Alien

Compared to other viewers in this class, I feel like I took a backward approach to seeing Alien. The first time I became acquainted with the monster it was via one of the Alien v. Predator films. From there, I moved through the Alien series backwards (unintentionally). And in some ways, I think that made the original film shine even more. It amazes me that Alien was made so long ago, and yet in comparison to more recent films, it's a masterpiece.

It was full of a ton of "monsters"...and by that, I'm not talking about the aliens themselves. Ash, the Company, many of the human (or programmed beings) in this film really qualify as monsters more than the title character, in my opinion. Mostly because they created this being for a purpose. They had motivation that was truly malicious. The Alien, on the other hand, was only doing what it was born to do: kill. And man, did it do that well.

As far as enemies go, the Alien is top notch. It provides character conflict both externally and internally.
The external conflict is apparent in every one of Alien's forms. The primitive beasts that plant the baby aliens into humans look innocent enough when compared with their progeny, but they are extremely dangerous. When I first saw one of them clamp on to a victim's face, I was shocked. I think I actually jumped in my seat. Even more impressive are the scenes where they burst from human chests. The way they are filmed, with their tiny heads covered in goo, is truly frightening. However, the most intimidating form of the Alien is the adult version, the one that hides in shadows and kills without mercy. The one that's grown on the instinct to kill. The sheer size and intelligence of this beast makes it the perfect villain.

The internal conflict comes from the fear it creates. It leaves the viewer wondering which dark corner it's hiding in, or which human it's incubating in. That uncertainty really ups the game here. Because this isn't another Jason/slasher who you know is hiding around the corner and will jump out at predictable moments. The Alien stalks its prey much more effectively than that. And because it wasn't predictable, because the Alien was always upping the game, the fear factor stayed through the whole movie. I think that's the part about it that I loved the most.

I have to give credit to the director of this film, because so much of the terror I felt while watching came from the approach. The setting fit the monster completely and enhanced its predatory skills. There were so many dark corners for it to hide in, stalk prey from. However, in later films, especially the Alien v. Predator films, I didn't get the same vibe. In some senses, having this monster in a less enclosed space weakens the fear factor. I think this is because it doesn't pit helpless humans against Alien in quite the same way; in an enclosed space, humans are forced to confront the monster instead of just running. Also, when you pit Alien against a being as powerful and intelligent as it, it's less of a contest. The conflict, the stakes, aren't as high. So, while the original Alien is genius, the later films didn't quite do it for me.