Alien movements following Parker and Lamberts deaths

[Huggs]

When Ripley and crew decide to detonate the Nostromo, Lambert and Parker are sent down one floor to gather coolant. Ripley apparently stays on the same floor and enters the narcissus, before climbing up another floor to reach the bridge.

She's then seen going down one floor when Parker is being killed, and continues from there down a hallway during Lamberts death. At which point, she is only about 20 feet or less from the room where they were killed, and arrives at the doorway less than 5 seconds after lambert dies. The alien is gone. She retreats down another hallway and activates the self destruct, and in the directors cut, go down another floor into the hive.

She then goes up another floor, where she runs into the alien, who is blocking her way to the narcissus. Likely, this was the "suitcase" scene where the alien was curled up on the floor. She retreats back down the hall and goes down another floor to stop the self destruct, while chap apparently goes into the narcissus. Then she goes up again, gets jones and escapes.


So, after it killed lambert, it apparently got out of the room in less than 5 seconds and was next seen one floor above, blocking the way to the narcissus.

So, did it know Ripley was armed and just ran away? Was it so preoccupied with lambert that once it killed her it instantly went up to find ripley (where it believed she still was) not realizing she'd already come down? Was it sitting there confused and trying to locate her or something when she startled it? Or was it legitimately intelligent enough to immediately cut off the escape route for the remaining host?

What was it doing? Where was it going?

Any theories or thoughts?

[Elmazalman]

The room they were both killed in was on C - Deck.

After killing Lambert, the Alien left the area, either through the doorway it entered or by air shaft (as Dan O'Bannon states in Famous Monsters #159).

[SiL]

As for why it went up, it's possible it was just exploring more of the ship. Prior to that it had only been on C-deck and in the vents.

[Huggs]

The room they were both killed in was on C - Deck.

After killing Lambert, the Alien left the area, either through the doorway it entered or by air shaft (as Dan O'Bannon states in Famous Monsters #159).

Having not seen the blueprints, I could have sworn (on film) there was only one door to that room. Ripley even bumps into the cart with the spotlight still sitting there when she sees lambert.

My money would have to be on it using a shaft. Because the camera pans to the doorway the instant lambert stops screaming, and ripley sees it a millisecond later. The alien would've been right there.

[Elmazalman]

The room they were both killed in was on C - Deck.

After killing Lambert, the Alien left the area, either through the doorway it entered or by air shaft (as Dan O'Bannon states in Famous Monsters #159).

Having not seen the blueprints, I could have sworn (on film) there was only one door to that room. Ripley even bumps into the cart with the spotlight still sitting there when she sees lambert.

My money would have to be on it using a shaft. Because the camera pans to the doorway the instant lambert stops screaming, and ripley sees it a millisecond later. The alien would've been right there.

If it did use an air shaft to exit the room, it could've climbed in first, taking Lambert's body with it. Either it was disturbed stuffing her in, or she didn't fit, leaving her remains jammed halfway in and out of the air shaft's opening, as it traveled on its own through the ducts and emerging on B-Deck - where Ripley almost bumped into it.

[Huggs]

That makes alot of sense.

I definately think she would've fit, but she might have been freaking out so bad at that point that she was making things difficult and it just tore into her.

Either that or she was just shredded against the metal blades. Those openings looked like you'd need a tetanus shot just standing near em.

[SiL]

It hung her on a meathook.

It's possible it left them there for later as its own store room (something for its offspring to eat?), but really the whole scene is based on rule of cool.

[Elmazalman]

It hung her on a meathook.

It's possible it left them there for later as its own store room (something for its offspring to eat?), but really the whole scene is based on rule of cool.

Can't say for certain what she's hanging from. It's not presented clearly enough on film.

It'd be another demonstration of resourcefulness and intelligence on the Alien's part if it used the same hook Parker tried to attack it with to hang Lambert from the ceiling archway.

[SiL]

We see the hooks in the room and Cartwright says she was hung up on the hook. It's the most likely explanation.

[Elmazalman]

We see the hooks in the room and Cartwright says she was hung up on the hook. It's the most likely explanation.

Probably is, but still can't be 100% certain.

[SM]

[Elmazalman]

I think it was just plain bad luck the thing was in the way and Parker couldn't get a clear shot at it.

Even if Parker did get a chance, would the incinerator unit have done any damage? It could've been Lambert that was used as a 'human shield' instead of Parker, as originally storyboarded.

[The Necronoir]

When Ripley and crew decide to detonate the Nostromo, Lambert and Parker are sent down one floor to gather coolant. Ripley apparently stays on the same floor and enters the narcissus, before climbing up another floor to reach the bridge.

She's then seen going down one floor when Parker is being killed, and continues from there down a hallway during Lamberts death. At which point, she is only about 20 feet or less from the room where they were killed, and arrives at the doorway less than 5 seconds after lambert dies. The alien is gone. She retreats down another hallway and activates the self destruct, and in the directors cut, go down another floor into the hive.

She then goes up another floor, where she runs into the alien, who is blocking her way to the narcissus. Likely, this was the "suitcase" scene where the alien was curled up on the floor. She retreats back down the hall and goes down another floor to stop the self destruct, while chap apparently goes into the narcissus. Then she goes up again, gets jones and escapes.


So, after it killed lambert, it apparently got out of the room in less than 5 seconds and was next seen one floor above, blocking the way to the narcissus.

So, did it know Ripley was armed and just ran away? Was it so preoccupied with lambert that once it killed her it instantly went up to find ripley (where it believed she still was) not realizing she'd already come down? Was it sitting there confused and trying to locate her or something when she startled it? Or was it legitimately intelligent enough to immediately cut off the escape route for the remaining host?

What was it doing? Where was it going?

Any theories or thoughts?

I'm finding it hard to follow that without the proper names for each floor (A - B - C Decks). It seems to suggest that the hive area (in one of the landing gear) is below C Deck though. Is that right?

I think whether or not you're following the DC makes a difference here too, as the shot where she's returning from torching Brett and Dallas to the spot where she left Jones is still in the TC, but the earlier shot of her descending into the hive is only in the DC.

It's been a while since I've watched Alien though, so I may be wrong on some points.

[SM]

The nest is on C-deck.

The script says it's below C-deck, while also saying the other landing leg room where Brett is taken is on C-deck.

[Xenomorphine]

Isn't Ripley yelling out for Parker and Lambert as she runs to them? It's possible that triggered the Alien's hunting instinct and it went off in the last direction it heard her, unaware she was about to enter there.