Alien (franchise): Difference between revisions

The first film, '''''Alien''''' (1979), involves the crew of a freighter spaceship who stop to answer a [[Distress Call]] from an uncharted moon. One of the crew members ([[John Hurt]]) gets an alien organism attached to his face and goes into a coma. Days later, an alien embryo explodes from the crewman's chest and rapidly matures into a savage monster. As the alien stalks through the ship, the crew chooses to go against their company's orders and fight back. One by one, the crew members are slaughtered by the alien until only Ellen Ripley (Weaver) and the ship's cat are left. She manages to defeat the alien and goes into hypersleep to return home. Writer Dan O'Bannon based the film on a sequence from his previous film ''[[Dark Star]]'', in which a beachball-shaped alien runs amok on a spaceship and tries to push an astronaut down an elevator shaft. [[Ridley Scott]] directed.

In '''''Alien³''''' (1992), hypersleep goes on the fritz again and Ripley's ship crash lands on a prison planet, killing all occupants except her. Even worse, it turns out that Ripley's been infected with an alien egg by a stow-away facehugger. Another facehugger slips into the colony and infects a dog, which quickly gives birth to a quadrupedal alien. Most of the prisoners die before the dog-alien is destroyed. Ripley makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and kills herself just as her own alien is hatching. Directed by [[David Fincher]], this film introduced the concept of aliens having different shapes depending on their host bodies. The film was much less popular than the previous installments, provoking special anger from fans due to its [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] nature, and was expected to be the final episode due to the death of Ripley. This film is not merely called an "Alan Smithee film" by irate fans, but decades later is held up as one of the ''textbook'' examples of "problems behind the scenes" -- David Fincher himself is actually a masterful director, but [[Executive Meddling|the studio kept messing with his work]], and the project went through a ''revolving door'' of different screenwriters. The production was so chaotic that multiple alternate cuts of the film exist, scenes that were actually filmed but then scrapped and replaced as revisions kept occurring late into filming.

'''''Alien: Resurrection''''' (1997) has Ripley cloned back to life on a military research station that is breeding aliens in yet another attempt to turn them into weapons. The alien DNA that melded with Ripley's has given her remarkable physical abilities and a connection to other aliens. Shortly after a crew of smugglers arrives with a fresh shipment of infected humans, the aliens break out of their pens and run amok. The new Ripley leads a rag-tag group of survivors against the aliens and their half-human, half-alien hybrid queen in an effort to prevent them from reaching Earth. The plot breaks the traditions of the series by not including the original Ripley nor the Weyland-Yutani company. The screenplay was written by [[Joss Whedon]] and the film directed by French auteur [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] in his only Hollywood excursion. The film attempted a gorier, campier, and thoroughly more bizarre style, which the [[Executive Meddling|studio fought]]. Ultimately the film was not well received, though like all ''Alien'' films it performed well at the box office. For those that would like to know the reason, [[Joss Whedon]] wrote it as a camp parody, while [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]] wanted horror and for some reason didn't throw Joss' script in a trash can.

''Its'' sequel, '''''Alien Vs Predator: Requiem''''' (2007) picks up right after the previous film as the Predator spaceship is taking off. From the body of a slain Predator bursts an Alien-Predator hybrid called a "Predalien." The hybrid monster slaughters the other Predators aboard, causing the ship to crashland in the forests outside Gunnison, Colorado. With the Predators dead, the Predalien and several facehuggers escape into the forest and begin to impregnate the local populace. The ship's [[Distress Call|distress signal]] summons a lone Predator to Earth with the intention of killing the Predalien and erasing all evidence of the Alien presence. Once again, human and Predator fight independent battles to defeat the Aliens. In the end, the film features the appearance of Ms. Yutani, the other half of the Weyland-Yutani company. The film is either much better than AVP or much worse, depending on whom you ask.

** Vasquez, one of the Marines who nearly makes it to the end. Also known for being more rough-and-tumble than the other Marines.

* [[Action Film Quiet Drama Scene]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley putting Newt to bed. Among others.

** Not only that, but Newt is roughly the same age Ripley's daughter was before she left on the first mission.

* [[Action Survivor]]: Ripley in ''Alien'', where she is only a terrified woman struggling to survive.

* [[Alien Blood]]: Highly corrosive acid for blood.

* [[Always Chaotic Evil]]: The Aliens. They seemingly exist for the sole purpose of killing everything on a planet. It is subtly implied that they are indeed intelligent, not just bestial animals, which simply makes them even more terrifying.

* [[And I Must Scream]]: In the comics, an adult Newt falls in love with a Colonial Marine, who turns out to be an [[Artificial Human]] with more advanced emotions. He makes a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] by staying behind on an infested ship to allow her to escape, but this leaves him trapped on a [[Ghost Ship]] (they leave him alone because he's useless to them for breeding) that can never return to civilization because of the risk.

* [[Appropriated Title]]: Although the third, fourth, and fifth films all went under the original title, most spin-off merchandise is known under ''Alien'''s''''', which was the second movie.

* [[Bash Brothers|Bash Brother & Sister]] - Drake and Vasquez, the two M56 Smart Gun users in ''Aliens''.

* [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]:

** {{spoiler|Vasquez and Gorman's suicide in the Hadley's Hope air ducts.}}

* [[Beware My Stinger Tail]]: In the novelization of ''Aliens'', the aliens have these, which are used to paralyze victims to be taken back to the hive for facehugger bait. Gorman gets stung during the escape in the APC after the hive raid goes pear-shaped.

** Ripley's [[Duct Tape for Everything|duct-taped]] pulse rifle/GrenadeLauncher/flamethrower in ''Aliens''.

** The combination gun she is carrying at the end of Part 2 in the Dark Horse comic has to be seen to be believed.

* [[Big No]]: The first film by Ripley, the second by Vasquez, then Bishop II's prolonged "''NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!''" when Ripley {{spoiler|kills herself}} in the third.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Vasquez wrote on her armor "El riesgo siempre vive!", which means "The risk always survives!". <ref>This may be a reference to a motto of a number of world-famous special-operations military units, which boils down to "Who dares, wins"</ref>

* [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]: Extremely.

* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: {{spoiler|Averted in the first and third movies, as Parker and Dillon (respectively) are among the last to be killed. Played completely straight in the second, as Private Frost gets a flamethrower to the face as soon as the squad gets ambushed and Sergeant Apone gets grabbed by aliens in the same scene (though his ''death'' is somewhat delayed).}}

* [[Ceiling Cling]]: With instances of [[Vertical Kidnapping]].

* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: Newt's tracking device.

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: In ''[[Aliens]]'', along with her knowing how to drive a powerloader, there's the lessons Ripley got from Hicks on how to use the Marines' weapons, which she uses to great effect during her [[Mama Bear]] rampage.

* [[Coca Pepsi Inc]]: As everybody knows, Weyland-Yutani is a combination of rival motoring conglomerates British Leyland and Toyota.

* [[Crapsack World]]:

** Fury (Fiorina) 161.

** The Dark Horse comic series is one hellish place to live. The [[Mega Corp]] controls the world, all civil rights are essentially gone, the military kills civilians with impunity, and that's before the two killer alien species come knocking. The Aliens overrun Earth and more than one character wonders if we deserved it.

* [[Creator Thumbprint]]: Joss Whedon will revisit certain character types and ideas again in ''[[Firefly]]'' and ''[[Serenity]]''. Once you realize {{spoiler|Ron Perlman's character is basically Jayne}} the rest falls into place.

* [[Creepy Child]]: Newt starts as one due to the psychological effects of her traumatic experience. Her eerie delivery of the line, "They mostly come at night. Mostly," is often quoted.

<!-- %% All CrowningMoment, Music, etc. examples go on their respective subpages. -->

* [[Danger Deadpan]]: The [[Drop Ship]] pilot in the second film, Ferro.

* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]: Corporal Ferro.

* [[Dueling Movies]]: ''Alien: Resurrection'' with ''[[Deep Rising]]''.

* [[Dumbass Has a Point]]: ''[[Aliens]]''. Vasquez, about Hudson's belief that the aliens are inside the perimeter.

* [[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo]]: You can see there's no consistency on the naming (which is why it's one of [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]]'s targets [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEVzPCY2T-g here]).

* [[Enforced Method Acting]]:

** In the first film, the cast knew the general details of what they were shooting for the [[Chest Burster]] scene, but they didn't know they were going to get sprayed with real animal blood and entrails. Veronica Cartwright's shocked scream is entirely real.

'''Vasquez''': How many ''combat'' drops?<br />

'''Gorman''': Uh, two. Including this one. }}

* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Applies to an entire species (depending on your interpretation of the term "Arcturian"), according to some dialogue in ''Aliens'':

{{quote| '''Frost''': I sure wouldn't mind getting more of that Arcturian poontang. Remember that time?<br />

* [[Everybody's Dead, Dave]]: A staple of the series.

** In ''Alien'', the loss of the entire Nostromo crew leads Ripley to record a message at the end of the film concerning their fates and how she's the only one left.

** In ''Aliens'', only Ripley, Newt and a badly-injured Hicks survive (Bishop is still technically "operational", but he's a mess and is missing half his body).

** ''Alien3'' plays this straight then subverts it. Ripley discovers that she's the only one of the Sulaco crew still alive after their EEV crashed, and at the end, {{spoiler|Morse}} is the only survivor of the Fury 161 colony to survive - he takes one last look around the place before being escorted out.

** "What do you mean THEY cut the power? How can they cut the power -- they're animals!"

** The alien queen shows that she knows full well what Ripley means when she points the business end of a flamethrower at her eggs, and her tearing herself away from her egg sac and coming after Ripley is strongly implied to be out of rage for Ripley killing the eggs.

::From ''Alien Resurrection'':

** Some of the Xenomorphs realize they can use their acidic blood to escape, and thus brutally kill one of their own so its bloody corpse will eat through the floor.

* [[Karma Houdini]]: The {{spoiler|only survivor}} in ''Alien3'' is part of the gang that tried to rape Ripley.

** It is shown he ''did'' get a fairly thorough thrashing from Dillon as punishment.

* [[Keep Circulating the Tapes]]: The "Aliens" Mod for ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' was killed by Fox lawyers (creating the term "Foxed" for that situation), but of course that didn't stop it from being available online for many years afterwards.

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Want to survive fighting the aliens in close quarters? Flamethrowers are the only way to avoid being hit with their acidic blood at close range.

{{quote| '''Dillon:''' You're all gonna die. The only question is how you check out. Do you want it on your feet? Or on your fuckin' knees... begging? I ain't much for begging! Nobody ever gave me nothing! So I say [[Precision F-Strike|fuck]] that thing! Let's fight it!}}

* [[Last-Note Nightmare]]: Goldenthal's arrangement of the [[Twentieth Century Fox]] [[Fanfare]] in ''Alien³'' freezes on the penultimate note and degenerates into a frightening wail; damn, even the ''opening logo fanfare'' is [[Darker and Edgier]]!

* [[Late to the Party]]: Ripley and the Colonial Marines in ''Aliens''.

* [[Lego Genetics]]: The Xenomorphs, as part of their bioweapon design, can assimilate useful traits from their hosts to better survive in the environment and become stronger, and it often extends to physical appearance. The first two films had human-like Xenos, and the third featured a quadruped Xeno that came from a dog (or a bovine, depending on the version). The video games, comics and toy line take it to greater lengths with flying Xenos with wings like a bird or bat, gorilla Xenos with long powerful arms, bull and rhinoceros Xenos, and in the [[Batman]] crossover comics the Xenomorphs even had physical similarities to the various villains their DNA was combined with (with the Killer Croc Alien being a gigantic crocodile-like beast). And the most iconic type, the [[Pred Alien]], a Xenomorph born from a Predator with a shorter skull, mandibles, dreadlocks, and a stockier build than other humanoid Xenos. Interestingly, with few exceptions, the Queen Aliens and other higher castes like the Praetorian do not assimilate traits, keeping the Xenomorph line pure-blooded.

* [[Money, Dear Boy]]: By ''Alien 3'', Sigourney Weaver was respectable enough an actress to be able to accept and refuse any role she wants, and point in fact ''hated'' how Newt was callously killed for banal drama. Why did she come back for another '''two''' films? To quote [[The Simpsons|Krusty The Klown]]: ''"Oh, they drove a dumptruck full of money up to my house. I'm not made of stone."''

* [[Monster Is a Mommy]]: The Alien Queen.

* [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]]: The titular Aliens.

** As a more specific example from the first film, {{spoiler|Lambert's death}}. Nothing is seen of what happened, and even the aftermath is not seen clearly, we only hear it happening over the radio. It's probably the scariest death in the film. Given that the last thing we see of {{spoiler|Lambert is the tip of the alien's tail moving up her leg towards her nether regions,}} this is probably just as well.

** Despite being more focused on action, ''Aliens'' gets in on this too. The aliens aren't even seen until over an hour into the film; before that the Marines are exploring the deserted colony, waiting to encounter them at any moment.

* [[Nuke'Em]]: Suggested by characters in ''Aliens'' ("It's the only way to be sure"), but the plot doesn't give them the chance, as the colony's atmosphere processor counts down to a thermonuclear overload all on its own.

* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]:

* [[Phlegmings]]: Every time the aliens appear.

* [[POV Cam]]: The fishbowl view of the running Alien in the third film. Also present in ''Aliens'' with all the Marines wearing head cams linked with the APC to give the CO there a better situational awareness. It doesn't really help.

** The Queen's attempt to communicate, however primitive, may just have been a delaying tactic while the facehugger was preparing to hatch. The Hive may actually be a hive ''consciousness''.

* [[Prison]]: The setting for ''Alien³'' is a shut-down prison planet, where the remaining convicts adopted a monastery culture and chose to remain, becoming more like indentured janitors. Escape is impossible, because there's nowhere to escape to.

* [[Salvage Pirates]]: In the opening to the second movie, Ripley's escape shuttle from the first movie is found by a deep-space salvage crew, who express disappointment at finding her [[Human Popsicle|alive]], as "there goes our salvage, boys". Averted in that they resist the temptation to kill her and salvage the shuttle anyways.

* [[Scannable Man]]: The prison convicts in the third movie.

* [[Sculpted Physique]]: The Alien, which is not surprising considering artist [[H. R. Giger]]'s other works. This use of the trope actually makes sense in the story since the alien's black and tube-like exterior made it blend in on the spacecraft. This is so effective in the first film, that the first time we see the adult Alien, it's ''hanging in full view of the camera'' and you probably mistook it for piping!<ref>For the curious, it's the scene where one crewman goes after the cat and he looks upwards at the chains hanging from the ceiling. See the metallic looking bundle in the bottom right? There's the cowboy!</ref>

* [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]:

== T-Z ==

* [[Tastes Like Friendship]]: In ''Aliens'', Ripley gets Newt to talk by giving her a glass of hot chocolate.

* [[Television Geography]]: In AVP2, virtually every shot of "Gunnison, Colorado" is wrong. Basically the city is too big and the mountains are too small.