What made you a fan?

[The Old One]

I think most of us experienced the (R rated) series first as a youngin' funnily enough.

[Kradan]

Well, I was 4 but it was PG-13 AvP for me. Ironic, isn't it ?

[The Old One]

I don't get the irony? lol

[Kradan]

Well, you said that :

I think most of us experienced the (R rated) series first as a youngin' funnily enough.

I indeed experienced it being pretty young but it's felt ironic to me that in my case the first one was the movie which arguably is most suitable for kids 'cause it's the least gory one.

[The Old One]

Ah, totally get you now.

[Huggs]

Well, you said that :

I think most of us experienced the (R rated) series first as a youngin' funnily enough.

I indeed experienced it being pretty young but it's felt ironic to me that in my case the first one was the movie which arguably is most suitable for kids 'cause it's the least gory one.

I'd argue the 2nd is the more suitable than the first. Alien has plenty of Gore, but that aside, Gore is just a visual that's replaced after a millisecond.

Chap is a big ol' rape monster who's stalking and killing everybody in the dark. The horror is not reigned in by Hudson freakouts and cool shootouts/set pieces. The atmosphere is completely different. It's dark, it's dirty, and it's cruel.

[The Old One]

He's referring to the first he viewed, AVP 2004, not the original Alien.

[Huggs]

Ah. Well heck, you could watch avp right after veggie-tales.

The second one though, I wouldn't count on nap time going over very well.

[The Old One]

Haha I'd think not.

[Galactus123]

I saw the first Predator movie when I was 6 or 7 years old. Then I saw Predator 2 soon after it.

[Gemini]

when I was a kid Aliens was one of those 'grown up' films I was allowed to stay up and watch on TV. it had a HUGE effect on me. I kinda saw them as these weird ant like creatures that freaked me out. and the setting on LV426 was so evocative and atmospheric.
as I got older I caught up on the movie series, got into it in a big way including getting into the novels with Wilks/Billie etc (I had NO idea of the retconning going on there!). as time goes on you realise that the movies really stand up and age superbly well.

I drifted away from being a super fan for a bit, but I think it was since the prequels came out I've got back into the franchise as a whole in a BIG way. (including Predator but I will always be more on an Alien guy). it's one of my favourite sci fi universes because it always seems grounded and realistic, plus the horror elements of course. the EU is obviously a mixed bag with some really lame stuff but also some great ideas which expand the universe well.

[StrangeShape]

I drifted away from being a super fan for a bit, but I think it was since the prequels came out I've got back into the franchise as a whole in a BIG way.

Its interesting how different things affect different people. For me the prequels did the opposite, stained the mythology for me to such point I can never enjoy it as much as I did before. I always loved the Lovecraftian idea of aliens being some natural but very ancient species. The idea of them being created in a cave by flamboyant British butler crushes my entire view on aliens. Theyre not as terrifying anymore, theyre not as exciting or fascinating. Creatures aside, because movies are primarily stories, I was disappointed with characters and story of Prometheus and completely let down by a Netflix original sort of feel of the Covenant which felt like a dime a dozen on demand slasher/modern monster flick. Im recently trying to recapture that spark and revisit the first three movies and the beginnings of the mythology, but not sure with those prequels in existence if the series can ever be looked at the same way. Then again, I guess the same could be said about Resurection and AVP:R

But I also realize some of those films that repelled me from the franchise actually made others fans, so I mean no offense to anyone. I'm just being old ;P

[[cancerblack]]

I drifted away from being a super fan for a bit, but I think it was since the prequels came out I've got back into the franchise as a whole in a BIG way.

Its interesting how different things affect different people. For me the prequels did the opposite, stained the mythology for me to such point I can never enjoy it as much as I did before. I always loved the Lovecraftian idea of aliens being some natural but very ancient species. The idea of them being created in a cave by flamboyant British butler crushes my entire view on aliens. Theyre not as terrifying anymore, theyre not as exciting or fascinating. Creatures aside, because movies are primarily stories, I was disappointed with characters and story of Prometheus and completely let down by a Netflix original sort of feel of the Covenant which felt like a dime a dozen on demand slasher/modern monster flick. Im recently trying to recapture that spark and revisit the first three movies and the beginnings of the mythology, but not sure with those prequels in existence if the series can ever be looked at the same way. Then again, I guess the same could be said about Resurection and AVP:R

But I also realize some of those films that repelled me from the franchise actually made others fans, so I mean no offense to anyone. I'm just being old ;P

Why not both?

[StrangeShape]

Meaning?

[Gemini]

Its interesting how different things affect different people. For me the prequels did the opposite, stained the mythology for me to such point I can never enjoy it as much as I did before. I always loved the Lovecraftian idea of aliens being some natural but very ancient species. The idea of them being created in a cave by flamboyant British butler crushes my entire view on aliens. Theyre not as terrifying anymore, theyre not as exciting or fascinating. Creatures aside, because movies are primarily stories, I was disappointed with characters and story of Prometheus and completely let down by a Netflix original sort of feel of the Covenant which felt like a dime a dozen on demand slasher/modern monster flick. Im recently trying to recapture that spark and revisit the first three movies and the beginnings of the mythology, but not sure with those prequels in existence if the series can ever be looked at the same way. Then again, I guess the same could be said about Resurection and AVP:R

But I also realize some of those films that repelled me from the franchise actually made others fans, so I mean no offense to anyone. I'm just being old ;P

I totally understand what you are saying, and I can empathise. the idea of the Alien as something just utterly other, utterly outside our comprehension, or perhaps something horrific that just happened to evolve elsewhere.. so chilling in a deep way.
the first movie was a very enigmatic one. you had no idea how the space jockey race fitted in with the xenomorph. it's like you were just seeing the tip of the iceberg and your imagination filled in all the gaps. you didn't even have an idea of how that xeno fitted in with it's own race. how intelligent was it?

so yeah, I can understand how all we've learnt since then kinda scuppers that. but I think overall we've gained more than we've lost. in terms of keeping the franchise alive and expanding the universe.
I mean, you could even apply what you are saying to everything from Aliens onwards to some degree. as soon as we learnt about the Queen they just become more like animals or bugs.

luckily Alien Ressurection we can kind of ignore or separate out, because it's set so much longer after the other movies.

I do sometimes wonder how Alien would be remembered if it was just that first movie.. it wouldn't be the big franchise it is today.. still a big movie I am sure, but more of a standalone cult horror thing.

I do think that Prometheus, for all the info it gave us, still tried to maintain a lot of mystery. that was what actually infuriated a lot of people! so they are kind of damned if they do, damned if they don't. Covenant was more explicit. I am sure you have all been through the David creating the Aliens debate- for me I am happy that he may have just recreated them but I know others disagree. and I know that's kind of having my cake and eating it..