Are aliens out there? Do they really exist? Well, they are out there this weekend with the release of both Columbia Pictures BATTLE: LOS ANGELES and Walt Disney’s Pictures MARS NEEDS MOMS, so we decided to talk about what makes a memorable, and all around cool alien. Where it be computers, puppets, or just a really neat paint job… these aliens bring their A-Game in the design department!
TOP TEN ALIEN DESIGNS
Honorable Mention: THE BUGS – STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
Paul Verhoeven’s STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997) introduced a whole new generation to the glorious goodness of cheesy sci-fi fun, complete with his own blend of bloody over-the-top action and violence and corny dialogue. But, the best part of the movie were the “bugs” (or, aliens) with which the humans were deeply embroiled in intergalactic battle. The “bugs” were a nasty bunch, primitive and wild on the surface, but organized and efficient as the human soldiers paid the ultimate price to discover. Naturally, the somewhat mantis-based insect design of the bug soldiers was influenced by the natural world’s ant and termite behavior. These dangerous killers swarmed in large numbers; large, fast and difficult to kill. Add to this the flying winged bugs, the anti-spacecraft bugs that shoot some sort of plasma projectile out of their rear-ends into the human armada in orbit over the alien planet, and finally (my favorite) the slow-moving but nearly indestructible tanker bugs, massive behemoths of destruction. However, what is such a massive force of power without strategy? This is where the “brain bug” comes into play… a nasty looking slow and defenseless bug, a single enormous bug brain controlling the entire bug army. All this combined to create the most devastating alien force in numbers since ALIENS, popular enough to spawn an entire franchise of direct-to-DVD sci-fi/action cheese.
10. THE MIMIC ALIEN – THE THING (1982)
John Carpenter immortalized himself, above and beyond HALLOWEEN, with this spine-tingling version of a less-than-stellar original film. Quite possibly one of (if not the best) remake of all time, Carpenter’s film defines what it is to be afraid of something that has no true form… at least, none that we see. The special effects team accomplished astounding success with their alien design, especially when you consider there’s several different designs involved, depicting the shape-shifting mimic alien that terrorizes the antarctic research team led by Kurt Russell. An extra-terrestrial being that can take any form, any shape, has little trouble blending in, but when cornered will lash out and inflict serious pain and damage, just like any other wild beast. Once again, it’s this pre-CGI mastery of special effects makeup, animatronics and puppetry that produced such groundbreaking creature design. Often grotesque, the alien’s warped and twisted malformed shaped while under duress were both appalling and artistic. THE THING’s design may be far from what we traditionally perceive as “alien” but isn’t that exactly why it’s so damn good?
09. THE ALIEN – I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE (1958)
Far more intelligent and literate than the hokey title might suggest, I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE is an over-looked gem from 1958 in which Gloria Talbott plays a young bride who discovers that her husband is actually an alien impostor, a member of an advance force of alien invaders who are secretly replacing the male population in her town. The aliens look pretty hellish for a 50’s film. They’re roughly human in shape (they have to be, since they’re really men walking around in suits). The head seems to be planted halfway down into the transverse plane of the shoulders, and their snarly-twisted faces, such as they are, lose symmetry, with ugly fleshy ridges criss-crossing this way and that. These guys are both ugly and scary. A nice little trick which informs the viewer that certain characters are under alien control is the imprint of the creature’s faces overlapping the humans during lightning flashes in thunderstorms.
08. THE KLINGONS – STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
In 1979, in part because of the success of STAR WARS, Paramount finally decided to produce a big screen version of Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction TV series Star Trek. While several characters stayed close to the original series ( namely the Vulcan Mr. Spock ), they chose to upgrade the look of the show’s main villains, the Klingons. In the sixties they were a SF riff on Cuban-type, merciless Commies. They dressed in black leotards with matching boots and a brown vest and shorts. The makeup was simple- dark tanned flesh with jet black eyebrows, goatees, and hair. When STAR TREK : THE MOTION PICTURE directed by Robert Wise began, we got our first view of the Klingons in the opening scene. The swarthy skin coloring was still there, but now an outer surface spine extended from just above the brow, over the top of their heads, and down the neck. Their teeth were now jagged and gave them a more menacing grimace. The hairline exposed more of the forehead-for the spine-and the hair itself flowed over their broad shoulders. Eyebrows and beards were still wild and unkempt. The uniforms were all thick black leather pieces that holstered a myriad of weapons. Playing the ill-fated Klingon commander in this sequence was Mark Leonard, who now had the distinction of playing three different alien races-Romulan, Vulcan, and Klingon-in the Star Trek saga. This new look became the standard for Klingons in further Trek feature films and TV shows. But what about the earlier incarnations? The closest we got to an explanation was in an episode of TV’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. There several crewmen ( including the Federation’s Klingon officer Worf) are whisked back in time to the days of the original Kirk-helmed Enterprise. At a bar, they spot those sixties Klingons. Puzzled, O’Brien asks Worf about their appearance. Silencing the queries, Worf looks up and solemnly states, ” We do not talk about it.”. Well, I’m sure not gonna ask him!
07. THE NEWCOMERS – ALIEN NATION (1988)
Making an audience believe that an alien race similar to humans is a tough task. This was carefully considered when designing the make-up and prosthetics for THE NEWCOMERS, a group from another planet looking for a new home. The goal was simple, to have the audience relate to the alien lifeforms as characters rather than unknown creatures. Prosthetic headpieces were made for the actors, each one hand painted to match the actors individual skin-tone, that were decorated with painted spots where a humans hair would be. The spots, like the prosthetics were unique to each character so that their identity would shine through. Originally, the idea was to have the aliens skin pigment be more yellowish, or at least a different color that the humans. This was later overturned so that the aliens could be viewed as more human-like, and be recognized for their similar human attributes. If they stood out even more than the final design, it would have completely distracted from the plot. Although the Newcomers were different, and the human race was rather discriminatory to them, in the end they need to be seen by their similarities. The idea is that they are not so different from us after all. See, Hollywood likes to do this thing where they take real life issues and slide them into movies so not only are we entertained, but we also learn a valuable life lesson. Sure, there is other stuff going on in the film, but this concept was the most influential in the alien design. Although the film got mixed reviews, their appearance must have been somewhat appealing since the film came in first at the box office for its opening weekend, beating out THE ACCUSED, starring Jodie Foster (which she won the 1988 Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress), and PUNCHLINE starring Sally Field and Tom Hanks.
06. THE CREATURE/PARASITE/MONSTER – CLOVERFIELD (2008)
An entry in the burgeoning camcorder horror subgenre, CLOVERFIELD was told from the point of view of the camera a character was holding. This means that there are jerky, vertigo-inducing scenes along with abrupt cuts and amateur-looking editing. I know people who hate this style, and while it doesn’t always work, it certainly did for this film. As for the monster itself, it seems to be cobbled together out of a combination of alien insect and something from Lovecraft. Even when we see it from a helicopter, we only see its back. And when its head becomes visible near the end, we don’t see the rest of it. Over the course of the film, we see all of it – a bit at a time – but we have to put it together as a whole, in our imaginations. It’s that brilliant bit of storytelling craft that combines with the film’s unique point of view that made CLOVERFIELD so memorable.
05. THE ALIENS – WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)
Reports of U.F.O.s ( Unidentified Flying Objects ) opened the floodgates to a torrent of sci-fi saucer movies during the fifties. The crowning jewel of these invasion epics may be the George Pal produced adaptation of H. G. Wells’s THE WAR OF THE WORLDS directed by Byron Haskin in 1953 for Paramount Pictures. We don’t get to view the actual Martians till about half way through the film. Previously we had seen the cylinders crash land and release the deadly manta-ray like floating saucers. The space crafts are almost indestructible killing machines disintegrating tanks, cannons, soldiers, and even unarmed civilians ( including a priest! ) before emitting a force field that blocks all weapons. Attempting to escape the destruction, Clayton ( Gene Barry ) and Sylvia ( Ann Robinson ) take shelter in an abandoned farm house. After they’re separated, Sylvia feels something strange on her shoulder. It is the tentacled three fingered, suction cup tipped hand of a Martian. Her screams bring Clayton rushing to her aid. His flashlight shines on the creature- it’s head bobbing like a snake with a three colored lens at it’s center. The Martian seems to almost be a reptile-machine hybrid. It flees after Clayton flings an ax at it. Most movie and TV aliens were humans in glittery suits, but here Pal ( then mostly known for cute puppet animated shorts ) gave us an otherworldly horror that would haunt our nightmares.
04. PREDATORS – ANY FILM WITH PREDATORS… PREDATORS ARE NEAT!
Landing on Earth in 1987, the PREDATORS (Directed by John McTiernan), madean indelible impact on the look of the scary alien. Thank you Mr. Stan Winston for designing such a complex and enigmatic creature that we could just not get enough of-and still cannot. Through each film of the franchise, we learn a little bit more about the mythology of this highly trained and intelligent hunter from another world. The predators have created a world of mysterious masks, self-repair kits, mazes, and spaceships andthere is still much to learn about them. The predator’s stealth modes and curious ritual shave created a very complex and dominating character for the ages. Nominated forAcademy Awards for Best Effects and Visual Effects, the predators fell into our planet and are here to stay-green blood and all.
03. THE PRAWNS – DISTRICT 9 (2009)
n 2009, we were introduced to a new type of refugee-the alien prawn; director Neill Blomkamp created a feature length film out of the short. Along with the genius prawn creature design by WETA workshop, Blomkamp expanded the story into a very realistic view of government treatment of the alien species; because, after all, they were not welcome here. Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a government agent, becomes empathetic to these prawns via precarious encounters; and through his liaisons with them, we become more enlightened to the plight of the prawn. Despite their prawn/antlike appearance and lack of a coherent language, we find they do have ‘humanity’ and intelligence but are being held back because we fear what we do not understand. This new found sci-fi masterpiece was quickly recognized by dozens of nominations and awards, including four Academy Award nominations.
02. E.T. : THE EXTRA- TERRESTRIAL (1982)
I bet M&M’s are sorry that they didn’t give Spielberg the rights to use them in E.T. : THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL because this cute little alien made another little candy, Reece’s Pieces, quite the popular item! (Sales went up 65% after the release of the film… just sayin!) I mean, who didn’t want to be friends with this loveable little guy? For 1982, E.T. was an adorable creature that drew empathy, compassion and love out of millions of theater-goers. Did he have lasers or crazy gun arms… no. The real magic was that he was created with such craftsmanship that people felt a connection with him, and still do! (Well, that… and his magical factor on a scale of 1-10 might be unicorn and glitter level! That’s pretty darn high in my book!) His neck was inspired by a painting called Women of Delta by E.T. Rambaldi. The Jules Stein Eye Institute created his signature blue eyes, which were felt to be the most important part for reeling the audience in. Three people in all played E.T.. Two of the actors were of dwarf stature, and the third was a 12 year old boy, Matthew De Meritt, who was born without legs. All three took turns in the costume, depending on the scene. Four heads were made for E.T. – three for facial expressions and one for the main animatronics. Wait, there is more! They even hired a professional mime to play E.T.s’ hands! Before all of this a $700,000 prototype was originally created by Production Designer Ed Verreaux, which waas deemed useless. Spielberg’s only mistake was digitally enhancing the charming little guy in his 2002 edition. He “enhanced” E.T.’s facial expressions to the point that they look a little awkward. Not to the point of being overly distracting, just a bit distracting to the E.T. fan. All of their hard work really paid off because E.T. is still in the hearts of millions… as a beloved character and friend, and not as some puppet.
01. ALIENS – AGAIN… ALL ALIENS (SEE BELOW)
While there are a total of four films in the ALIEN franchise and two more, if you consider the AVP films count (highly debatable) but, the first two films truly stand alone. Why is this? Simple. The films thrived on fresh, creative and highly effective cinematic design. ALIEN was primarily a success with set design but did introduce the H.R. Giger-inspired Aliens, even while Ridley Scott kept the frightening creature at arms length for the sake of suspense. However, James Cameron’s ALIENS is the film really changed the game. Acid for blood, tough, rigid bug-like exoskeletons, hive mentality, those freaky extendo-tongues… every inch of these beasts were made for killing. Not only did we get a much more intimate, in-your-face eyeful of the Aliens, we were also thrown head first into the unforgettable awe of what the Xenomorph species of deep space nomadic aliens were capable of in the hands of a skilled action-director. And, as if all this wasn’t enough, we witnessed the simplistic yet terrifying design of the hatching eggs, the gross-factor of the face-huggers and ultimately the “bitch” herself… the Queen. Combining body suits and puppetry, the technology may seem antiquated, but make no mistake that these extra-terrestrial movie monsters were hardcore horrifying, and still are.
So, what are some of your favorite alien designs? Do you agree with our list? Are there some that you like better? Let us know!
Until next week… keep it fancy movie lovers!
