To this day, no one has surpassed the Xenomorph design of the Alien franchise.

Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.

The big picture

• Alien
  It stands out from other science fiction films because it features truly unique and believable extraterrestrial creatures, which do not have a humanoid shape.
• The costumes and performances of the actors behind the xenomorphs create an impeccable work of art, hiding every aspect of the inner human and contributing to their disturbing appearance.
• The aliens in the Alien series have a deeper level of complexity, with a biomechanical aesthetic and a fully developed biological cycle that taps into deep fears and anxieties about reproduction and motherhood.

If there is one generalization that can be made about the science fiction film genre, it is that alien life forms are largely humanoid in shape. Two arms, two legs, torso. Hairy and short like Ewoks, hairy and large like Wookiees. And if they are not, they are a bastardization of Earth’s creatures to the Spaceship Soldiersor just a little lame, like the annoying Tribbles from Star Trek. In fact, the only franchise that has ever truly produced anything believably out of this world is Alien, a trend that continues with Alien: Romulusnow in theaters. No other franchise comes even close, a testament to the various means through which the films have brought face-huggers and xenomorphs to life. Utilizing and crafting a winning mix of acting chops, practical effects, cinematography, and a healthy dose of artistic flair Giger Human Resourcesthe nightmare vision of when he created these beasts, The Alien franchise has consistently produced aliens who share little semblance of humanity, but a great deal of will to end it..

Films outside of Alien have failed to match the design of his creature.

To truly appreciate how the Alien series transcends its peers, one must realize how homogenous intelligent aliens in other films truly are. Science fiction films have visited planets from countless galaxies, but, somehow, bipeds are the dominant life form. It doesn’t matter whether the terrain on said planets would be more suited to limbless crawlers or creatures with multiple appendages. Regardless of the atmosphere, these bipeds usually breathe the same way humans do. The way they process the atmosphere may be different, but it is not. I wait all so different. Even in real life, the concept of aliens as “little green men” with big heads and huge eyes is the norm of society. And everyone speaks English. Somehow.

To a large extent, it makes perfect sense. Science fiction is one of the most expensive film genres, along with fantasy and animation, with an average production cost of around $60 million. So if a human actor can transform into a believable alien form through makeup or costumes, it becomes significantly cheaper than the time-consuming practical effects of bringing that form to life. The rise of CGI in creating aliens is also expensive, perhaps not as much as it once was, but it’s still a significant investment in time and money, and it relies heavily on actors to interact with characters in their scenes who aren’t physically present. Some truly breathtaking aliens have graced the silver screen using these methods, but they typically still look like a guy in a costume, or so obviously computer-generated that they distract the audience from the film, if only momentarily. (Alien: Romulus is guilty of the same, but not for its use with aliens, but with Ian Holmthe appearance as A/2). And this is where Alien begins to separate himself from the pack..

HR Giger Made Alien’s Xenomorphs Petrifying

Even some xenomorphs from the Alien franchise are men in suits and ties, but the costumes and the artist in the suit work together to create a real creature, a seamless work of art in which the humanity behind that elongated and disturbing head is lost. In Alien: Pactdancer Andrea Crawford played the main alien, a man well known in the ballet and dance world for being able to uncannily resemble a “specimen from another planet”. The actors behind the xenomorphs are people who are purposely gifted with the ability to perform uncanny movements (much like Andy Serkis‘ Gollum, for example). The cinematography also plays a role, cleverly capturing only brief glimpses of the creatures, with only the black patina of their heads to reveal their position. They are almost always in darkness, further hiding any aspect of the human within, and when they aren’t, it’s usually in close-up (that grin they give before attacking is creepy as hell, but effective), or in quick cuts, an edit as chaotic as the moment. Alien: Romulus is a prime example of this, when dozens of face-huggers are inadvertently resuscitated.

As for the look itself, you can thank the famous Swiss artist HR Giger. Preparing for the filming of the 1979 movie Aliendirector Ridley Scott I came across Giger’s book Necronomiconhis first collection of macabre biomechanical artworks that Giger is known for. One illustration, Necronom #4, fascinated Scott so much that he asked Giger to design the xenomorph for the film, which turned into Giger working on the entire set design. As Scott recalls, “Over time I realized that it made a lot of sense for Giger to design everything to do with the alien. That included the landscape and the spaceship.” The costume for the alien uses real bones, a human ability on the tip of the alien’s head, and condoms for lips, and when they’re put together the effect is simply unsettling, and with Giger behind the design, the creature blends seamlessly into the world he’s created.

This commitment to aesthetics is prevalent in Alien: Romulusand it shouldn’t be surprising. Director Faith Alvarez brought the special effects team from Aliens to create the creatures for the franchise’s new entry. Álvarez was also deeply committed to the use of practical effects, with the team using animatronics and puppetry to create new xenomorphs, face huggers, and a brand new creature that appears in the final act, one that resembles the newborn from Alien: Resurrection. These practical effects found throughout the franchise not only bring the otherworldly to life, but add a visceral quality to encounters between protagonists and creatures that cannot be replicated, no matter how realistic, by CGI.. As Álvarez adds The Hollywood Reporter“It’s simply what’s best for the shot, and when it comes to face-to-face encounters and moments with creatures, nothing beats the real thing.”

There’s a deeper level to the Alien Xenomorphs

There’s an even deeper level to the aliens in the Alien franchise that further separates them from others: a biomechanical aesthetic common to Giger’s works that further separates his aliens from the competition.. There is real thought put into not only the appearance of the xenomorph, but also its biology. There is the acid for blood and the set of “extra” teeth that bring additional terror to an already fearsome beast. The creatures look terrifying, but they also have a beauty, with every part of their body covered in a black patina that is both disturbing and mesmerizing. The life cycle of the xenomorph, however, is particularly indicative of Giger and Scott’s commitment to making something unique. To put it simply, the xenomorph’s life cycle is a bastardization of human reproduction, a further allusion to the film’s sexual imagery.

The eggs have openings that originally looked a lot like vaginas, but have been transformed into a cross. As an artistic director Roger Christian explains: “The first ones he made looked much more like a woman’s private parts, and the producers All worried,” Christian added. “Giger said, ‘Well, if it’s a cross, then it’s religious, and people don’t care. That.'” The emerging facehuggers look like sperm, planting a seed into its host, which develops into the xenomorph that literally bursts out of the host’s chest cavity (explored once again in all its bloody glory in Alien: Romulus). It plays on some of humanity’s deepest fears.: Will my baby be a monster? Will there be problems during the pregnancy? What if I am pregnant against my will? What if my baby AND a monster? (This topic was also touched upon in a disturbing way in the last article.)

The aliens in the Alien franchise are successful because they look and act otherworldly. They are animalistic, yet intelligent, dangerous, dead or alive, and terrifying on multiple levels. They have a fully developed biological cycle that mimics the accepted norm but twists it in a way that is horrifying to even imagine, let alone play out on screen. These aren’t just humans painted green, told to come out on command and spout nonsense about space treaties, or threaten galactic war if their demands aren’t met. The aliens in this franchise are fully realized, but with simple goals: kill and repopulate. Other sci-fi franchises have aliens who kill, others who try to repopulate, and others who simply try to destroy everything in their path. But no other film allows its alien creature the same depth that the Alien franchise does, and until another comes along and does the same, it will continue to be the benchmark for aliens in movies.. As it happened once again with Alien: Romulus.

Alien: Romulus is playing in the United States at a theater near you.

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