Ridley Scott on Alien V

Ridley Scott on Alien V
http://www.alienexperience.com/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Aarticles-and-editorials&id=192%3Awb-studio-backlot-tour-with-ridley-scott&option=com_content&Itemid=8 I'm inclined to agree. No matter what one thinks of the sequels and AVP spin-off films on their own merits, the fact is that horror movies rely on the shock of the new. Giger's Alien is probably too familiar to work on that level anymore. Although the continued use of increasingly cliched narrative devices, such as darkened corridor chases and the 'shock shot' at the end, doesn't help matters, I've nevertheless also come to feel, as Ridley does, that no matter how good the story, without a genuinely innovative and fresh monster concept, it would be impossible to achieve the kind of impact that the original did. The Alien simply isn't alien anymore. Although I'm not particularly keen on a sequel to The Thing, in relation to the above problem, it would have two advantages. Firstly, The Thing monster concept hasn't suffered/enjoyed the amount of (over)exposure that Giger's Alien has. Secondly, it isn't one monster concept. It can look like anything and so can be endlessly reinvented. Okay, the Alien's DNA reflex also gives rise to a certain degree of structural variability, but to an almost insignificant extent when compared with what The Thing is capable of. Having said all of that, it occurred to me the other day that Ripley would look great wearing shades. Some cliches never lose their cool. XidiouX

Hearing the title "Alien V" both gets me excited, and at the same time a little overwhelmed. I'll have to agree that the franchise has been essentially exhausted, even after enjoying the four films in the initial series, because the Alien really is one of the oldest monster designs in the book. On the other hand, there have been a handful of old movie franchises that have been resurrected as of late and have been very successful (Rocky, Rambo, etc.) The Alien series has a chance, especially after the cliffhanger ending in A:R.

The only thing to get me to part with my $15 to see Alien V is if Ridly Scott is directing it.

The only thing to get me to part with my $15 to see Alien V is if Ridly Scott is directing it. Or Jim Cameron. Both have been asked to have an involvement.

Well, the way that I've often felt it could be done would be to make use of the fact that all the aliens we've seen (in the first four films anyway - I don't know where the predators obtained their specimens) were ultimately derived from the eggs on the derelict on LV-426. Presumably, this had been there for a very long time, possibly hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years. As such, if this species has a home planet, then it might have evolved considerably over this period of time. 'Alien: Evolution', anyone? XidiouX

Alien? <shrugs> I honestly stopped caring after the second one.

Agreed, I only enjoyed the first two. I'd really like to see Ridley Scott, or James Cameron do another one if studios intend to pump out another one.

Personally, I'd rather see Scott direct it. The series is too far in to go back to anything particularly Cameron-oriented, and personally, I'd like to see them close the series up the way it started (taking into consideration it does get released and will be the final Alien film.)

Well, Ridley's first Alien is a horror-movie with loads of suspense, while James Cameron's Alien II is a rock'n'roll action flick that has more in common with Die Hard than Ridleys's more suspensful epics Alien and Blade Runner. I love good action movies, like Alien II and Die Hard, but if I want some chill, I'd choose Ridley Scott. In my opinion Hannibal was superior to Silence of the Lambs.

I must strongly disagree there. Silence of the Lambs to me was superior in every way. Ridley Scott's version has a lot of wasteful dialogue and weak plot development. I actually found Aliens to be more suspenseful than the first. Probably because I already knew what was going to happen most of the time in the first one.

I have to concur with FF on both points. Silence of the Lambs is an great film, while Hannibal is a very good film. And Aliens scared the living piss out of me. I remember I saw it at age 11 or so and I could barely keep my eyes open throughout. It was the first time that I can recall giving myself over utterly to a film. Of course it left an indelible mark on me creatively--and an indelible mark in my undershorts....

Actually, I was a bit dissapointed with Aliens the first time I saw it, if some of you could even beleive that. I was expecting it to be another horror flick like the first one (to this day I still consider my first time watching Alien one of the most suspenseful in my life) and it turned out to be another 80's action flick. Of course it grew on me heavily throughout the years.

I think a large part of the problem with Aliens was Jim Cameron's treatment of the creature itself. His actual realisation of the alien 'warrior' was guided more by practical considerations than aesthetics, and the result was terribly inelegant when compared with the creature in the first film. There's the fact that the costumes themselves were just a few strategically-placed strips of latex glued onto leotards rather than full body suits. Also, the removal of the smooth carapace to reveal a chitinous, corrugated sublayer played its part in Cameron's reduction of the original, mysterious, highly-intelligent, almost invincible predator to a giant bug. Although I did like the design of the Queen, I thought the whole hive concept was a bit unimaginative and diminished the creature in many respects. XidioUX

We need another Alien flick like I need a rubber dick.

Yes, I agree with Xidioux and TannerBoyle. The whole concept of Alien is out of the window. The first Alien was just as good as it can get.....the rest, even Aliens, is just crap. Sure, there are some good scenes, but it turned out more and more to become a freak-show. The whole story-line just becomes more and more 'fantastic' and ridiculous. And at the end of the day, 'Alien' is just a man in a suit. Alien V? a waste of time.

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