Alien

There were so many amazing elements in this film. I just think a lot of it went over my head in watching, and so it may deserve a rewatch given the amount of allegorical depth it actually has. What an incredible visual, sound, performative and narrative experience this was. Props especially to Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm and Veronica Cartwright. First, the movie is aesthetically pitch-perfect. Basically as flawless as Kubrick's 2001 11 years prior. You can just see the amount of imagination and effort put into the set design, costuming, practical effects and everything else that breathe life into Alien's universe. From the beginning titles reminiscent of the work of Saul Bass, to the cassette futurism of the interior, to the Half-Life headcrab/Halo Flood-esque parasite that latches onto John Hurt's character, to the alien itself - everything looks in service to Ridley Scott's grand vision. Speaking of the alien hatchling, as a massive fan of both Half-Life and Halo, it was great to see and also ponder whether Alien was the Prometheus (lol) for that kind of creature that latches onto a host as seen in those games. I'm not entirely familiar with early sci-fi, so if anyone actually has that answer, please tell me. Obviously those games also made the point that the person is not only a host but turns into a zombie after "infected." The cinematography is also such a treat to experience. Each scene has a distinct shot style according to the action taking place. The calm of the first act features standard shots, before moving to more jarring angles and featuring unique lighting and color choices in the third. The action scenes set in the Nostromo's corridors are POV, almost channeling the future game series. The strobes work so great in sci-fi horror, as if that technique was made for this story. My favorite shot in the whole film however is towards the end, when Ripley is climbing up after failing to stop the detonation sequence. We see a close-up of her grimy fingernails, which then rack-focuses to her eyes and sweaty face. It's such an amazing arthouse-like bit of production and contains such a gorgeous Euphoria-esque cool color pallette. The sound is beautiful. I think everything about it is perfect. I wish I paid more attention to the score in the second and third act, but that creepy opening suite was 🔥 and so chilling. The diegetic classical music when the crew is eating was a nice touch too! It reminded me of many moments in A Clockwork Orange. I haven't even touched on what happens in the movie, and of course the ingenious sci-fi concepts. So many twists and turns; thrills and catharses. Ash is a robot! The corporation planted him there! There's a ChatGPT on board named Mother! What a climax!! But also, many questions: what is this "The Company" anyway? What was their goal for this exploration protocol? Where did the aliens come from? There's a scene where Riley learns Ash has turned on the crew. She tries to escape and says "Ash, open the door," and I couldn't help but think "Open the pod bay doors, Hal." They are somewhat similar situations, in that they both feature artificial intelligences trying to complete a mission with no regard for the human life on board. There is so much more to say about this film than is humanly possible to describe, but I'm glad I got something out.