We have just uploaded the 129th episode of the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast (right-click and save as to download)! Today mark’s the 35th anniversary of Aliens’ general release in the United States and Canada! And to mark the occasion Corporal Hicks, RidgeTop, Xenomorphine and VoodooMagic are back to celebrate 35 years of Aliens!
We discuss the circumstances around our first viewings of the film (and there’s some good ones!), Theatrical vs. Special Edition, the legacy of James Cameron’s futuristic designs, and plenty more!
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And if you’d rather see our beautiful faces, as always the video version of the podcast is also available on the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy YouTube channel!
We’ve previously had the pleasure of being joined by several actors who worked on Aliens, including Trevor Steedman (aka Pvt. Weirzbowski), Daniel Kash (aka Pvt. Spunkmeyer), Cynthia Scott (aka Cpl. Dietrich), and Carrie Henn (aka Newt)!
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I was shooting rifles and shotguns before I was ten years old. It's not that uncommon for people from the States to be well versed in the subject without having law enforcement or military training.
It isn't really like she moved militarily, she just pointed in the right direction and got one in OPS, and then went full mom mode in the hive. I honestly have less problem with that aspect than most people do. Because what she did isn't hard. Of all the things you could face militarily an 8' tall enemy that rushes right at you is probably the one you want after you. It's a big target. What it does if it catches you is horrific yes, but until it gets there that advantage is yours.
Moving tactically is harder than basic marksmanship.
Never made that connection myself. Good call !
Exactly. The same ingenuity she displayed in the first film. Strapping herself in, grabbing a grappling hook gun and then drawing the beast out (via experimentation with gas emissions) so she could blast it out the airlock.
As a commercial flight officer, Ripley was technically proficient and may have had basic training with certain small arms (like the laser pistols that they had on the Nostromo). She also knew how to operate Parker's flamethrower without anyone showing her how (that we saw).
Necessity is the mother of invention. One of Ripley's more admirable qualities is that she's so resourceful in a crisis.
Ripley made the most of minimal weapons training. She must have had more training earlier in life. Does two minutes of on-screen coaching magically inspire one to duck-tape two weapons together and go full-on Rambolina? It's a stretch. That aside, she seems a good person to have around in a crisis. Agreed about the PTSD! We'd all be horrified to learn we have deadly parasites growing inside us. And yes, Newt's autopsy is disturbing. That was effective movie-making. The first time you see it, I think there is the expectation that there might be something extra inside. Well played, Alien 3.
I would've made the battle quicker and more violent. When Ripley is slowly trying to punch or succeeding in punching the queen, it feels more like Godzilla vs spectacle than anything else. Maybe have Ripley clamp onto the body and the head of the queen with the powerloader and then toppling into the airlock because in that same instant the alien disabled the hydraulics of the forklift or something with tail or acid blood or something. Same result but without as much fanfare. I'd also get rid of the Alien queen holding onto Ripley's foot in a vacuum. The Queen should've been able to pluck Ripley off the ladder like a grown up human plucking a kitten from the couch. The foot hold thing is my take me out of the movie moment.
Yeah, burn him with fire
Regarding the horror issue - for me it goes like this :
Alien - horror
Aliens - action (with bits of horror)
Alien 3 - drama
And I'm OK with each movie being what it is. I agree with TQ that Aliens feels more "safe" compared to Alien and I agree with SiL that there ain't much horror in Alien 3
Rupley is badass no doubt about it. Its just I felt more of a connection with her PTSD self in earlier part of the film. I think he going Rambk works, but I just think we don't see her horror over the hist lifecycle again till Alien3 (I mean the autopsy of Newt was disturbing).
I stand corrected, thank you Elder. *makes fealty Yautja roar*
I shall say for me, horror has to have the disgust aspect, the messing with my mind as you get Hypochondria like moments and seeing not just the gore but the mutilation on screen or off screen; Newt's autopsy was more cringeworthy to me than Kane's chestbuster. To me Alien and Alien3 had the balance of fear, shock, and disgust, while Aliens lacked the disgust for me by comparison.
Yes, PROMETHEUS is a genuine attempt to do something different despite its flaws, and while ALIEN³ is a good Alien movie, I think after ALIENS it was time to do something really different. I know people disagree, but I think ALIENS was the best sequel ALIEN could have had, and after that it was time to come up with something special, instead of trying to be Alien again. In fact, Blomkamp's project seemed to be nothing but a bigger & badder ALIENS , and that's one of the reasons why it doesn't bother me that it wasn't done.
I have mixed feelings with the Alien invasion of Earth, because on the one hand it can be a terrible idea, but on the other it can establish that the Aliens are an unstoppable threat, which will not always be stopped by a heroine in a spaceship or colony on another planet, so the Aliens could become the end of mankind, somehow.
Now, how can you achieve that in a credible way? I have no idea. But I do think there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
Ok this might not be the best example at all, but the recent movie THE WAR OF TOMORROW left me wondering about that possibility, since in the story...
Spoiler
And so far, the prequels presented a different direction, trying to incorporate existential gothic horror into myths, but ultimately it is an esoteric concept and not something universally acclaimed, and it seems to have worked better with the RAISED By WOLVES universe, which has nothing to do with Alien. Actually, I think elements of the prequels have grown in a good way thanks to Alex White. Something more or less similar happened with the STAR WARS prequels. I mean, Scott is a better director than Lucas, but the end result went through something similar: much of that lore has been able to really shine thanks to the interquelish works of talented people like Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni.
That said, I hope Noah Hawley hires Alex White as a creative consultant, since the TV series is the next installment.
You substituted or for and. Disgust is not a prerequisite for horror.
Tension and horror are two different feelings for me. The first film was better at horror, especially after learning of the egg morph, body horror is something that weirds me out.
Aliens on the other hand felt consistently more tense throughout the film. You know the other shoe is going to drop, you just don't know when. The different styles between the two films are what made the series last so long imo.
To be truthful, Aliens shouldn't be as scary as Alien. If you have seen the first film, you know what the Alien is all about in the second. Different tacts are needed to keep the series alive.
And while I definately do no care for the series direction that Prometheus went in, I do appreciate that the attempt was not just Alien again told through the fifth iteration.
Basically due to the law of diminishing returns you have to try new things in the series..........otherwise it just fades into obscurity. You either have to up the stakes, change the mode of storytelling (going from horror, to action, to drama etc) move the series in another direction etc.
It's like when I play the Alien invasion of earth scenario in my head, I don't see Aliens 2.0, but kind of a way for a storyteller to tell what a future earth would be like that suddenly comes to a grinding halt with the Alien invasion, with a small group of survivors trying to reach a shelter or get off world or something. Not massive armies vs massive hordes of Aliens.
Telling an Aliens 2.0 would only benefit its release initially. If it just told the exact same story with the exact same story beats with only more aliens and more marines audiences would quickly realize this and not come back to it after a while. Gotta throw some different spice on what you are cooking.
Thanks and thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cool!
Your ideas about who to facehug would be entertaining if they could find life in an "Elseworlds" story or something. I think a lot of ideas would be fun to explore. As for the huggers, I was (still am) impressed with how the huggers came off as being very dangerous. It took the help of the 3 marines to rescue Ripley from it. But I agree: No way Newt or Ripley would have been hugged there. Plot armor! Maybe Ripley was a sort of prototype for T2 Sarah Connor, the same way the Betty crew was a prototype for the crew on Firefly. Or maybe James Cameron has a thing for tough women. I really think, with Ripley's briefing in hand, T2+ Sarah Connor would have a surprise or two for our favorite space parasite.
On other related posts...
I think SiL mentioned something about Ripley being anti-authority and bossy. She certainly turned out that way, especially after Ash showed her the true nature of life in corporate space. And WY execs went out of their way to reinforce her distrust. She started out by-the-book, but always thinking.
If you look at her timeline, in terms of awake time, original Ellen Ripley was a short-lived character. She was awake a few days on the Nostromo. She was asleep 57 years. Too bad she couldn't have access to cryosleep training programs as in Demolition Man. Then she was awake for a while on Gateway station. It was likely weeks, a couple months(?) before she left - Long enough to get a dock job and learn to drive a powerloader like a pro. Asleep for the return to LV426. Awake on the ship and on the planet for a few days total? Asleep on the Sulaco until it caught on fire. Ejected onto Fiorina. Awake for a few more days or a week until she died. She transformed a lot over a short period of awake time.
I wouldn't argue Aliens is as horrifying, as it does ease up in many places, but it's called an action horror for a reason
I felt the tension is there in opening of Alien, the planet and the ship.
Ah yes, but Newt's brother's death was off screen. So it didn't count to me.
I can't say anything about the opening ten minutes of Alien was particular gross or shocking, but your reaction to John Hurt's nipples may vary, I guess
And Aliens established kids weren't off-limits when Newt told us her brother died - along with all the kids. Showing a child dying arguably made it laughable, not more horrific.
I am glad that scared you. For me I knew Newt had plot armor. It wasn't till AVP Requiem that the "children are off limits" ended.
Where you disgusted? How often were you feeling fear, shock, and disgust. Alien had it from opening till the airlock for me.
Well I didn't say there is no fear, but horror combines fear, shock, and disgust. Yes I am afraid the Xenomorphs will get them, but its nowhere near Kane among the eggs on the Derelict and bursted, nor do we see any real gruesome chestburster become a full formed Xeno in Aliens.
You can't say the film is suspenseful and then try to say there's no fear.
a) an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust.
I felt that way about the prison and scenery itself, not to mention the Xeno. Alien did that for me too, the environments made me feel horror (The Derelict, LV-421, Nostromo), not just the Xeno.
Aliens is thrilling, suspenseful, and even action packed, but it did not make me feel ill like Alien and Alien 3 did. Ill as in turned my stomach and made my mind crawl with thoughts.
Pure unadulterated heresy.
Yes. Alien 3 did not. It had neither suspense nor horror. A fine cast and some nice cinematography and some beautiful music, but no horror.
Suspense yes, but horror? Did Aliens horrify you like Alien?
If we are gonna talk about first impressions, Alien 3 Theatrical scared the shiz out of me, the dog being the host. I then wondered if my dog had a chestburster inside.
I say Alien 3 is more horroresque because the Xeno picks people off one by one in some gruesome scenes. Aliens feels more sanitized, the chestburster scene fell flat on me because the colonist didn't look human enough.
Honestly, Aliens could have been PG-13 with some editing.
There was never anything truly horrific about Alien 3. It was always much more of a thriller. The entire first half plays out more like a drama than a horror movie.
I like the film, but it's very light on horror elements.
Ah but you are talking about when you were a kid. I am not. I rewatched Alien and Alien3, and they hold up on certain horror moments and elements over the years. I am saying Aliens doesn't. Its a thriller to me, not a true horror film or if I must call it horror, Horror Light.
Cameron wanting to make a war movie first bleeds through.. like acid blood. Kinda like Scott tacking on Alien elements to Prometheus when he wanted to focus exclusively on the Spacejockey, Cameron at times feels like he wanted to make Starship Troopers movie.
Quite.
But I disagree. There's plenty horrific in ALIENS. I was more bothered by Ferro's death as a kid than any of the deaths in Alien 3. Thinking about what happened to the colony - kids and all - is good nightmare fuel, especially when you realise just how many twisted, rotting skeletons the Marines walk past in the hive.
Suspense yes, but not horror.
The growing dread and realisation as the Aliens close in, followed by one of the most iconic reveals of the entire franchise, is a masterpiece of suspense.
I have to say Aliens also is least terrifying entry. Alien and Alien3 mess with you psychologically. That was the genius of Alien3 it made you get inkling of the terror from Alien that Ripley is carrying a chestburster inside her, which makes you empathically think about one being in yourself (or at least I did).
Cameron didn't emphasize the horror of the Xenomorph life cycle enough. Its too fun a thrill ride to really let the horror penetrate your mind and soul as it did in Alien.
Sigourney does look better in longer hair. I mean I had a crush on her in Resurrection.
Alien 3 G.I. Jane look isn't my fav, but it works for the movie.
Well I have no defense for the hairstyle.