Alien Resurrection Hive?

[JA Boomer]

I caught part of Alien Resurrection on TV yesterday, I haven't seen it in a few years, and one part in particular made me scratch my head. Near the end of the film, when the floor grate Ripley is standing on gets torn down by an alien, she seems to land below on part of the alien hive. It is a pulsating mass with what looks like alien tails protruding from it and moving around, and she gets sucked up by it.

Is this support to be an alien hive? Why is it seemingly 'living'? What's with the tails? Why would she get sucked into it? And why would the alien that torn open the floor just disappear?

If anyone has any sort of explanation for this scene, I'd be interested to hear your reply, or perhaps it can be chocked up to poor filmmaking and continuity?

[War Wager]

It was nicknamed 'The Viper Pit' on set. I think it was the Alien's attempt to build a Hive, but since they're geneticly mucked up, they ended up creating something else. The seemed to be drawn to the thing because theres some Alien's sleeping on it (hense the tails). It could have been to protect the Queen's chamber down below which is why Ripley gets sucked down so she can be taken there. We really don't know. 

[Salt The Fries]

Yeah, I watched all featurettes yesterday, and although it was shown in its entirety, it wasn't fully explained.

[SM]

It's never been fully explained.

Genetically buggered up hive is a common theory to explain it.

[JA Boomer]

Yea OK, the genetic modifications of the aliens in the movie may be an explanation. And because we don't really know how/why/what a normal alien hive is made of it's hard to say. The hive in Aliens appeared to be a structure of some sort, how a genetic modification to the species would cause them to be able to create/produce a LIVING structure alludes me.

[SM]

How do you know the original hive isn't a 'living structure'.

[JA Boomer]

How do you know the original hive isn't a 'living structure'.

Good Point, although watching Aliens gives myself more the impression that the hive is NOT a living organism in its own right, then it is.

[SM]

The Hadley Hive is a lot older than the Auriga one.

My take on it is the Alien excretes the hive material which multiplies and spreads out to cover anything else nearby, and hardens whatever it leaves behind.

Kinda like a lava flow where you see the leading edge of the lava is burning hot and more liquid, but the trail behind is slightly cooler and a little more solid.

[Weasel]

The Hadley Hive is a lot older than the Auriga one.

My take on it is the Alien excretes the hive material which multiplies and spreads out to cover anything else nearby, and hardens whatever it leaves behind.

Kinda like a lava flow where you see the leading edge of the lava is burning hot and more liquid, but the trail behind is slightly cooler and a little more solid.

I always thought it was like sticky resign that hardened. Like when newt is cocooned. Hardened slime if you will. And I always thought worker drones did it all.

[SM]

The Aliens (not 'worker drones') instigate it obviously.  The theory though is that once it's been excreted by the Alien it spreads of it's own accord.

[Weasel]

The Aliens (not 'worker drones') instigate it obviously.  The theory though is that once it's been excreted by the Alien it spreads of it's own accord.

Resin cannot move. And whos do say that the hive doesn't have worker drones at any rate?

[SM]

Four movies.  Six if you include the recent two.

And who's to say it's "resin"?  Dietrich studied for all of a couple of seconds, and no formal studies have been done on it.

Anchorpoint does however expand on the theory.

[Uncanny Antman]

...not to mention that "resin cannot move" is a complete falsehood.  It can't move after it's hardened sure, but there's that pesky liquid stage that he seems to have overlooked.

[Weasel]

Four movies.  Six if you include the recent two.

And who's to say it's "resin"?  Dietrich studied for all of a couple of seconds, and no formal studies have been done on it.

Anchorpoint does however expand on the theory.

Better go on a small amount of canonical movie examination than pure hypothetical guessing. Oh and Cameron was going to have 'worker drones' in the movie aliens.

[SM]

And yet he didn't.  Canonically.

So one throwaway comment from a marine medtech just as strong evidence-wise as deleted albino drones?