The 5 Most Effective Scenes in Alien
Alien is a beautiful movie with some very effective visuals, not just because the movie looks pretty but because the movie can be truly terrifying. I want to talk about five scenes where Alien is at its scariest, the five scenes in alien that I think are the most effective at staining your underwear.
5. We don’t get our first big scary scene until a little bit in with the nest of eggs, being the first scene to introduce any living alien life it’s mainly effective because of the intrigue. It’s a pretty awesome set and the random space tarantula that is the face hugger can be a bit of a shock.
4. One of the craziest twists in the movie comes in the form of our crew member Ash, who turns out to be an android who even attempts to murder Ripley before he is stopped and beheaded but this isn’t the effective part I’m putting down as number four. Ash is turned back online and in his new, cold, robotic voice he sinisterly shares the most effective dialog in the whole movie informing the crew of the low rate of survival they have. The fact this scene has no soundtrack or background noise only helps.
3. Not a nice scene for claustrophobics. Dallas takes the hunt to the vents with a flamethrower lighting his way. The closing vents are some of the coolest shots in the film and the ending result Is the most effective jump scare in the movie. Lambert’s added distress always helps.
2. Brett on the hunt for Jonesy is a very effective scene since it’s the first time we see the fully formed Xenomorph and what a scary bastard it is. A good thing about this scene is that it’s also pretty effective if you know how the alien looks because you’re thinking of all the places it could be lurking, the hanging chains remind me of its tail and the dripping water reminds me of the alien’s drool. I’m giving the point to the extended version because that first shot of the alien is pretty crazy and the dripping blood is always an awesome effect. The only issue being is the scene dragged on a little before the reveal.
1. This one is a no brainer for me, no matter how many times I see this scene I still sit there in silence. This scene does a great job at luring you into a false sense of security, with everyone looking happy and all the characters sharing a laugh and a good time. Then all of a sudden Kane starts coughing and it doesn’t seem too bad at first, it’s only a cough. Well it just gets worse and worse and then it gets frantic. Great acting really helps with this scene but some of it wasn’t acting, as you probably know, the actors were not told exactly what to expect from this seen while filming and as soon as Kane’s chest starts to crack, you sit there slack jawed as this creature rips straight through a man’s chest, painting the cast in blood and you find yourself mentally agreeing with Veronica Cartwright as she reacts the same way you do as an audience member. This scene really sets up the rest of the movie and the fact no scene after it is as shocking, I think it’s the most effective scene in the movie.
So there are my top 5 effective scenes in Alien, obviously not everyone will agree with me but that’s a good thing, which scene did you find the most effective and why?
P.s. I was close to adding the cocoon scene to the list but it’s just so off-putting and depressing.
