Sci-fi movie Alien is beautiful with impressive effects
Critics will argue that “Alien” is one the best sci-fi horror movies of all time. They’ll say that it’s because of the unique plot. Others will say it’s because of camera works, lighting or sound. But what truly brings the horror and fear to “Alien” is the practical effects of the alien.
When the alien makes its first appearance as the Facehugger, we see this pale blind fleshy spider like creature that attaches itself to actor Sir John Hurt. It’s a puppet that was made with sheep’s skin put on it in order to truly make it look alive. Because of the looks of the Facehugger, people are still terrified of the movie. As the alien starts to evolve we get to see its horrifying transformation.
Later in the movie after the Facehugger releases itself from Hurt and dies, Hurt seems to be completely fine until the dinner scene. During dinner, and a celebration of Hurt’s clean bill of health, something seems to be going wrong with his chest. As he thrashes in pain we see something pushing its way out of his chest.
As the Chestburster pierces its way through Hurt we see an amazing and elaborate piece of puppetry. A fake torso of Hurt was made for the alien to burst out of with real cow’s blood and intestines to give a truly gruesome look. The best part about this is that only Hurt and the technical crew knew about what was going to happen. So the looks of horror and fear are truly genuine amongst the rest of the actors. Once this happens, we get to the true form of the alien.
The final alien costume is an elaborately made piece that has snake spines, plasticine and Rolls Royce parts infused into it. Also an actor was put into the suit to give the Alien life and its disturbing mannerisms. It is because of all these factors, that not only “Alien,” but the practical effects as well, have held their reputations.