NARRATOR: “It’s Episode 603 for Monday, October 7th, 2019.”
NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will guest star Daniel Shaw of The History of Violence podcast, who will be reviewing the 1979 Ridley Scott classic, ‘Alien’. A promo will run before the review.”
NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn our attention back to the fate of our host, Joseph, in Part Three of “COSMIC FARM HOUSE”.”
SCENE: Space station.
JOSEPH: *waking up* “What the...”
JOSEPH: “Where am I now?”
NARRATOR: “As usual, Joseph was just full of questions. What the heck? Where am I? Does anyone listen to my podcast?”
JOSEPH: “Hey!”
NARRATOR: “Sorry, low blow. Because he was right to have questions. Questions like...”
JOSEPH: “What was a rocket doing at a farm house in the middle of nowhere? Why was I brought there in the trunk of a car? Will I ever be able to watch ‘Back to the Future’ the same again?”
NARRATOR: “Perhaps not that last one. He looked around the room, where similar pods had been left open, because even in space, no one bothers to make the bed. However, it told Joseph there were other people around. He dropped down to the floor, and began walking.”
JOSEPH: “Hello?”
DANIEL: “Hello? Is that our stowaway?”
NARRATOR: “Joseph turned towards the sound, as a humanoid form rounded the corner towards him. He was glad the search didn’t take long, because even though he was relieved, he was also becoming increasingly frustrated.”
JOSEPH: “I guess I am. Who are you?”
NARRATOR: “Joseph stuck his hand out, which was grasped with a surprising strength. He looked down at their grip, noticing for the first time the slightly yellowish, alien quality to his skin.”
DANIEL: “My apologies. I am Science Officer Rook, at your service.”
JOSEPH: “Great, maybe you can help me.”
DANIEL: “Yes, but only if you can help me, first.”
JOSEPH: “I guess that’s fair, what do you need?”
DANIEL: “Well, I seem to have lost our ship’s cat.”
JOSEPH: “What’s his name?”
DANIEL: “Jones.”
JOSEPH: “And where is this kitty?”
DANIEL: “Just over here in the medical bay. It shouldn’t take long.”
JOSEPH: “Okay.”
JOSEPH: “Where is everyone else?”
DANIEL: “Oh, I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.”
JOSEPH: “Where are we?”
DANIEL: “You’re aboard the Nostradamus. We’re conducting scientific research in deep space. Not sure how you got here, but we’re glad to have you. How did you find us?”
JOSEPH: “Well, I was in a field, and then I heard a noise.”
DANIEL: “What kind of noise?”
JOSEPH: “Kind of like a...”
JOSEPH: “But more like a...”
JOSEPH: “I’m sure it’ll come back to me. Say, this ship seems awfully empty.”
DANIEL: “I assure you, everything is running optimally for the mission.”
JOSEPH: “I guess. Can’t you tell me anything?”
DANIEL: “I’m afraid not.”
JOSEPH: “But why not?”
DANIEL: “I don’t want to interfere with the experiment.”
JOSEPH: “Oh.”
JOSEPH: “Wait, what?”
DANIEL: “What?”
JOSEPH: “Did you just say experiment?”
JOSEPH: “That’s the sound I heard! Do you hear that?”
DANIEL: “No. Not at all. I think you’re hearing things.”
JOSEPH: “Man, now I can’t get it out of my head!”
JOSEPH: “Like it’s just around the corner. Say, Rook?”
NARRATOR: “But Rook was nowhere to be found. Joseph realized he stood outside of the medical bay, though, and attempted to enter.”
JOSEPH: “What the...?”
NARRATOR: “Another justified question. It was locked.”
JOSEPH: “I wake up on a spaceship, after running from a haunted farm house, transported in the trunk of a car, to get ghosted by some weird science officer? This is so frustrating! I could just... just...”
NARRATOR: “But he couldn’t, because...”
NARRATOR: “No, I’m not reading this.”
JOSEPH: “Yes you are.”
NARRATOR: “Are you serious?”
JOSEPH: “Yes.”
NARRATOR: “Fine.”
NARRATOR: *clears throat* “Because...” *sigh* “in space, no one can hear you scream.”
JOSEPH: “Yeah, I deserved that.”
JOSEPH: “But not whatever that is. Time to run!”
NARRATOR: “And run he did, down the hallway and away from the sounds of whatever stalked him. Join us tomorrow for part four of “COSMIC FARM HOUSE”, when we’re joined by Greg & Mike from the Top 5 For Fighting Podcast for a review of the James Cameron action horror classic, ‘Aliens’. And let’s see if Joseph can survive another day.”
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<< THE HISTORY OF VIOLENCE PROMO >>
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Today´s movie is “Alien” (1979), the horror sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott and written for the screen by Dan O'Bannon. In this ground-breaking movie the crew of the Nostromo, a cargo spaceship, accidentally bring aboard an unimaginably dangerous extra-terrestrial. What follows is some of the tensest horror ever committed to film, as Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her crewmates are locked in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with an unstoppable killing machine.
“Alien” is a slow burn, but one that rewards the audience with supremely crafted tension and shocking jump scares. And by slow, I mean really slow, with minutes long shots of the ship drifting slowly through space. This measured pace applies to the plotting as well as the cinematography, with the opening scene showing the crew waking up and eating breakfast. The first real scare doesn’t come until about 45 minutes into the movie, which might be a problem for some viewers. This stands in contrast to “Star Wars”, released just 2 years earlier, which opens with a bombastic space battle. In both cases, I think Scott’s decision to take his time pays off, by focusing attention on the ground-breaking set design, and building subtle relationships between what could otherwise by a fairly two-dimensional cast of characters.
You would expect a 40-year-old horror movie, especially one set in space that relies on a hideous monster as the primary focus, to seem dated in the special effects area. Luckily, the skill of the director and the commitment of the cast mean that, despite the reliance on what are effectively big puppets, “Alien” holds up remarkably well. Much of this is down to the set and monster design, which owes its inspiration to the Swiss painter HR Geiger. Geiger’s depictions of bizarre, bio-mechanical nightmares are disturbing but strangely peaceful, with this sense of stillness being carried over into the movie. The horror in “Alien” does not rely on fast-paced action or movement, something which could easily look jerky and dated compared to modern CGI action. Instead, the scares lie in still shots and slow, deliberate motions, as the flickering lights reveal patient primordial horrors in the dark corners of the labyrinthian spaceship. Similarly, Giger’s Freudian undertones are reflected in “Alien”, with much of the imagery focusing on the connections between sex, pregnancy, birth, and death. The fears that this movie taps into are subconscious and timeless, in a way which blood-and-guts horror isn’t.
“Alien”‘s lasting influence on horror can’t be understated, and much of that comes from how it straddles different genres. It is part haunted house, as the characters find themselves trapped in the desolate, isolated spaceship. It has also been called a “slasher in space”, with the crew being picked off one by one as the seemingly unstoppable killer stalks them. But, conceptually, “Alien” is a monster movie, focused on the titular Xenomorph. In a sense, “Alien” represents a link between the monster movies of earlier Hollywood eras and the slasher films of the 70s and 80s. In the past, cinema created inhuman beasts, like King Kong and Frankenstein’s monster, and asked the audience to identify with them on a human level. In the later slasher movies, we have human killers who we feel little sympathy for, given how senseless and inhumane their violence is. The Xenomorph in “Alien” represents a synthesis of this, meaning that this is a film which covers all the horror bases.
Beyond this, “Alien” also addresses fears which are both timeless and deeply modern by providing a multi-faceted monster. The antagonist is grotesquely monstrous, utterly inhuman, and completely without motivation. Cold and inhospitable to life, just like space. A violent force of nature which is both inevitable and senseless. A literal killing machine, depicted as a horrific melding of bone and gears, reinforcing the fraught relationship between humanity and technology which characterizes much of Ridley Scott's work. Much like the troubled narrator of a Lovecraftian tale, the people who face the Xenomorph are dealing with something which is impossible to understand or reason with, like nature, like the rapidly changing world, like the depths of our own subconscious, creating a truly existential, but very modern, antagonist.
This is a must watch for anyone with an interest in horror or sci-fi, and for me it holds up as one of the greatest movies ever made. If you can get over the slow opening, you will be rewarded with some truly unforgettable scenes. Watch it, but not alone!
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% (CERTIFIED FRESH)
Metacritic: 89% (METACRITIC MUST SEE)
One Movie Punch: 10/10
“Alien” (1979) is rated R and is available to stream at Now TV, Sky GO and to rent at pretty much every online outlet!
This is Daniel, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off!
