In 1979 the world of cinema was forever changed as Alien arrived in theatres across the world. Based on a script from Dan O’Bannon, director Ridley Scott scared an entire generation senseless with his chilling space-set sci-fi horror. The film followed a group of space miners whom, after investigating a distress beacon on an uncharted planet, found themselves in distress as they came under attack from the deadliest of foes, the Xenomorph. The creature came from the inventive brain of the late H. R. Giger and has haunted viewers ever since it first sprung forth from John Hurt’s chest cavity.
Since Alien burst onto the screen we’ve had three sequels, two spin-offs and, with this week’s release, Alien: Covenant, two prequels. That’s a lot of films for one creature to inhabit and the results have varied. There’s been a lot of debate over the years about which film is best, and after a lot of soul searching we think that we may have managed to suss the order.
8. Alien Versus Predator
Starting at the bottom of the heap is Alien Versus Predator. The film was inspired by a video-game franchise, which in itself was inspired by an Easter egg buried within the final act of Predator 2. Given the video-game heritage, it was of course Paul W. S Anderson who took the helm, making it his third, but probably not final, adaptation of a successful game series.
If I’m honest it was a close call for last place between this and it’s successor, but this one wins out. It would have just pipped Alien Versus Predator: Requiem to the number 7 slot were it not for a number of faux pas’. I recall watching this film on preview night whilst at university, and during the viewing I felt genuine actual pain. Never has a film tag been so apt – ‘whoever wins, we lose’. The audience definitely got a raw deal.
The inclusion of Lance Henriksen as Bishop’s creator Charles Bishop Weyland should have been a nice treat for fans, but instead his inclusion just felt cheap, a sad attempt to link to the original series – surely having the xenomorph is enough? The queen was underplayed and didn’t feel as ferocious as the one Ripley dispatched in Aliens, and then there was the bullet-time facehugger. Speaking of facehuggers, the inconsistency of elapsed time for the gestation of the chestbursters was ludicrous. In Alien, Kane is out for a while, being impregnated and gestating the nightmarish beast, but in AVP the victims seemingly have a quick nap and then they all burst at the same time. Granted you could argue that these could have been genetically engineered to breed faster, but again that concept feels cheap. Then there is that Predialien at the end, a needless step too far Mr Anderson, way too far…
7. Alien Versus Predator: Requiem
Ranking just slightly, and I really do mean slightly, higher is Alien Versus Predator: Requiem. The sequel sought to correct some of the mistakes of the first AVP movie, but still faltered. There’s a sewer sequence that plays reasonably well, but it’s one brief scene amongst a lot of white noise. The games that both this and the first Alien Versus Predator film are based on are truly terrifying. They follow a group of marines caught in the cross fire of a war between deadly species. Requiem added a load of helpless folks caught in the middle, the helplessness of them means that you know they’re all gonners even before a nuke is dropped on them. Plus the Predialien returned, not a good thing.
6. Prometheus
Next up is Prometheus. Again this was a film that had a lot of potential – it was directed by Ridley Scott for one! Prior to the film being released however, Scott was adamant that Prometheus wasn’t a prequel to Alien. He went as far to say that it existed within the same universe, but was in no way directly related to his 1979 classic. Then when cinema goers went to the cinema they were confronted with clear relatives to the facehugger and xenomorph, and now comes Covenant which bridges the gap between Prometheus and Alien.
It looked stunning, as one would expect from Scott, but it was lacking that sparkle that made the first film so iconic. It’s possible that there were too many characters, too many conflicting plot lines, that Noomi Rapace‘s Doctor Elizabeth Shaw wasn’t a patch on Ripley, or it might just be that the characters were so stupid they didn’t know how to run properly. How on Earth can a film directed by Ridley Scott and starring the likes of Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace be this wrong?
5. Alien Resurrection
Alien Resurrection might get the accolade for being the worst straight Alien film (at least on our list), but it’s by no means a disaster. Placing firmly in the middle of the pack, the film tries too hard to emulate Aliens, creating an action-packed story and forgetting about the scares. The whole premise of the film felt cheap. In a franchise that has been so embraced by fans that it has garnered a wealth of spin-off novels chockablock with characters and storylines that would be perfect for film, the studios decision to just bring Ripley back from the dead felt uninspired. I love Ripley, but ‘number 8’ wasn’t her, and try as Sigourney Weaver might, there’s just too much of a disconnect.
Directed by Amelie‘s Jean Paul Jeunet, the film has his stamp all across it and feels very typically French. This is an Alien film that is strangely sensual and filled to bursting with KY Jelly and witty one-liners. The punchy script is the work of an early Joss Whedon and the crew of The Betty are clearly a prototype version of the beloved Firefly crew. Seriously, if you have a close look at Elgyn, Call, Johnner, Christie, Vriess et al, you’ll see Mal, Wash, Jane, Kaylee etc. Sadly for Whedon and Resurrection that sort of self-referential humour just doesn’t belong in an Alien movie. The whole film feels fun and that’s not how you want to leave a movie starring the xenomorphs.
By far the worst crime committed by Resurrection though is that terrible ‘newborn’ creature. Rivalled only by the Predialien, the half Ripley half xenomorph anomaly is more ridiculous than sinister. I don’t care what you say Brad Dourif, it is not a beautiful, beautiful butterfly.
4. Alien 3
Alien 3 should have been the last we ever saw of Ellen Ripley, but as we know, 250 years after her fiery sacrificial leap at the end of this one she was brought back. It’s sad as 3 really does round out the character beautifully, having her die to prevent the company getting their mitts on a xenomorphic Queen just seems right.
Directed by a young David Fincher, Alien 3 has unfortunately gone down in history as being one of the most troubled productions in movie history. This was Fincher’s first feature and the studio weren’t that comfortable with giving free reign to a youngster made famous for his work in the music video world. Had they known he would go onto direct the likes of Fight Club and Seven they might have felt differently and given him some more control. Instead they, in his own words, butchered his movie.
Alien 3 isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I personally find that the more I watch it, the more I warm to it. There’s a strong attempt to go back to Scott’s Alien formula, this time having born-again convicts the prey of choice. It also goes back to basics and just features one xenomorph, the catch is that the convict planet isn’t equipped with weaponry, making it so much harder to kill. The atmosphere is dank, dark and creepy, the xenomorph scuttling around the air vent system, munching on convicts here there and everywhere. That scene wherein Brian Glover is pulled up into the ceiling is one of the best surprise deaths in film, plus who can forget that iconic shot of the xenomorph breathing down Ripley’s neck? Most importantly it showcases some of Britain’s best actors such as Charles Dance, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul McGann and the aforementioned Glover, known best to audiences as being the old voice of the Tetley’s ads.
3. Alien: Covenant
Now whilst I myself have yet to see Alien: Covenant, I am reliably informed by this site’s fearless leader, that this is easily the third best film within the franchise. Given the films that have followed the first two stand-outs in the series, this might not be such a hard thing to do. In the review it is stated that this film ‘has all the elements you’d expect from an Alien movie’ and affirms that the audience have something to feast upon in terms of horror, something that has been lacking in the series for a long time. It even goes so far as to confirm that this ‘is the Alien movie you’ve been waiting for’, very strong words. The new story follows the crew of the ship Covenant as they are sent out to colonise a new world. Upon landing their new home appears to be a wondrous paradise but the dark, deadly nature is soon revealed. The crew, lead by Katherine Waterston’s Daniels then find themselves in the fight of their lives. Read the full review here.
2. Alien
Now this wasn’t an easy decision to come to, there was a lot of torment and toiling about how to place Alien and Aliens, but when it came down to it Scott just lost out. And as to why it didn’t make it to number one – it just doesn’t lend itself to multiple viewings. It’s a little like splitting hairs, but when it comes down to it I just find that Alien drags a little in places upon repeat viewing. Its still a phenomenal piece of cinema and is highly worthy of the number two spot.
Alien will always be a staple on the best films in cinematic history lists, and rightly so. The film shines with an abundance of atmosphere, interesting aesthetics and brilliant character work. The decision to make Ripley female, a role originally written as male, was inspired. The flip would have meant nothing however, had she not been played by Sigourney Weaver. Weaver gives a fantastic turn, her performance, like the film, has gone down in history for one of the most iconic roles.
As well as Ripley we get company-controlled android Ash, played by Ian Holm, a sinister being and a clear inspiration for Fassbender’s David. There’s the brilliant double-act of Brett and Parker, as well as Tom Skerritt’s firm but fair Captain Dallas. And not forgetting Jones, the ships cat. The more you watch Alien, the more you can see that Jones is blatantly in with the xenomorph, but he’s a bloody great ball of fur.
I watched this film when I was far too young, around seven or eight years old, and from the outset I knew that something big was going to go down. That might have been down to the massive grin on the face of the grown-up I was watching it with, but as the film progressed the sense of dread and unease built right up until that moment around the dinner table. That scene with John Hurt is amazing and still more than holds up against today’s films. What really makes it though, is Veronica Cartwright’s reaction – it’s a true reaction as no one knew what was going to happen.
1. Aliens
I know that I may get lynched for this choice, but I believe Aliens is the best film in the franchise. Alien may have blazed the path, but Cameron’s sequel was ground-breaking all on its own. It spun the first film on its head, switching up from the haunted house and ten little Indians plot device, to all out war. Amidst all of the action though there was compelling development of the character of Ripley. A survivor and sufferer of PTSD, she faced her nightmares head on and went from cunning flight attendant to womanly warrior. Cameron’s version of Ripley paved the way for other strong female heroines. The film even managed the unthinkable, a best actress nomination for a sci-fi action horror, a feat that has yet to replicated.
Backing Ripley up are a host of charismatic and beloved characters. We all love the likes of Bishop, Vasquez, Hicks and Hudson, they’re all perfect. In fact, much like Ripley, their character archetypes now form the template of staple characters in the majority of sci-fi action movies that have come since. Starship Troopers especially owes a lot to Cameron’s band of marines.
Alien and Aliens are as different tonally as night and day, thus rendering a true comparison difficult. But for me, Aliens just edges Alien out. It’s a movie that oozes cool, has some fantastic action-set pieces, and has a surprising depth of character development. I fell in love with the film the moment I watched it. As soon as the marines turn up at the 18 minute mark I was hooked, and even considered a future career in the Colonial Space Marines (I was very young).
In reality, Alien and Aliens are almost two halves of the same whole, with Aliens perfectly continuing the story of Ellen Ripley that was setup in Alien. Here we get to explore the emotional journey of a women lost out of time. How would one cope with arriving home to find that all your near and dear are long dead and buried? We learn that Ripley had a daughter (in the extended edition at least) whom, given the time that Ripley was floating in space, has already since passed away. When Ripley left her daughter was just shy of 11, but died as an elderly women. This makes her meeting with Newt all the more important, but their relationship isn’t just a mother-daughter one, they are also bound by the horrors that they have both endured. Each female is the soul survivor of a xenomorph rampage, and Ripley has nothing but admiration for Newt that she could survive at such a tender age.
Building upon the framework set out by Scott, James Cameron evolves the mythos of the xenomorph, adding his own link into the life cycle – the Queen. It really was a stroke of genius for him to craft her, and unlike the Newborn and Predialien, makes complete sense. Then there is that end cat-fight between Ripley and Queen which is one of the best smackdowns that movie audiences have ever witnessed.
Alien: Covenant in released is UK cinemas on 12th May. Read the our review here.
