Many will debate between which film is better: the original Alien or its sequel, Aliens. This isn’t an examination of which film is the better movie- they’re both excellent in their own right. However, the franchise as a whole has some baggage to reckon with in the current time period. Alien 3 and the subsequent films have more often than not disappointed fans of the series, and many of their problems can be traced back to Aliens. To fully understand the start of this drop in quality it’s important to go back to what made the first two films so great.
Starting with Alien, audiences were treated to one of the most unique survival horror sci-fi films ever created. Part of the reason that the original film was so successful was its set design. The art of H.R. Giger combined with the futuristic yet realistic spaceship the Nostromo painted a vivid picture of a time ahead that felt entirely possible. Additionally, the level of detail in the way that the crew of the Nostromo lived together and interacted with the various systems on the ship felt authentic while still maintaining their foreign essence.
Most important to note though is the ways in which the titular Alien, the Xenomorph, is made terrifying to the audience. The key here is the mystery surrounding the creature itself. The original film doesn’t stop to explain anything about the Xenomorph or its origins. Instead, it demands that the audience pay attention and try to comprehend the horror that is unfolding in front of them. What is the thing that attached itself to a crew member’s face? Why does it have acid for blood? What just erupted from that guy’s stomach? Why is it growing so quickly and how is it so deadly? These are undoubtedly all questions that plague the viewers’ minds while watching the first movie. There weren’t terms like “facehugger” or “chestburster” spoken out loud in that movie. The crew is trying to keep up just like the audience.
On top of the layers of mystery and horror, there’s also the element of the Weyland Yutani corporation being more sinister than one would initially think. Only a few things are known about this corporation. The first is that they are the benefactors of this expedition, and judging by the ship and the fact that there is a synthetic human android on board they clearly have money. Once the android on board starts to display ulterior motives the corporation takes on a more sinister undertone.
The original Alien maintains its sense of mystery by never fully answering any of the questions it brings up. It doesn’t even fully explain if Ripley makes it back to Earth after she barely escapes with her cat. There was no guaranteed sequel like there is with Marvel movies today. It just ends, leaving the audience to ruminate on the idea that if there were any hostile entity in outer space it’s more likely than not that nobody would hear mankind scream, let alone see them survive, such a predicament.
Aliens understood what worked about the first film. It also understood in true Hollywood fashion what a great sequel does- it doubles down on the aspects of the first. More mysteries, more violence, and a much heavier dose of action are all on display here. It’s not as scary of a film though and it isn’t trying to be. Aliens is a thrill ride in its own league. However, the questions left over from the first movie that Aliens does answer are the roots of the franchise’s descent into lesser quality.
For example, the first Alien makes sure not to show too much of the Xenomorph. This instills a fear of the unknown in the audience as it’s clear this creature is insanely dangerous yet the audience can’t get a good look at it. Aliens in its action-heavy approach delivers dozens of Xenomorphs. It also shows them far more liberally than the first film. What’s more, it even goes so far as to show what’s giving birth to them with the introduction of the Queen Xenomorph. The Weyland Yutani corporation is also confirmed to absolutely have no scruples, as their lackey is sent along on the mission to retrieve and bring back a Xenomorph. It seems like a small detail, but this official confirmation matters.
Subsequent films in the series have struggled to cultivate any sense of mystery at all as they all are striving to chase the box office success of Aliens. Each film gives the audience something new about the Xenomorphs and is worse for it. Alien 3 for example asks the question of whether humans are the only organisms that Xenomorphs can use for birthing chambers. The answer? A CGI dog Xenomorph. Alien Resurrection asks the unnecessary question of what happens when Xenomorph and human DNA is mixed. While Prometheus attempts to take the series back to its roots in some ways, its follow-up Alien: Covenant clumsily provides even more answers and mimics the ending of the original. Now that the series has revealed the cards in its hand it is struggling to put the cat back in the bag so to speak. The sense of mystery and terror baked into the first film has proven difficult to recreate.
The upcoming FX series has the chance to shake things up though. The series is headed into unknown territory for the first time by selecting Earth as its setting. In addition to this decidedly different approach is the inclusion of Noah Hawley of Fargo acclaim as the showrunner. The series also has a luxury that no film before it has had: time. A full series could set up mystery and tension in a slow-burn fashion that a two-hour film could never accomplish. Here’s to hoping it can keep put the audience in the dark and keep them there.
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