'd still be able to write scripts 10x as good as what they're pulling out nowadays. They might make the special effects spectacular, but it's not a fucking substitiute for shitty dialogue.

Subhuman wrote:Yeah, the sentry gun scene is in the director's cut. Another scene you get is the one at the beginning when Ripley learns how her daughter lived the rest of her life while she was gone. Touching and subtle in a mostly gore-packed macho movie. I don't know why they cut it.

Oh yeah, yeah... with the park Ripley simply turns off.

And they also had Newt's dad getting utterly pwnt and mouthraped by a facehugger. Along with the little shit screaming into the wind and causing a nice ringing sound in my ears for the next consecutive forty minutes.

I still think Alien 3 was the worst mistake in the series. They should have gone with the script where Hicks was still alive and fighting space commies.

For the record, Sub - the movie you watched was "Aliens" - the 2nd in the series.

"Alien" is pretty much a (survival?) horror flick about a bunch of space junkers who find one alien on a derelict space craft (1 word?).

I loved both of them, however. 3 was pretty crap, and I don't remember 4, so it couldn't have been that great.

Also - "Another glorious day in the corps" is a line that I repeat every monday when I go to work, and nobody has a clue what I'm talking about.

cazsim83 wrote:For the record, Sub - the movie you watched was "Aliens" - the 2nd in the series.

"Alien" is pretty much a (survival?) horror flick about a bunch of space junkers who find one alien on a derelict space craft (1 word?).

Huh? Try again.

Liverfizz wrote:clue

Worry not, John, they too wear their supercilious smirks Within.

caz wrote:For the record, Sub - the movie you watched was "Aliens" - the 2nd in the series.

"Alien" is pretty much a (survival?) horror flick about a bunch of space junkers who find one alien on a derelict space craft (1 word?).

I know, dingus. Read what I wrote again and you'll see I was reviewing the original, while also comparing it to the sequel.

The third was rather shit, though it's the first one I watched(at like 9) and it freaked the shit out of me.

Alien and Aliens are classics to me.

Susan wrote:The third was rather shit, though it's the first one I watched(at like 9) and it freaked the shit out of me.

Holy shit, same here. I watched it at a friend's house at around 9 or 10. Then I finally saw the first two and wiped all memories of the third from my brain.

Wolfman Walt wrote:I still think Alien 3 was the worst mistake in the series. They should have gone with the script where Hicks was still alive and fighting space commies.

GOD THAT WAS A FUCKING AWESOME IDEA. My life changed after reading that script.


But yeah, Alien for the horror, Aliens for the action/Hicks/power loader badassery, and the rest can go to hell.

Subhuman wrote:

caz wrote:For the record, Sub - the movie you watched was "Aliens" - the 2nd in the series.

"Alien" is pretty much a (survival?) horror flick about a bunch of space junkers who find one alien on a derelict space craft (1 word?).

I know, dingus. Read what I wrote again and you'll see I was reviewing the original, while also comparing it to the sequel.

Shit....sorry. fuckin flower