The Black Goo takes over the franchise

[Jonesy1974]

I quite like Frankenstein's Army. I know its not a great film but Its got some pretty freaky/creepy monster designs and is satisfyingly nasty at times.

I'm a sucker for found footage style movies though.

Same here.
Have you seen the Worst Case Scenario trailer? It's a real trailer for a movie that never got made. But the creator used some of the designs for Frankenstein's Army.
I'm quite looking forward to his latest project: The Profundis. Nothing on Imdb yet but there some stuff on the Mad Scientist Movement facebook page.
It's a small group of people including the director/creator.

I hadn't seen that trailer but just did and it was pretty cool, cheers. I'll definitely look out for his latest because I really think Frankensteins army is a decent movie.

[Paranoid Android]

And it looks like Big Frank will be getting his own film in Universal's Dark Universe story arc.

Oh, I don't know about that. Last I heard, the Dark Universe was dead. Reactions to The Mummy killed it.

Something else to consider, there's the other form of "cooked." That being both creatures' terror factor. You've probably read articles on audience reaction to Frankenstein's Monster, people of the thirties racing out of the theater in shock, reports of fainting......no less horrified than when people of the seventies first experienced the xeno. Today, neither creature strikes no where near that level of fear. So both creatures' horror impact can be described as cooked.

I think it has more to do with the general public already being used to such things these days. Gore, violence and horror are very common in the media now, unlike back then, so I seriously doubt you'll get such reactions today regardless of what you put on the screen. And while it's awesome to read about a horror film you love evoking such extreme reactions, they shouldn't be the goal anyway.

The alien probably won't get people fainting nowadays, but can it still scare? - I think Alien:Isolation already gave us a definitive answer to that question.

[Jonesy1974]

I agree with Biomechanoid, the Alien can't scare anymore, its too familiar now. I personally don't think its been scary since 1979, none of the sequels have been remotely frightening to me.

You can only scare people with the unknown and what they don't expect. Once the cat is out the bag it loses that power which is why horror sequels are never as scary as the original, even the ones that are good movies.

This is why the series needs to evolve and open up fresh possibilities which Ridley has done. Its a matter of opinion as to whether he has done this the right way or not but he has certainly created fresh possibilities for future film makers to create stories within the universe without relying specifically on a 40 year old monster to bring the chills.

[Biomechanoid]

Oh, I don't know about that. Last I heard, the Dark Universe was dead. Reactions to The Mummy killed it.

Really? That's a shame, I was looking forward to a Dark Universe.

I think it has more to do with the general public already being used to such things these days. Gore, violence and horror are very common in the media now, unlike back then, so I seriously doubt you'll get such reactions today regardless of what you put on the screen.

I would say I agree for the most part, but there has been exceptions. I felt no fear for the following films, but The Conjuring, Insidious, 28 Days Later, and maybe a few others have been often given the "scary" label by viewers and critics. Any reports of fainting? None that I know of, so I agree with you today's audience will unlikely be seen dropping on the floor from fright.

The alien probably won't get people fainting nowadays, but can it still scare? - I think Alien:Isolation already gave us a definitive answer to that question.

I'm not a gamer, so I know nothing of Isolation. The few games I have played, I never felt any fear over a cartoon I have control of with a joystick.

[tleilaxu]

The alien probably won't get people fainting nowadays, but can it still scare? - I think Alien:Isolation already gave us a definitive answer to that question.

So that's a no then I guess.

[Scorpio]

The main fear in Alien Isolation is dying before you get to the next save point and having to do it all over again.

[Paranoid Android]

So that's a no then I guess.

If your guess is based on completely ignoring an overwhelming majority of user reviews pointing out how scary it is, then sure.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/alien-isolation

[Berend]

I'm in two minds about the Black Goo


I like it, because I find the concept creepy as f**k' and even more disturbing than the Xenomorph. It'd rather have a quick head bite or even a 10 seconds stomach ache that a chestburster would give. I don't want to be suffering for days like Holloway did or even go through the horrific mutations Fifield did ( being still alive, but not 'you' anymore, and seemingly in terrible pain )
It also opened up a LOT of possibilities for the Alien universe for new and different concepts and monsters.

I dislike it because it somewhat ruined the image I had of what the Alien is and represents. As many have said, some mysteries are better left being mysteries, they stay fresh that way.
Similary with other horror icons like Michael Myers, once you explain away the ambiguity of his Evil by " A cult placed a curse on him when he was young "  6 movies in, it ruins it for me.

I feel similar to the Joker.  What drives such a mind to do what he does? Is it mere insanity? Is pure Evil? Nope, just an acid bath that messed up some of his internal wiring.

I had no trouble with it during Prometheus as it was still left unexplained as to whether the Goo came from the Alien ( who they may have worshiped, thanks to the hints of the mural ) or vice versa. I mean we all came from goo didn't we? Surely the Xenomorphs didn't pop up out of nowhere. Perhaps the Engineers reverse-engineered a Xeno and found out where they from.


Now with Covenant and Ridley's comfirmation with interviews we know the Goo is an Engineer invention and the Alien is just a by-product of it, with a little of David's tinkering.
I don't like the idea of by the time The Nostromo reaches the Derelict, the Alien is only a mere 60 years old. Instead of a possible thousand, or even long before life started developing on Earth.


So yeah, I can appreciate the ups and complains about the downs.

[x-M-x]

The Black Goo = Space Jockey Blood (not engineer) the true SJ lol the gods... 

The ability to create life and destroy it

[Shinawi]

Imagine if the franchise and the black goo goes to a direction similar to this scary theme: