Movie ‘Alien’ is an unconventional slasher
In space, no one can hear you scream. This was the tagline of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, “Alien.”
“Alien” finds the crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo on their way back to Earth, in the future. They receive a distress beacon and land on a deserted planet. Once there, the crew comes in contact with a deadly alien lifeform that will not stop until they are all dead.
The premise of “Alien” is unoriginal. The film was advertised as a science-fiction horror film, but I believe it’s much simpler than that. Essentially, “Alien” is a slasher film in space, similar to the likes of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Halloween” — a cast of disposable people, that are slowly picked off by a seemingly unstoppable monster.
What makes this film stand out from the numerous slasher films? What makes “Alien” so good is the inventive filmmaking around the idea of a slasher film.
The film features an all-star cast with Sigourney Weaver, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt. They play the crew of the Nostromo, which is hauling mineral ore back to Earth.
Their performances are strong. They all feel like real people that are just doing their jobs. This is highlighted in the scenes where the crew is eating together. These scenes were improvised and their dialogue feels natural as they talk over one another and make jokes. This builds the relationships between the characters and makes you care about them. So when things take a turn for the worst later, we fear for them and hope they escape. This is something that is not seen in slasher films.
In films like “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Friday the 13th,” the characters exist to be killed and the drama comes from their fight to survive against an unstoppable force. In “Alien,” the characters are relatable and their actions are what cause the entire event to happen in the first place.
And, being a slasher film, the characters start to drop like flies. It isn’t until late in the film that the main character is revealed — Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley.
Weaver’s Ripley is one of the most iconic heroes in the film. Ripley is strong-willed and proves herself to be a survivor. Ripley is also a character who has to make tough decisions, which have repercussions throughout the film.
Another thing that makes this film stand out is the monster itself. The alien or “Xenomorph” was adapted from the designs by H.R. Giger. What is amazing about this creature is the way it blends with the look of the Nostromo. The interior of the ship is covered with wires, pipes and black panels, and the alien is designed to resemble the ship. This ups the suspense of the film as the alien camouflages with this environment, so you never know where it is.
The alien itself only makes a few appearances because of the need to use practical effects. Special effects in 1979 were not what they are now and the alien could only be shown for a few frames, so that audiences would not see it for too long and realize it was fake. They had to be clever about how they shot the alien. When they did show it up close, they would mostly just show the head of the monster, as to not give away that it was a man in a rubber suit.
The cinematography of this film is also essential in building the tension. The cinematography is close up to the characters and claustrophobic, leaving mystery to what is around the corner. The camera stays close on them as they move around the ship, so the audience does not have a good sense of what is around the character, so you never know where the alien will strike from.
This film is a testament to horror filmmaking and sets a standard for slasher films that I don’t believe has ever been beaten.
The performances, cinematography and suspense are all on point and make this film, not just one of the best slasher films, but one of the best films of all time.