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Alien In 1979, director Ridley Scott teamed up with European artist H.R. Giger to create a new species of terror. A species that would shock and entertain audiences for over twenty years. When Alien was released in theatres it combined an unprecedented mix of science fiction and suspense. The overall terror which struck the viewers (and cast) was enough to spawn several sequels which centre around an organism which gestates within an organic host, has concentrated acid for blood and lives only to breed. We open with the commercial towing ship called "The Nostromo", ships crew is seven (including actors Tom Skerrit and Sigorney Weaver) and they're shipping 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore back to earth. En route they intercept a transmission coming from a nearby planet, LV-426. Their contract states they have to check out any signals that may be from an intelligent origin, so they set down to investigate the beacon. While on the surface the away team comes across a derilect ship that may or may not have crashed. Venturing inside, Kane finds a room filled with "eggs". Foolishly tripping a laser booby trap, one of the eggs abruptly hatches and the life form that comes out attaches itself to Kane's environment suit mask. When they bring him back aboard, Kane is unconscious. The organism has burned it's way through the mask and is now attached to Kane's face, covering it completely and acting as his oxygen supply. When the crew tries to surgically remove the parasite they get a nasty surprise. When the creature's blood spills it begins to eat it's way through the deck and doesn't stop for about three levels (I bet they're glad medical wasn't on the bottom of the ship, eh?). Removing it is out of the question. Later on, the parasite removes itself and dies and Kane seems fine. That is until dinner!! I've included a couple screen shots as to what happens to Kane. The Alien has two phases of life. After it hatches from the egg it's a "face hugger", it must then attach itself to another organism so it can lay another egg in the chest of the host. After this cycle completes the face hugger dies....... and so does the host. This is later on when the Alien gestates, grows and then bursts through the chest. It's not a pretty sight. As the crew looks for the creature that scurries off after it's birth, it grows significantly. One by one, the crew members are picked off by the aggresive alien in a suspenseful fashion that leaves you on the edge of your seat until the terrifying climax where Sigorney Weaver's character (Ripley) has a shown down with the thing. You have to watch how she deals with a life form that is far superior to ours; an alien whose survival instincts are paralelled only by it's lethal agression. Alien will forever be remembered as a classic suspense-filled horror. One of the interesting aspects of Alien is the intriguing design of the Alien itself and most of the exterior setting by renowned artist, H.R. Giger.
Check out the original trailer for Alien in Quick Time format by clicking here. (3.3 MB)
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Aliens Seven years after the original Alien swept through the nation and made an unlikely hero of our friend Ellen Ripley, writer/director James Cameron brought us a follow up of the Alien story with an action packed, roller coaster ride of high-tech weaponry and savage beasts from deep space. As we remember from the last film Ripley had to deal with the Alien that stowed itself aboard the life boat. After putting herself in stasis she ends up drifting for 57 years, only to be picked up by the Network, reamed out for destroying the Sulaco, called a liar concerning her story of the Alien and severely demoted. To make matters worse she finds out that the company has sent a terraforming colony to LV-426, consisting of 50 to 60 families. Soon after, the communications with the colony is lost and a colonial marine squad is sent in. They ask Ripley to go as a consultant just in case there is an alien threat but she refuses. Night after night of horrid nightmares makes her change her mind with assurances that their mission is to wipe the aliens out. Of course, it's not going to be that easy. When the team reaches LV-426 they find the colony in shambles and no sign of life, except a few "face huggers" sealed in medical canisters. After a few hours Ripley and the marines find a lone little girl named Newt who has managed to evade the aliens. And that's when fun starts. After the marines torch a newly hatched alien from a cocooned host the rest of the hive reacts aggressively and ends up wiping out 60% of the team, not to mention their transportation off of the rock. The rest of the film is the remaining members scrambling for a way to get off the planet because they know they won't survive the 17 days it will take for a rescue team. Using every resource available, Ripley, Newt and the marines barracade themselves in operations while the synthetic human android (Bishop, played very well by the talented Lance Henriksen) crawls eighty metres through an air duct to reach an outer antennae. There he can contact the other shuttle from the Sulaco still in orbit and remote pilot it back to pick them up. Meanwhile, the aliens come back for a final showdown, proving again that they are the superior species on the planet. In the excitement Newt gets kidnapped by one of them and Ripley is forced to arm herself to the teeth, infiltrate the nest, deal with the Alien Queen and rescue the psuedo-daughter. The climax of this film is one of the best ever filmed. Many will argue that Aliens is the best out of the series. I tend to agree. Mr. Cameron really outdid himself with this film. If you haven't seen Aliens you're missing two hours of excellent shit!!!
Check out the original trailer for Aliens in Quick Time format by clicking here. (2.4 MB)
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Alien III Whether Aliens was supposed to be the final chapter in the Alien saga, I don't know. Several years after it was released another sequel extended the story of Ripley's struggle against the aggresive species. It seems an egg was secretly stowed aboard the shuttle (by the Queen? Who knows?). At the end of Aliens only four members of the team have survived. Ripley, Newt, Corporal Hicks and a very damaged Bishop. During their stasis the hidden egg hatches and the "face hugger" is seen trying to get at Ripley through her cryo-tube. When the tube is breached the failsafe activates and the life boat detaches from the ship and starts to drift towards a desolate planet. The craft crash lands near a maximum security penal colony (Fury 161). The crash impales and kills Hicks, Newt is drowned in the cryo-tube and Bishop is damamged even further. Ripley survives however. The inmates of Fury 161 are sent to salvage the crash and Ripley is brought back and nursed back to health. Because the colony has the worst lice infestation ever known, all inmates are required to shave their head and other areas which grow hair. Ripley is no exception. (It cost the producers millions to get Weaver to shave her head for the part, but she did it!!!) Ripley is now the only female in the midst of convicted rapists and murderers. A supply ship comes every six months to stock the colony, but the Network is going to make a special trip to retrieve her. Why? We'll get to that later. In the meantime, did I fail to mention that there was another egg? Only in this film the "face hugger" finds a new species to host it's final phase. This film's Alien is grown from the chest of a dog and proves that the alien's genetic structure is dictated by it's host. This alien works best on all fours, for instance. A new breed in terror. Despite all of Ripley's warnings, the colony doesn't believe her Alien threat until the warden is picked off right in front of their eyes (cool scene!!!). After that the convicts must work together to try and destroy the beast. Seeing the colony is a maximum security installation, there are no weapons at all. Not even the warden had a firearm. The plan comes down to trapping the alien in a fortified vault. But it gets better! Ripley has more than one run in with the Alien and surprisingly, she is spared each time. Why? Her paranoia becomes reality when her cat scan reveals that the "face hugger" from her shuttle has sealed her fate by laying an egg inside her. The Alien that's on the lose won't kill her because she's carrying a Queen! And the Network wants to pick her up so they can surgically remove it for study. Gaining the trust and respect of the inmates, Ripley helps them deal with their alien and confronts Bishop's maker (also played by Lance Henriksen). When their plot to study the organism is revealed Ripley is forced to make a critical decision. As usual, I won't spoil the climax. This film is probably the worst of the series but that doesn't make it a bad flick. Seeing there is only one alien running around the compound, the suspense of the first film is recreated. This chapter is the first that used computer imaging to produce the alien on film.
Check out the original trailer for Alien III in Quick Time format by clicking here. (2.34 MB)
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Alien IV: Resurrection This most recent chapter of the Alien story is surprisingly entertaining. Personally, I find it second only to Aliens. 200 years after Ripley's death she has been cloned in a deep space research laboratory. Her genetic structure is a hybrid combination of Ellen Ripley and the Queen that was inside her when she died. After her cloning process is completed, the Queen is extracted from her chest and contained to lay eggs. As a result of the cross-breeding, Ripley's clone (called Number 8), although externally human, begins to produce alien attributes including great strength and speed and acidic blood. A band of space pirates rendevous with the research facility to deliver a dozen human specimens which they hi-jacked in space. They are unknowingly delivering hosts for the Queen's eggs. After the aliens are born they are contained and tested. While confined they use their intellegence to find a way out of confinement and that's when the fun begins.....again. After the aliens escape their confinement most of the crew is jetisoned. Ripley, the pirates and one of the scientists (the villian) are left to roam the station with the aliens on the loose. They must make their way to the pirate's ship (The Betty) if they're to escape. Meanwhile, the space station's emergency commands are activated which includes automatic navigation back to Earth. The survival team use Call (a now forbidden android played by Winona Ryder) to access the ship's computer and crash it on Earth to make sure the aliens are forever exterminated. En route to "The Betty" the group battles with Aliens, get snagged in traps and all sorts of cool shit. Ripley gets kidnapped by one of the aliens only to be carted to the Queen who now has the human attribute of giving birth to a new, terrifying breed of Alien instead of laying "face hugger" eggs. She is treated with respect by the beasts because of her genetic similarities with them, but she decides to flee and join up with the others before they take off. Again, I won't apoil the climax. Honourable mention goes to Mr. Brad Dourif, it was a delight seeing you in this chapter Brad!!! Will there be a part V? Many rumours (and some great plot ideas) are circulating the net right now. Whether or not Fox will turn Chapter V into a reality or not is not known. After Resurrection's calabre, I feel very strongly that Ms. Weaver should reprise her role again. An Alien film wouldn't be the same without her.
Check out the original trailer for Alien: Resurrection in Quick Time format by clicking here. (4.3 MB)
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