Little point: Hicks did not pass out, he fell asleep out of boredom during the initial drop. The Director's cut fills in so many gaps and really completes the story, absolutely worth a view (or several, it doesn't really get old)
Truth - it's meant to show that while many of them are wound up and trying to get psyched for combat, Hicks is more experienced and able to sleep/conserve his energy during the drop. He's much more thoughtful and serious, and you can see hints that Apone relies on him in a secondary leadership role.
@@ashscott6068 all true, though you don’t hear his rank until the scene in the APC after the fight. They show it in other ways, like his more quiet confidence and serious demeanor in the briefing, how he’s working with Apone during the loading procedure, and of course his drop nap. (Dietrich and Ferro are also corporals but both are specialists.)
these streaming services remove "offensive" type scenes from films, I know hulu removed scenes from Tropic Thunder..it's very annoying, so there's no telling what people are missing
@@wheelmanstan Tell me about it... I can still remember watching Lethal weapon 2 and they dubbed a certain line "I don't give a fig, Riggs." Had me actually thinking that was the real line... It's insulting to the viewer.
Fun fact, the scene with newt sliding down the duct had to be reshot several times because the girl kept messing up on purpose so she could keep sliding down. They let her continue after they got the scene finished.
They never made any xenomorph costumes, because that's not the name of the species. The species has never been named. Gorman only used the word, cus it's a generic term for ANY alien. No human other than Ripley is even aware that this species exists, at the time Gorman uses that word. He only used that word, instead of "alien", to show the audience that he's an officer school officer, and not raised from the ranks.
From what I've observed from watching your channel, you will absolutely LOVE learning more about how this movie was made. I've studied VFX my entire life, and have been lucky enough to do that kind of work from time to time, and I have to say, "Aliens" is one of the purest examples of using EVERY trick in the book. Right down to literal smoke and mirrors. James Cameron started out as an VFX artist, and "Aliens" reveals a genius level sensibility for illusion.
@@skeletalk One of the best sequels ever.Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD,TERMINATOR 2:JUDGEMENT DAY, THE GODFATHER 2, these sequels are as good, if not better than the first movies.I saw this movie at the Odeon cinema in Nottingham when it came out in 1986.That scene were HICKS climbs up to look through the suspended ceiling,pointing his torch and seeing the Aliens crawling through had the audience gasping.The 1970s and 80s was just a great period for Sci fi and horror movies...a great era.💀👻🧟♂️
This cut is how most of us first saw the film - but you owe it to yourself to rewatch the extended cut too. You'll see some scenes from Hadley's Hope (and a nice little Red Dwarf crossover) and it better explains why it was so important to Ripley to get Newt calling her "mummy" at the end.. There's lots of making of footage for Aliens too - the channel "piercefilm productions" has tons of great stuff to dig into - I think you'd love all the behind the scenes stuff on that channel in general.. maybe you could put all those Aliens production vids together and react to them too? "Alien: Isolation" is definitely one to check out on the gaming front - it's set between Alien and Aliens but has the feel (sets/tech and such) from Alien. I played it in VR - it was terrifying 😂 There is also a really cool audiobook set between Alien and Aliens called "Alien: Out of the Shadows" - Rutger Hauer (RIP) is fantastic in there
Yeah I couldn't find thay cut anywhere everyone told me to watch it, especially with the Newt stuff :( and we love a red dwarf crossover! 💙 That's a great idea to do a reaction to behind the scenes stuff I didn't think of thay thank you! I've been setting up VR stuff so may be worth playing alien in that!
The tank was a full size thing. It started life as an aircraft tug. The film company bought it from British Airways, they just happened to be upgrading their fleet when the film was beginning production. It was used to tow 747's around an aircraft terminal. They outfitted it to be the tank, from the exterior at least, the interior is a set. The queen is a massive puppet, built by Stan Winston. Iirc, it still exists. He used to have it in his office! The sleep pods...iirc, there were only one or two actually built, the rest are mirrored. The thing that stands at the end of each, is part of a helicopter engine. The crew found a military junk yard and bought bits of helicopters and planes for a lot of the industrial stuff. A minor thing, Hicks hasn't passed out, he's asleep....there's a number of things in Alien lore that the film doesn't explain well about the squad, this is one of them. They are so used to drops, it has become routine. Pity it wasnt the extended cut, it adds some design stuff that would have interested you, the colony in normal operation, Newts parents and their cool vehicle discovering the derelict spacecraft, a great robot gun sentry scene and others. I heavily recommend the extended cut for 3 and the directors cut for Resurrection. 3 gets a lot of stick, and it is the low point of the series. But that's down to the studio, not the director. There was a running battle between the studio and the director all through production, that the studio won at the expense of the film. I feel the extended cut makes more sense than the theatrical, though opinions differ. It's pretty interesting design wise and it makes a return to a more confined space with limited weapons, that i find interesting. I think 3 could have been amaz8ng, if the studio had just let it happen......terrible cgi not withstanding! Resurrection is a gorgeous looking film, with some amazing set design, and photography to die for. It gets a fair bit of stick, perhaps not quite as much as 3. But i think it's a good installment. Though im a fan of the director of Resurrection, and his super black, super saturated palette.
Hi Katie!🙂A 40 person team from Stan Winston Studios did the special effects for the film. The look of the Aliens here establish the look going forward. Surprisingly most young reactors seem to prefer practical effects over CGI. The rest of the Alien films moving forward do not reach the quality of the first two films. However, "Alien vs. Predator" (2004) is an interesting watch. Great reactions for your second Alien film, Katie!!!!🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Since I don't have new fun facts for this movie, I'll just add a suggestion to watch the movie _Event Horizon_ . A very underrated sci-fi movie that really captures the horror in space. _Pandorum_ is a recommendation in sci-fi horror as well, although not as good as the above. As you mentioned you like 'found footage' in your previous reaction, if you don't mind subtitles, please try to find _[REC]_ . It's a Spanish horror and generally accepted to be one of the better found footage movies.
Event Horizon is one of my all time favourites, I haven't seem Pandorum and I'm super excited for doing a video on that!! and I LOVE rec but I haven't seen it in absolutely forever!
Some factoids about this film: The guy who played Apone was a legit NCO (E-5) in the USMC. Most of the actors playing the Marines, save for Lt. Gorman, actually trained together in a facsimile of BMT to imitate their closeness as a squad. All with Al Matthews leading them like an NCO would. The woman who plays Vasquez was also the foster mother in Terminator 2. She nailed the LA cholo accent for this film, so James Cameron just had the makeup department alter her skintone for it. One of the examples of brownface actually being done right (I say this as someone who is Latino). She now runs a chain of shops making custom bras specifically for women with larger cup sizes. The guy who played Lt. Gorman was also the VA and mocap actor for Mikhail in REmake 3. Hence why Mikhail blows himself up in that game, it's a throwback to his death in this film. The guy who played Pvt. Drake was also the voice of Norman Osborne/Green Goblin in the 2018 Insomniac Games Spiderman game, as well as a bunch of voices in Dragon Age: Origins. The guy who plays the pilot Spunkmeyer was also in a George A Romero film, Diary Of The Dead.
Not to forget - that comment about Vasquez thinking it was about "illegal aliens" was a reference about the _actress_ thinking the movie was about "illegal aliens", which is why she dressed up as a somewhat cliché "Mexican refugee" for the casting... Gotta love how the terrible ambiguity of languages can lead to funny moments 😂
I love the fact that young'uns like yourself are enamored with practical effects. Hopefully the amazement at seeing what can be done withOUT a computer will inspire a new generation of old-timey effects hobbyists.
Yeah, Ripley's been my personal hero since I first saw this in the theater as a teenager. She's clever & brave, but in a realistic way. She's not the perfect "Mary Sue." She struggles with fear, PTSD, a temper. She wasn't trying to be a hero, the PTSD drives her back to the source of her trauma. Even at the end, she's not a hero for sake of being a hero. She's just driven by the motherly drive to save a child or die trying. And I love how the end is basically mom vs. mom. So epic.
You've said what I was thinking so perfectly here thank you! I almost wish I watched this growing up to have an idol like her. She's just the perfect amount of badass woman while retaining her independence and feminity 💙
I love how the heart monitor was reading higher when Ripley had to wrangle obtuse bureaucrats at the hearing than when she had the chestburster nightmare. But fun fact about the powerloader suits - they were so believable at the time, the filmmakers got approached by actual heavy-machinery/construction firms asking where they could get one. Also canonically a regular alien is about as smart as a labrador, but a Queen's smarter than most humans, so seeing a lift get used and then using one herself by copying what she saw wouldn't be a massive leap.
If you liked this, consider reacting to the first two _Terminator_ films. Like this film, they were both written and directed by James Cameron, and feature several of the same actors. Lance Henriksen (Bishop), Michael Biehn (Hicks) and Bill Paxton (Hudson) all appear in the first film, and Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez) appears in _T2._ Also, one of the protagonists of the first film, Sarah Connor, is up there with Ellen Ripley as one of the most beloved action heroines of all time. I know you've said you're not into action movies, but the first film is just as much a horror film as it is an action film, and while the second film is lighter in tone, it still has moments of horror, and is generally regarded as Cameron's greatest cinematic achievement. Both films are also extremely popular, so if you want high viewing figures for your videos, those are two of the best films you could pick to react to in that regard.
You're doing Cpl. Dwayne Hicks real dirty by accusing him of fainting during the drop- he didn't pass out, he's literally catching some nap time because combat drops are so incredibly routine for him!
At the end of the last movie she said it would take 6 weeks to reach the frontier (AKA the Outer heavens), which is the very edge of populated space. and populated space in this universe is really, REALLY big. And yes Lambert said it would take ten months to get home. But she worked that out using the Nostromo and its huge retrofitted Roles Royce Engines. The shuttle can't go nearly as fast. Also Birk said she had drifted right through the core systems which means she drifted through the Outer Heavens and the Inner Heavens and ten straight out the other side. So its easy to believe she did in fact spend 57 years in hyper sleep.
I remember my mom picking on my dad when they showed that Hicks was sedated through the finale of the film. "Typical guy. Slept through the whole thing."
There are some great very practical solutions in this movie. The scanner from the opening of the movie is just a laser moving up and down through smoke. Lasers were getting cheaper at that time which meant they were starting to be used at concert venues and in night clubs, to basically do the same thing you see in the movie. Cameron just bolted one on a camera crane and stuck it in the set, add a nice sound effect when it passes by and hey presto, cool futuristic scanning device. Similar thing with the big machine guns. They used Steadicams which were invented 5-10 years previously so still relatively new on set. It is a harness with a dampened arm on which you put a big cinema camera and a counterweight. Cameron replaced the camera with a machine gun, add some motorcycle part and even a relatively small woman can walk around and act with a heavy futuristic spacegun. And the tank they drove around in was a truck they use to tow airplanes at an airport with. All very practical and very effective.
so weird, that simple laser at the start was so effective/unique/ oddly beautiful way better than what CGI could do, I'm not even totally sure why it stood out SO much to me but I really appreciated it. The creativity throughout this is honestly astounding
I absolutely love your reactions because of your fascination with art effects and because you're awesome!!! One reason The Thing is popular was because there's a network of horror buffs like me, who are constantly looking for a great reaction. Movies like Jaws, Halloween, The Fly and The Exorcist have a cult following and draw big numbers. And with your charm, subs should grow.
As to the egg laying… The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages.
Ripley is an awesome character. So refreshing seeing a well written strong female lead. Sigourney Weaver is a bit underrated IMO, she is an amazing actress.
Best Movie ever! I was about 11 when I saw this for the first time. Scared me to dead, but was fascinated at the same time. Loved it ever since. GAME OVER MAN!
The reason the compony had very little contact with this colony is its sheer distance. They Clearly have some sort of future technology to talk across large distances in this universe because information can only travel at the speed of light. Which means it should take years to send a message one way. And years for a reply to come back. But in the special edition of this movie they state that it takes two weeks to send a message one way in this universe. So that's why they don't talk much.
Haha! I've ALWAYS said that Marine spaceship looked like a rifle. I suspect it was one art department product that was reassigned from its original purpose.
I'm not sure if we're talking about the same scene, but the scene I'm talking about establishes why Ripley feels so protective and motherly towards Newt
Or if you want to see what a "robot" looked like before the shock of ALIEN changed everything. And if you want to see early effects with painted backgrounds (which actually look pretty good) then check out "Forbidden Planet" 😉
'Alien vs Predator' 2004 is kind of cheesy but it's worth watching just for the Alien, Predator fight scenes and the Alien and Predators killing humans.
20:00 That's actually forced perspective. It's a mini that looks like it's part of the scenery. I vaguely remember a producer(?) getting angry with Cameron, wrongly thinking he was overspending on the set, as it looked real/full scale.
Gotta watch the Assembly Cut for the next one, though there are still many bits I'd say are better in the Theatrical, Assembly's still the way to go. Then go for Theatrical for Alien: Resurrection. Also, Aliens was '86 not '84.
On behalf of my Ginger cat Thanks for the compliment! Ginger Female cats are extremely rare, long haired even rarer so I'm sure she appreciates any praise :D Lance Henrikson/Henriksen? wanted to play The Terminator and almost got the job before Cameron met Arnie lol. So Cameron offered Lance the part of a robot in his next film, Aliens :D I think the general lore regarding the different looking Aliens is Drones (Alien) and Warriors (Aliens) but I always figured the changes to their head maybe because they're older. We only knew the first one for less than 24 hours. Behind the scenes it's the same reason changes are made, merchandising rights. They needed to make the Aliens 25% different looking in order to maintain the rights for the toys... Yes there were toys aimed at Kids for Alien, Terminator, Robocop... I don't know why, but being a Kid back then, I was pleased. The Cocoon as Ripley calls the Nest, is created through individual Alien's secretions. I guess they jsut get sweaty and crawl around. There's a novelisation and a short audio semi prequel about what happens on LV 426/Hadley's Hope... Very cool. Oh and the Directors cut of Alien and Aliens are a must watch. You get to see the Colony etc and guess who's in charge? Captain Hollister from RED DWARF!!! Alien 3 has a very, very mixed reputation and 2 quite different versions, I believe the Assembly Cut is the best and it's littered with British Actors like Charles TYWIN LANNISTER Dance, John Glower, Pete Postelthwaite and the guy from Dr. Who's Impossible Planet/Satan Pit episodes. The Security Chief guy who dies in a ventilation shaft... I feel bad now as I forget his name. Definitely worth seeing and Ripley rocks the bald head look.
I've always wanted a ginger cat called pumpkin they're wonderful! Thanks for all the lore and info! I really need to check out the directors cut for Newt and red dwarf stuff alone but I've heard it's so much better. I'll take a lil break from the series but considering watching all of them eventually here!
the whole Aliens lair scene, was filmed at Acton power station, greater London, as was the...Axis chemicals paint factory scene in the 1990 BAT MAN. Giger himself, NEVER worked on this sequel (which cost more than twice the original film's budget) I
It was great to see another one of your reactions. Before this I've seen your reactions to "The Thing" and "Alien." The volume of the movie was pretty low, which is the most common problem I see with new channels. The film was shot mostly at Pinewood Studios in the UK, and used a combination of practical effects and miniatures, as well as some early CGI. Cameron insisted on using practical effects for the film, rather than relying too heavily on CGI, which was relatively new at the time. The exterior of the colony was filmed at the Acton Lane Power Station outside of London. The set had over 350 tons of steel scaffolding to form the exterior and would cost over $5.4 million USD to construct today. Forensic sculptor Douglas Tait played an amazing behind-the-scenes role in designing the aliens. Tait was reportedly unhappy with the initial design for the aliens, feeling that they were not intimidating or impressive enough. He then took it upon himself to create a life-size model of his own design, working in his own time after hours and presented it to Cameron and company. They loved it and it was put into the film. I enjoy your reviews. You have interesting and very articulate comments and analysis. From my point of view, your accent is very cool and elegant. I've seen many horror films growing up, but my taste for them is a little more selective than it once was. I do like sci-fi and action. I can promise that any time you react to a film I've seen and didn't hate, I'll be back to see your take on it. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the lovely comment! Im so grateful for Tait I agree with him so much, the design was a massive improvement! Unfortunately due to copyright stuff the volume of the movie has to be low (first film took 5 blocks) :/
You should know this movie was filmed and produced in Pinewood Studios UK north of London , just like previous Alien movie. Whole terraform base was actually outdoor and indoor sets of an electrical power plant in Midlands previously used in filming Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989)
@@skeletalk Both Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) were filmed in Pinewood Studios. Except the director James Cameron most of the production crew was British. The acting cast was mostly American and they were quite unused to British weather. In the scenes where Colonial Marines approach terraform base entrance first time , you can see tough female Marine Vasquez is shivering. The actress is from California and her quote , she was not expecting chilly rain
Ha! The 'Sulaco' is shaped like a 'gun' an purpose! Good eyes! More fun facts. Sigorney Weaver hates guns and was very apprehensive at first when handling them for this. The Queen has at least 2 people in the costume, one an either side of the body, and it opened like a clam shell. The head was totally animatronic.
Oh it was on purpose that makes sense! I've heard she didn't like guns and why she wasn't a fan of the games too. The head was animatronic omg! So impressive
Queen takes Bishop. there are no other aliens films after this one they are all hypersleep dreams, the first they use a soldier to make it ready for the queen, in the 2nd film its weeks later, so the drones workers are differentm like Ants, they are designed by the queen for its needs. theres a HUGE lore about Aliens and the species and evolution
I'm sure it's been recommended already and if you've never seen it, Event Horizon is a great scifi horror movie from the late 90s. There's also one called Cube,also from the late 90s.
25:00 I miss the rear projection from Cameron's films, used to perfection in T2. The crashing dropship miniature is projected onto a screen behind the actors. All recorded on camera so there's minimal disconnect between the dropship and the characters.
Oh - I just realized that there's one thing that might interest you. You mentioned that "Ripley is now a mom" as Newt was introduced. Now, I don't know if you've watched the Director's Cut and missed that, but they included a scene where Burke told Ripley that her actual daughter died from old age. That's why Newt brought out Ripley's maternal side, because she already was a mother. Caring for Newt was for her a bit of a redemption for not being there for her own daughter. They removed that scene from the Theatrical version because it wasn't necessary for the plot itself, allowing them to cut down on the running time. The game _Alien: Isolation_ actually allows the player to play as Amanda, Ripley's daughter, in her quest to find the Nostromo ship from the first Alien movie. Of course it's never going to be as easy as it sounds since it's a horror game. It's a really good game and emulates the oppressive, claustrophobic feeling from the first movie, though it is of a grander scale to keep the game more interesting beyond an hour of two.
god I wish I found the Directors now it seems 10x better honestly, those little things are imo so crucial. I didn't even know she was a mom. I really need to play the game thinking about streaming it sometime!
@@skeletalk Haha, that's why I mentioned it. I figured you might want to look into that game since I noticed you also stream ;) And yes, the Director's Cut actually delves a little bit more into Ripley's character and her squad mates. It's not a lot, but it really adds to the character development. There's like 4 extra scenes or something, so in case you'll ever decide to rewatch, pick the DC and experience a few new things :)
Greetings! I like to almost "audition" reaction and "First Time Watching" channels and I'm happy to say that with this reaction to "Aliens" you've won my subscription! You have a natural easygoing charm. I find that I enjoy reactions that are well put together and adept technically, but also have a unique background and "hook" to offer additional perspective and insight, and with your artistic inclinations and experience you're more effective and it helps you stand apart from the pack. And a well-developed sense of humor is a plus! You certainly possess that. It's always a bit more fun and satisfying when you've taken stills and shots from films and contrasted them with your own work and highlighted what draws you in aesthetically to the designs in question. I haven't seen a lot of your work, (so far) but I think if you haven't already advertised your art for commissions and sales, you could definitely secure yourself a new stream of income that would naturally work in synergy with your TH-cam offerings, while simultaneously giving you more opportunities to practice, mature, and grow as an artist. One attribute of horror and science-fiction fans is their enthusiastic desire to support and champion artists they like and admire- even financially. We are loyal, curious and love to help out other like-minded individuals, but you probably already know that about the horror community! I've been around since Methuselah and have been a horror fan for the vast majority of my life, so I'd like to pop in now and again with the odd suggestion or two regarding recommendations for films to watch. They wouldn't necessarily highlight an inordinate amount of design work, but I have a suspicion you would enjoy them, even on your own time. I know "First Time Watching" accounts get bombarded with suggestions to watch, but the only one I'd recommend for now for a chillingly good time is a 1981 film named "Dead and Buried". It does have solid, unnerving practical makeup FX coincidentally executed by Stan Winston who did the stellar work here you're watching during "Aliens". It shares a lot of the same punch and ghoulish charm as the EC comics that inspired "Tales from the Crypt". If you do wind up intrigued enough to watch it, you'll see what I mean! I'll wrap up by congratulating you on you channel and I look forward to your growth and development as both an artist and TH-cam personality. Cheers and warm regards!
This was such a lovely comment, I'm so insanely happy thank you so much!! Glad to have you in the Skeleton Cult! I had always hoped my artistic background would separate me but worried my desensitation to horror (and artistic overwritten brain) might make people think I don't care about parts (if my heart rate is low or I'm talking/concentrating) especially with ADHD ontop of that, I know a lot of people don't like a lot of talking - which defeats the purpose of a reaction channel in my humble opinion!!! I've been freelance/self employed as a concept artist and worked on big commissions for years but with the uptick of AI art (and social media shadowbans) I've unfortunately lost out on a lot of my jobs and clients so taking a step back from paid work for now. Desperately hope it picks up again as it's my number 1 love in this world but thinking of creative ways to implement my art in videos now too. I've not heard of Dead and Buried before will have to check that out, happy for people to keep up on the recommendations it actually helps me narrow down what should be prioritized too, thank you!!
Not a ding of CGI in this movie. All practical, miniatures, sets etc. The only thing not practical were the lightning effects at the end, which were rotoscoped and blended using on-set lighting/lightning. They even made the ship and the troop carrier for real. The dropship was initially built from spare parts from an AirFix kit, and they then used that for the wide shots... and they replicated it in full size so the actors could interact with what was basically a real 50ft long prop/set-piece. For the troop carrier, they used a real vehicle that's used to tow airplanes, and kitted it out with extra panels and that gun on the front. My fave bit of trivia: They made this entire movie with only 6 alien suits and one partly animatronic Queen. Using editing and cuts, wire work etc, they made it look like there were hundreds. I said partly animatronic Queen, because inside the head were motors for the jaw and tongue... but inside the body, were 4 people controlling the arms and legs. The one or two walking scenes for the Queen, they had it rigged up on wires, and the people inside were controlling all of the limbs at the same time. Same with the powerloader Ripley uses. It was a mixture of miniature, remote control parts, stop motion, and a real set-piece hung on wires that Sigourney Weaver actually wore as a giant mech-suit. The scene where the dropship crashes, was also done for real, in camera, on set. The footage of the actors was on the set... but the background behind the actors was footage of a miniature dropship... and they rear-projected the footage onto a huge screen on the set. It's the same technique that Cameron then perfected in the Future War start sequence in Terminator 2. Miniature footage projected onto a back-screen, real people and vehicles etc etc in the foreground, and all filmed in-camera.
I love rotoscoping, but I would potentially put that under practical too! So impressive. I was honestly convinced there was hundreds of xeno's, the smoke and mirrors is top-notch
Practical effects are a dying art in this digital age of the industry. Just imagine if Alien never happened and someone pitched it today, think about how much different it would feel if the alien was all CGI.
We'd probably get to see the alien a _lot_ more since they'd want to show off their fancy CGI, but that would completely ruin the mystery aspect of it, which I think would ruin the movie...
probably with an extended cast, as is the case here, things have to be...thinned out diluted, new characters have to have less screen time, meaning you get less time to know them & care, especially when things are faster paced, than in the original.
I'd say it's different, whether it's better or not depends on what you enjoyed about the first one (same as with the two Terminator movies... and no, just as with Alien(s), there were never any more than the two movies 😜). Me, personally, I prefer part 2 in both cases, but they are nowhere near as good _if you enjoyed the originals for their horror aspects._
Someone said they hated this? Usually the discussion is which is better. The first one or the second. But I've never heard anyone say they hated Aliens. Now a lot of people hate the third one and I'm one of them.
As someone who grew up in the 80s the thing that bugs me about most modern movies is they look to clean. Specially when they are shooting scenes taking place in the 70s and 80s. Cities back then were dirty, grimy, had trash in alleyways. Houses were built and decorated with dark colors. Because dark colors hide dirt. Remember there were a lot of smokers back then white walls would turn yellow in no time. Dark wood paneling hid the nicotine. Dark carpets hid dirt from your kids. Etc. Also actors would get dirty in older movies. They didn't always look fresh from a shower. (When was the last time you saw a leading actor sweat?) Modern movies feel clean and polished, the places in them dont feel lived in and the people don't feel real
The Alien Queen is approximatly 15ft tall, with 2 small men operating the arms. it is impressive, Giger himself liked it, but again it doesnt exceed the first original look in the origin film.
You should watch the Horror movie Near Dark it stars three of the actors from Aliens, Lance Henrikson (Bishop) Jeanette Goldstien (Velasquez), and Bill Paxton (Hudson) Is described as a Neowestern Vampire film
Sk, you should have watched the extended version which, among other things, explains where Newt came from and what happened to Ripley's daughter (which also explains the bond between Ripley and Newt).
Hey, just found your channel. Aliens is one of my all time classic films. I grew up watching it and wanted to be a space marine, go figure haha but yeah, I too just hit 1000 and also I'm making a horror film as we speak, so I'll let you know when it's done. Be nice to hear what you think of it. Take it easy :)
Don't mind airplane landings, but I was on a military transport, and it was only my second jet flight, we came in during bad weather to Cherry Point MC base. The plane was bouncing hard all the way down, and then it was also low cloud cover so when we finally come out of the clouds there is the tree line, and then the bay we cross to get to the airfield. After we disembark we watch 2 Chinook helicopters land, our Captain comes over and says 'oh those were sent up in case we went into the bay.' 🤐😳 "The Expanse" isn't a true horror sci-fi series, but there are some occasional horror elements. I suspect you'd like the series.
I have no idea what Alien's budget was but I know RD's was literally non existent but I'm not as well versed in Sci-Fi but RD was a household fave growing up
One of my absolute favorite films, and one of the few sequels that just might be superior to the original (along with Dawn of the Dead and The Godfather part 2). My high school had a substitute teacher who behaved slightly like an android and just seemed a little slow and a little "off" at times, and my smart-ass 17-year-old self started calling him "Bishop." He looked superficially like Lance Henriksen who played Bishop in "Aliens." Little did I know that the nickname would stick, and *many years* after graduating, I would hear stories about kids calling him "Bishop" whenever he would be called in to sub for one of their classes. 😅
@@skeletalk Hi skeletalk.I wish you’d watched the SPECIAL EDITION VERSION OF ALIENS, as that tells you about Ripley’s loss and Newts backstory.Also there are some great extras to look out for.I totally agree with michaelfrancisco.ALIENS is a brilliant sequel.Up there with the likes of DAWN OF THE DEAD,THE GODFATHER PART TWO and TERMINATOR 2:JUDGEMENT DAY.I’m hoping you get to watch the special edition version of THE EXORCIST(a creepy coming down the stairs scene in that version), the 2011 THE THING prequel,which tells the story from the Norwegian perspective and which leads to the events at the American base and the 2004 DAWN OF THE DEAD remake.I want to hear your views on that version and the comparison to George Romero’s 1978 classic.💀👍
@@richieb7692 I'd somewhat disagree with Blade II, but admittedly mostly because I can't stand body horror, and _that_ is really over-the-top in Blade II...
"'e's on a mission innie" - every so often, you get a bit London in how you talk! Mostly it's I'd guess a Surrey accent, but there are bits I'd guess maybe think you're from outer London. Not looking for an answer, I appreciate how much youtubers will want to preserve their privacy, it's just something that amuses me when you get little nuances in how someone speaks. Glad you really enjoyed this one, I prefer it to Alien because my genre preferences go that way, so I can appreciate someone going the other way for the same reason. It is a really well paced action movie, with bits of horror design/ambience fed in to the mix. The logic hods up, the stakes are engaging, Ripley is a fantastic central character - it avoids a lot of the pitfalls that blight the genre. I know what you mean about formula though, the second Die Hard movie 'lampshades' the way they re-use the plot beats of the first one with dialogue, but Aliens feels like a sensible return/escalation going from a single person being implanted to what happens if many people are. I like the decision they made with Alien 3, and would say it is worth a look for you and your sensibilities, but the quality of the films in the franchise definitely tail off... If you prefer it because of the direction, there is something I've been pondering with the Avatar movies. James Cameron made some fantastic films with Terminator and Terminator 2, and Aliens, and while I can appreciate his technical ability, I find in a lot of his movies the characters are a bit thin/bland. The villains/antagonists in particular skew somewhat cartoonish like Burke here, and especially Billy Zane in Titanic. I don't know if the Avatar movies would fit the ethos of your channel (they feel like Sci-Fi tinged with fantasy), but I'd maybe point you at them to enjoy the designs and visuals while not enjoying them much myself as movies. I'd honestly put the flying sequences in How To Train Your Dragon ahead of Avatar, even without noting how much more I liked Hiccup and Astrid. Yeesh, I just realised that this may have been the s**tiest, most tepid recommendation I've managed to give a film... I think the problem with CGI isn't so much the medium as the fact that it can be done quickly means it is often done without the attention to detail that elevates set design etc. With those you tend to know that you can't cut corners because you can't risk having to try and fix it in post, which (as far as I'm aware) is much easier to do when compositing from a CGI source that you can go back and re-edit. Avatar is maybe a good argument for CGI, I just wish they had paid as much attention to the script... Not sure if you'll ever be the type of person who'd want to go and watch Top Gun, but I'd maybe point you at Predator partly because it ends up crossing over with the Alien franchise (mostly because of what I think may have been intended as sight gag in Predator 2), but also because it's maybe an action film with more of a horror vibe than Aliens. The threat here feels more environmental than personal, while Predator maybe is more in line with the slasher flicks but with well armed jacked-up protagonists... If Skele does Sci-Fi becomes an avenue you maybe keep pursuing, I'd say Robocop and Starship Troopers have elements you might enjoy while not having much of a horror vibe (if at all), Dredd and Edge Of Tomorrow are films with parts I think will really appeal to your visual sense, and Blade Runner has all the robots you could ask for! I'd also throw in Gareth Edward's Monsters because of it being made with virtually just a DSLR camera and a laptop for the SFX. It's very much a character study with sci-fi elements and while it's not perfect, it does put a lot of bigger budget films to shame. Anyway, thanks again for a fun reaction video. Looking forward to your next one!
haha I'm actually from way out in the countryside but have London family so my accent dips! Yeah so, you touched it a bit- The Avatar films, well, while I think theyr're beautiful I just find the script not good. it lulls so often and I feel taken out of it because of how droning it can be- but yeah it is gorgeous I just find it hard to sit though. I'm getting a lot of recomendations for Terminator but unsure if I'll enjoy it- will have to see! I'm def going to be exploring other genres after horror I think so Sci-Fi is a yes. Thank you for the lovely comment and sticking around!
@@skeletalk So if I read your sensibilities correctly, I would lean towards you enjoying Terminator 1 and 2. The first film is somewhat close to a slasher/serial killer film in terms of tone and pacing, with an inhumanly powerfully antagonist. I'm not sure how you draw a line between when something is a horror film vs a thriller, and I've seen it given both genres by people. It has a very particular design aesthetic and practical effects. Terminator 2 is less horrific in tone (though still with some nightmare fuel), and features some really strong character work. I'm going to be very interested to see how you respond to the art and design choices in sci-fi. It's a shame there are only a small number of 'cyberpunk' movies as that subgenre is where you tend to have a gritty looking settings and machinery (for your Red Dwarf fandom), but it's also a genre where you can get a lot of interesting ideas about how people and technology intersect. I tend to approach things primarily from a story angle, so as long as you keep up your niche of looking at things from a highly visual perspective I'll be sticking around. Even if you're not a Londoner! :-p
Seeing as you’re into horror, you should check out the low budget vampire movie, Near Dark, as it also stars the actors who play Hudson, Bishop, and Vasquez, released only a year or two after Aliens.
i think you will love the fourth take on this franchise .. though not a great movie or really good either but it has some awesome alien design .. for an artist worth a look, for a movie fan, not so much
Ooh that's interesting actually, I was considering dropping the franchise for a bit but if its worth looking over artistically then it's def worth a watch!
@@skeletalk the third has neither fan or artistic merit, but the fourth is like they said to there entire crew "design an alien", and then said "screw it, we will include the lot"
1. Michael Biehn/Hicks played Reese in Terminator as did Bishop/Lance Henriksen as the assistant police chief. 2. Am I the only one thinking that maybe they're so cheap that they sent her back out hoping she isn't going to collect her back pay. 57 years is a shitload of Benjamins. They totally screwed her. 3. Bill Paxton RIP Bill😇 He was Chet in "Weird Science". Much of his dialog is ad-lib. 4. Possibly the best dialogue in the movie: Hudson, "Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?" Vasquez, : "No have you?"🤣 5. IRL Paul Riser's mom during a preview viewing actually stood up and cheered when his character Burke got his. 6. Carrie Henn/Newt after this movie her nickname became SCREAM. 7. Mom VS Mom. Don't piss off momma🤬🤬
@@skeletalk I'm not sure about that necessarily but the true villain of Alien(s) is undoubtedly the company, not the alien(s). Like a lot of '80s movies, the real villain is corporations/capitalism. The true villain in Alien was the company, sending out the crew and deeming them expendable; the embodiment of the company in Alien was Ash. The true villain in Aliens is again the company, this time embodied by Burke. Always putting profit over human lives.
Loved the "Is he or isn't he" Bishop journey for you. Most of us experienced the same! Still my favorite movie of the franchise. Loved the reaction Katie! ❤
Not so fun fact. In the end, Lance Henricson was given cups of milk mixed with yogurt for his "blood". It curdled under the lights and he still had to keep getting mouthfuls for the scene. He got super sick from it.
Great reaction, I was hoping to see a reaction to the Special Edition so more lore could be shown for Ripely and Newt but oh well. Since you love Horror, I recommend The Nun for a reaction.
Definitely lone of the best sequels of all time. It uses the original concept respectfully but expands on it and changes the genre of the movie so as not to force too many comparisons to the brilliant original which lets it stand on its own two sturdy and strong cargo loader feet of awesomeness. Ripley is one of my all time favourite movie heroes together with Sarah Connor and John McClane - regular people forced into very much not regular circumstances and rising to the occasion with intelligence, creativity and courage.
Another excellent reaction. Thank you. Ellen Ripley has two important capital C's for heroes: Competence and Charisma. I just hate when hero is incompetent fool just with plot armor survives things. Ripley survives because she's competent and knows her stuff. Few Recomendations as I barely managed to glance your list so sorry for duplicates Sunshine (2007) by Danny Boyle: its beautiful movie with amazing soundtrack. Its spiritual successor of Alien in terms mood making and how it was shot. Pandorum (2009) by Christian Alvart. All the closed space, dark corridors and horrible creatures. Little known but has strong cult following and its good film. Both these films have similarities in Event Horizon that you have liked Katie so these might be worth of checking. Then: James Cameron: Abyss (1989) very dense feeling thriller and Scifi. Its borderline horror in some shots and mood building style. Terminator (1984) More of Scifi-Horror-Action film. What James Cameron could do with shoe string bugdet defined entire genre. Terminator 2 (1991) yeah its action its lighter than first one but: Special FX, make up and visual shots / stunts alone are worth watching this film. Gneral Horror films: American Werewolf in London (1981) By John Landis. Still one of the best werewolf films and has amazing transformation sequence. Still today absolutely creepy how they did it and still the best werewolf transformation. Predator (1987) John McTiernan. Yeah, its another Arnold film, but flawlessly transforms from Thriller into action into Scifi-horror-survival. You won't be disapointed.
Thank you so much again!! Ripley is just a fantastic role model! Padorum and American Werewolf are on the list (thinking to bump werewolf up a lot of people seem to want it) Not heard of Sunshine or Abyss and haven't seen any of the Terminator films- Thanks so much for the recommendations!!
You should try a couple of 80s classic movies. Legend which stars a very young Tom Cruise. It's high fantasy. And Labyrinth which is another classic. They are more films for young adults bit have some of the best artwork and prop designs of that era. The best has to be Jim Hensons The Dark Crustal.
Labyrinth is my all time most favourite film I have merch everywhere 😂😂😂 and dark crystal is a huge favourite too. Wish we had more like that. I love Jim so much
Great reaction to an all time classic movie! This is the perfect ending to the Alien saga. I went to watch Alien3 but hated it so badly I walked out barely half an hour into the movie. I've never watched anything else from the extended series, and I never suggest that other people do so either. That's just my opinion though, and it's worth what you paid for it: nothing. This really is the perfect ending to the Ellen Ripley/Alien saga. In my mind I decided that they all made it back safe, the Company went bankrupt after paying out damages and fines, Hicks left the Colonial Marines and he and Ripley married, and they adopted Newt. Bishop's personality, memories, and programming were put into a new Bishop body and he became Mr. and Mrs. Hicks' butler and friend. A much better ending than the future Alien-themed cash grabs. The art/set/props/costuming department for this movie deserves all the kudos. They really made the environment, the events, EVERYTHING look so fricking amazing! In my opinion they deserved every academy award for their work. Michael Biehn was great as Hicks and I liked that he survived this movie too, unlike the standard trope of only one person surviving a horror(type) movie. And the old joke held true: If he doesn't have a mustache he's a good guy. Vasquez, the ultimate bad-A marine, was probably an obvious death, but at least she got a good amount of screen time and had a lot of personality instead of just being painted on the backdrop as so many non-lead actors tend to be. The same goes for Lt. Gorman. He really grew into the leadership role, and became brave when it hit the fan too. It was nice to see someone who was the weakest link early on become stronger when the chips were down. Paxton as Hudson was great. He was scared as crap, but when it was time for action he was right there in the thick of it, doing the best he could, no matter what, until the end One of my favorite stories about this movie was told by Paul Reiser who played Carter Burke. He took his mother to the premiere and told her nothing about the movie beforehand. She joined in with the rest of the audience applauding when Burke died, and from an article I read he said that for weeks afterward every time they saw each other when she saw him she got this look of disgust on her face, this "I can't believe you did that" kind of look. That's what made him really believe that he could be an actor. I have my own Aliens movie story, which I think is amusing: After I graduated high school, I became an advisor for the church youth group I had belonged to before graduating. In 1988, when I was 20, we had a lock-in one fall weekend. The high school youth were allowed to pick movies to rent for the lock in. Aliens was one of the ones chosen. I had kind of seen it before, but it was as background while hanging out with friends, so I didn't know much about it. We started watching it around 11 p.m. All of the adults and most of the teens had gone to sleep in the rooms set aside for that, while a few teens and I started watching Aliens in the High School Sunday School room in the large basement of the large church. The teens all left and went to sleep before we reached the halfway point, but I was interested so I stayed up and finished the movie. It was now around 1 a.m. All the lights were off because everyone but me was asleep. My last task before I could sleep was to go around the unlocked areas of the downstairs and make sure none of the teens had snuck off to do anything they shouldn't have. So here I am, walking through dark cinder block walled hallways with exposed ductwork overhead, and no lights except for the occasional faint red lights of the "Exit" signs. My heart is beating like a jackhammer as I carefully edge my way through the dark halls, knowing that there are no xenomorphs but still expecting some kind of jump scare that's going to make me lash out and crap myself at the same time. Luckily, everyone was fast asleep and I finished my rounds and went and lay down, but it was probably the least restful sleep I had and the most nervous I had ever been in church.
Skele ... with Alien 3, you definitely want to check out the reworked Special Edition version, which is much closer to director Davfid Fincher's original "director's" cut, before the studio took it away from him in post and chopped the hell out of it. The theatrical version is okay but pretty clunky, but this special edition is a MUCH BETTER film all round.
Also, Hicks isn't passed out during the first drop, he's just done this so many times in the past that he's completely blase about the whole thing, so he's nodded off in his seat. Hence when they start getting ready to go before landing, Sgt. Apone says: "Somebody wake up Hicks."
Javik would have thrown that thing out the airlock long before Ripley got into the power loader 😆 Amazing movie, and probably my favourite of the franchise. Alien is very good, but Aliens has more memorable scenes, and while the effects in Alien are good for the time, the xenomorph sometimes looks a bit more like a guy in a suit, which it is. Hmm, I kinda want to rewatch the Alien vs. Predator movies now. It has been some time since I watched them, but if I remember correctly, I didn't think they sucked as bad as some people seem to think. And those two franchises have been linked together since Predator 2.
yeah that was my issue with Alien - it's my fave but I think that the Xeno looked too much like a man in a suit- however they could have bypassed this with more subtle shots (not showing the entirety) which is also my general opinion for monsters in horror if you're going the atmospheric route, we don't need to see everything. The mystery is the scary bit
@@skeletalk Yeah, I guess that's one of the reasons Ridley Scott went the atmospheric route instead of the guns blazing route James Cameron went in Aliens, he didn't have the technology to make action scenes where he showed more of the xeno, and make it look believable. In Aliens, the xeno's look amazing though, in my opinion, considering it came out in 1986. But I think that's why both movies are so loved, and considered classics, they are in the same franchise, but very different. When Cameron made Aliens, he didn't just ctrl+c/ctrl+v Alien, he did his own thing. As for Alien 3, I kinda like it, but it doesn't hold a candle to the first two. And Alien Resurrection, meh... well, I guess it's ok, up to a certain point in the movie.
@@skeletalk Yeah. Both of them are successful in what they were trying to achieve, and James Cameron builds upon what Ridley Scott started. I have a hard time chosing between the two, if I feel like watching an atmospheric movie, Alien is an obvious choice, and if I want to watch an action movie, Aliens is a great movie, that also has its fair share of atmosphere. And I do think Sigourney Weaver is fantastic in both. I love sci-fi, and there are some other cool space horror movies that I also think are quite enjoyable.
One of the things I seek from reactors is if they can provide some intelligent commentary on what they watch. The majority that I’ve seen only comment on the most mundane and typical aspects of movies, making their reactions incredibly dull, cliche, and boring beyond words (not to mention when they overreact). However, I am very happy to have watched some of your videos where you offer unique insight based on your artistic background. I love hearing experts speak on matters that they are familiar with, and when they can apply it to other things such as movies, it’s quite fascinating. I’ve really enjoyed hearing your commentary on the aesthetics of the Alien franchise; at least you provide something unique and different! If ever you decide to diversify your reactions, I would love to hear how you look at certain Asian cinema, particularly certain aspects of martial art movies. At the very least, for an artist, I highly recommend Jet Li’s “Hero,” if ever you choose this route. Thank you again for the reaction!🎉
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I really appreciate that people are enjoying my perspective, a tad obsessive but definitely unique! I will likely consider other genres after horror as long as they can be viewed from an artistic mindset!! 🥰
He didn't pass out, he just went to sleep on his commute. Just another day's work for him. ;)
Little point: Hicks did not pass out, he fell asleep out of boredom during the initial drop. The Director's cut fills in so many gaps and really completes the story, absolutely worth a view (or several, it doesn't really get old)
Truth - it's meant to show that while many of them are wound up and trying to get psyched for combat, Hicks is more experienced and able to sleep/conserve his energy during the drop. He's much more thoughtful and serious, and you can see hints that Apone relies on him in a secondary leadership role.
@@bwiedor It's hardly a hint. I mean...he's literally a corporal.
@@ashscott6068 all true, though you don’t hear his rank until the scene in the APC after the fight. They show it in other ways, like his more quiet confidence and serious demeanor in the briefing, how he’s working with Apone during the loading procedure, and of course his drop nap. (Dietrich and Ferro are also corporals but both are specialists.)
these streaming services remove "offensive" type scenes from films, I know hulu removed scenes from Tropic Thunder..it's very annoying, so there's no telling what people are missing
@@wheelmanstan Tell me about it... I can still remember watching Lethal weapon 2 and they dubbed a certain line "I don't give a fig, Riggs." Had me actually thinking that was the real line... It's insulting to the viewer.
Hicks fell asleep. That’s how humdrum the drop was for him. Military folks often learn to sleep wherever and whenever they get the opportunity.
Makes sense! I'd be the same since I love the drop!
Hicks didn't pass out on the way down, he was sleeping like it was nothing. It was to show he's badass, not a wimp
30:45 - "Can't be too upset about that."
Yeah, you're not alone. The actor's _mother_ cheered during the premiere when he his character died 🤣
hahaha his own mother!!! brilliant
Fun fact, the scene with newt sliding down the duct had to be reshot several times because the girl kept messing up on purpose so she could keep sliding down. They let her continue after they got the scene finished.
thats super cute!!
You might love the Abyss, personally I thinks it’s another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ movie.
I love that they only made 4 Xenomorph costumes that they used over and over, yet you feel like there were hundreds 😲
It's very well done, I didn't know!
They never made any xenomorph costumes, because that's not the name of the species. The species has never been named. Gorman only used the word, cus it's a generic term for ANY alien. No human other than Ripley is even aware that this species exists, at the time Gorman uses that word. He only used that word, instead of "alien", to show the audience that he's an officer school officer, and not raised from the ranks.
Oh come on Xenomorph is now canon.@@ashscott6068
I thought they made 6 suits?
From what I've observed from watching your channel, you will absolutely LOVE learning more about how this movie was made. I've studied VFX my entire life, and have been lucky enough to do that kind of work from time to time, and I have to say, "Aliens" is one of the purest examples of using EVERY trick in the book. Right down to literal smoke and mirrors. James Cameron started out as an VFX artist, and "Aliens" reveals a genius level sensibility for illusion.
I absolutely love vfx too, I've been watching the making of the first but need to check out the second!
@@skeletalk One of the best sequels ever.Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD,TERMINATOR 2:JUDGEMENT DAY, THE GODFATHER 2, these sequels are as good, if not better than the first movies.I saw this movie at the Odeon cinema in Nottingham when it came out in 1986.That scene were HICKS climbs up to look through the suspended ceiling,pointing his torch and seeing the Aliens crawling through had the audience gasping.The 1970s and 80s was just a great period for Sci fi and horror movies...a great era.💀👻🧟♂️
It's also interesting how David Fincher started off as a VFX artist himself and Alien 3 was his first ever time directing a film.
This cut is how most of us first saw the film - but you owe it to yourself to rewatch the extended cut too. You'll see some scenes from Hadley's Hope (and a nice little Red Dwarf crossover) and it better explains why it was so important to Ripley to get Newt calling her "mummy" at the end..
There's lots of making of footage for Aliens too - the channel "piercefilm productions" has tons of great stuff to dig into - I think you'd love all the behind the scenes stuff on that channel in general.. maybe you could put all those Aliens production vids together and react to them too?
"Alien: Isolation" is definitely one to check out on the gaming front - it's set between Alien and Aliens but has the feel (sets/tech and such) from Alien. I played it in VR - it was terrifying 😂
There is also a really cool audiobook set between Alien and Aliens called "Alien: Out of the Shadows" - Rutger Hauer (RIP) is fantastic in there
Yeah I couldn't find thay cut anywhere everyone told me to watch it, especially with the Newt stuff :( and we love a red dwarf crossover! 💙 That's a great idea to do a reaction to behind the scenes stuff I didn't think of thay thank you! I've been setting up VR stuff so may be worth playing alien in that!
@@skeletalk directors cut and making of reactions SECONDED!!
The tank was a full size thing. It started life as an aircraft tug. The film company bought it from British Airways, they just happened to be upgrading their fleet when the film was beginning production. It was used to tow 747's around an aircraft terminal. They outfitted it to be the tank, from the exterior at least, the interior is a set.
The queen is a massive puppet, built by Stan Winston. Iirc, it still exists. He used to have it in his office!
The sleep pods...iirc, there were only one or two actually built, the rest are mirrored. The thing that stands at the end of each, is part of a helicopter engine. The crew found a military junk yard and bought bits of helicopters and planes for a lot of the industrial stuff.
A minor thing, Hicks hasn't passed out, he's asleep....there's a number of things in Alien lore that the film doesn't explain well about the squad, this is one of them. They are so used to drops, it has become routine.
Pity it wasnt the extended cut, it adds some design stuff that would have interested you, the colony in normal operation, Newts parents and their cool vehicle discovering the derelict spacecraft, a great robot gun sentry scene and others.
I heavily recommend the extended cut for 3 and the directors cut for Resurrection. 3 gets a lot of stick, and it is the low point of the series. But that's down to the studio, not the director. There was a running battle between the studio and the director all through production, that the studio won at the expense of the film.
I feel the extended cut makes more sense than the theatrical, though opinions differ. It's pretty interesting design wise and it makes a return to a more confined space with limited weapons, that i find interesting. I think 3 could have been amaz8ng, if the studio had just let it happen......terrible cgi not withstanding!
Resurrection is a gorgeous looking film, with some amazing set design, and photography to die for. It gets a fair bit of stick, perhaps not quite as much as 3. But i think it's a good installment. Though im a fan of the director of Resurrection, and his super black, super saturated palette.
Technically it's not a tank but a APC, Armored Personnel Carrier
The tank and the sleep pod mirrors is so fckin cool I love that! The team are so clever!
@@skeletalk of note, they had a full sized APC/Tank and a miniature, remote controlled one
Hi Katie!🙂A 40 person team from Stan Winston Studios did the special effects for the film. The look of the Aliens here establish the look going forward. Surprisingly most young reactors seem to prefer practical effects over CGI. The rest of the Alien films moving forward do not reach the quality of the first two films. However, "Alien vs. Predator" (2004) is an interesting watch. Great reactions for your second Alien film, Katie!!!!🎬👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you so much! Wow what an impressive team! Yeah I'm glad most people prefer practical!!
Ah, one the best sci fi sequels of all time. Ripley is an absolute legend, and mama Xenomorph is a hell of an achievement in effects and puppetry.
M577APC would 110% build that for when the zombie apocalypse brakes out....
absolutely adore Ripley and mama Xenomorph!!!!
Since I don't have new fun facts for this movie, I'll just add a suggestion to watch the movie _Event Horizon_ . A very underrated sci-fi movie that really captures the horror in space.
_Pandorum_ is a recommendation in sci-fi horror as well, although not as good as the above.
As you mentioned you like 'found footage' in your previous reaction, if you don't mind subtitles, please try to find _[REC]_ . It's a Spanish horror and generally accepted to be one of the better found footage movies.
Event Horizon is one of my all time favourites, I haven't seem Pandorum and I'm super excited for doing a video on that!! and I LOVE rec but I haven't seen it in absolutely forever!
Some factoids about this film:
The guy who played Apone was a legit NCO (E-5) in the USMC. Most of the actors playing the Marines, save for Lt. Gorman, actually trained together in a facsimile of BMT to imitate their closeness as a squad. All with Al Matthews leading them like an NCO would.
The woman who plays Vasquez was also the foster mother in Terminator 2. She nailed the LA cholo accent for this film, so James Cameron just had the makeup department alter her skintone for it. One of the examples of brownface actually being done right (I say this as someone who is Latino). She now runs a chain of shops making custom bras specifically for women with larger cup sizes.
The guy who played Lt. Gorman was also the VA and mocap actor for Mikhail in REmake 3. Hence why Mikhail blows himself up in that game, it's a throwback to his death in this film.
The guy who played Pvt. Drake was also the voice of Norman Osborne/Green Goblin in the 2018 Insomniac Games Spiderman game, as well as a bunch of voices in Dragon Age: Origins.
The guy who plays the pilot Spunkmeyer was also in a George A Romero film, Diary Of The Dead.
Not to forget - that comment about Vasquez thinking it was about "illegal aliens" was a reference about the _actress_ thinking the movie was about "illegal aliens", which is why she dressed up as a somewhat cliché "Mexican refugee" for the casting...
Gotta love how the terrible ambiguity of languages can lead to funny moments 😂
I love the fact that young'uns like yourself are enamored with practical effects. Hopefully the amazement at seeing what can be done withOUT a computer will inspire a new generation of old-timey effects hobbyists.
I really hope so!!
Yeah, Ripley's been my personal hero since I first saw this in the theater as a teenager. She's clever & brave, but in a realistic way. She's not the perfect "Mary Sue." She struggles with fear, PTSD, a temper. She wasn't trying to be a hero, the PTSD drives her back to the source of her trauma. Even at the end, she's not a hero for sake of being a hero. She's just driven by the motherly drive to save a child or die trying. And I love how the end is basically mom vs. mom. So epic.
You've said what I was thinking so perfectly here thank you! I almost wish I watched this growing up to have an idol like her. She's just the perfect amount of badass woman while retaining her independence and feminity 💙
I love how the heart monitor was reading higher when Ripley had to wrangle obtuse bureaucrats at the hearing than when she had the chestburster nightmare. But fun fact about the powerloader suits - they were so believable at the time, the filmmakers got approached by actual heavy-machinery/construction firms asking where they could get one. Also canonically a regular alien is about as smart as a labrador, but a Queen's smarter than most humans, so seeing a lift get used and then using one herself by copying what she saw wouldn't be a massive leap.
Hahah I think I was super excited during the start and immediately knew it was a dream!
If you liked this, consider reacting to the first two _Terminator_ films. Like this film, they were both written and directed by James Cameron, and feature several of the same actors. Lance Henriksen (Bishop), Michael Biehn (Hicks) and Bill Paxton (Hudson) all appear in the first film, and Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez) appears in _T2._ Also, one of the protagonists of the first film, Sarah Connor, is up there with Ellen Ripley as one of the most beloved action heroines of all time.
I know you've said you're not into action movies, but the first film is just as much a horror film as it is an action film, and while the second film is lighter in tone, it still has moments of horror, and is generally regarded as Cameron's greatest cinematic achievement. Both films are also extremely popular, so if you want high viewing figures for your videos, those are two of the best films you could pick to react to in that regard.
I definitely concur 😊
Those are my favorite Sci-Fi films of all time 😍 ... that and The Matrix
The second might count somewhat as horror, too, given the nature of the T-1000.
You're doing Cpl. Dwayne Hicks real dirty by accusing him of fainting during the drop- he didn't pass out, he's literally catching some nap time because combat drops are so incredibly routine for him!
more naps for Hicks he deserves it!!
13:46 That's exactly the trick they use here 28:20 EDIT - 32:34 One of my favourite shots in cinema. Beautiful and terrifying.
At the end of the last movie she said it would take 6 weeks to reach the frontier (AKA the Outer heavens), which is the very edge of populated space. and populated space in this universe is really, REALLY big. And yes Lambert said it would take ten months to get home. But she worked that out using the Nostromo and its huge retrofitted Roles Royce Engines. The shuttle can't go nearly as fast. Also Birk said she had drifted right through the core systems which means she drifted through the Outer Heavens and the Inner Heavens and ten straight out the other side. So its easy to believe she did in fact spend 57 years in hyper sleep.
I remember my mom picking on my dad when they showed that Hicks was sedated through the finale of the film. "Typical guy. Slept through the whole thing."
😂😂😂
There are some great very practical solutions in this movie. The scanner from the opening of the movie is just a laser moving up and down through smoke. Lasers were getting cheaper at that time which meant they were starting to be used at concert venues and in night clubs, to basically do the same thing you see in the movie. Cameron just bolted one on a camera crane and stuck it in the set, add a nice sound effect when it passes by and hey presto, cool futuristic scanning device.
Similar thing with the big machine guns. They used Steadicams which were invented 5-10 years previously so still relatively new on set. It is a harness with a dampened arm on which you put a big cinema camera and a counterweight. Cameron replaced the camera with a machine gun, add some motorcycle part and even a relatively small woman can walk around and act with a heavy futuristic spacegun. And the tank they drove around in was a truck they use to tow airplanes at an airport with. All very practical and very effective.
so weird, that simple laser at the start was so effective/unique/ oddly beautiful way better than what CGI could do, I'm not even totally sure why it stood out SO much to me but I really appreciated it. The creativity throughout this is honestly astounding
I absolutely love your reactions because of your fascination with art effects and because you're awesome!!! One reason The Thing is popular was because there's a network of horror buffs like me, who are constantly looking for a great reaction. Movies like Jaws, Halloween, The Fly and The Exorcist have a cult following and draw big numbers. And with your charm, subs should grow.
Thank you so much what a lovely comment! The fly should be up soon!
As to the egg laying…
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages.
"His name was Wandering Oscar and he was a skeleton..." that's the start of my story (of the 😅same name) on the horror story corner. Hope you like it.
Ripley is an awesome character. So refreshing seeing a well written strong female lead. Sigourney Weaver is a bit underrated IMO, she is an amazing actress.
Best Movie ever! I was about 11 when I saw this for the first time. Scared me to dead, but was fascinated at the same time. Loved it ever since. GAME OVER MAN!
Hahah watching the queen reveal at 11 would be terrifying!
The reason the compony had very little contact with this colony is its sheer distance. They Clearly have some sort of future technology to talk across large distances in this universe because information can only travel at the speed of light. Which means it should take years to send a message one way. And years for a reply to come back. But in the special edition of this movie they state that it takes two weeks to send a message one way in this universe. So that's why they don't talk much.
Haha! I've ALWAYS said that Marine spaceship looked like a rifle. I suspect it was one art department product that was reassigned from its original purpose.
Surely it mustve been haha!
I was about to say...yeah, he fell asleep
Try and track down the scenes from the director's cut. There's a scene in the extended edition that should never have been cut.
I'm not sure if we're talking about the same scene, but the scene I'm talking about establishes why Ripley feels so protective and motherly towards Newt
Or if you want to see what a "robot" looked like before the shock of ALIEN changed everything.
And if you want to see early effects with painted backgrounds (which actually look pretty good) then check out
"Forbidden Planet" 😉
I fully agree. It's also a metaphor for the Internet, by mistake :)
'Alien vs Predator' 2004 is kind of cheesy but it's worth watching just for the Alien, Predator fight scenes and the Alien and Predators killing humans.
20:00 That's actually forced perspective. It's a mini that looks like it's part of the scenery. I vaguely remember a producer(?) getting angry with Cameron, wrongly thinking he was overspending on the set, as it looked real/full scale.
Super impressive I couldn't tell
Oh and one last think. Its implied that Hicks didn't faint on the dropship. He fell asleep because its so routine for them at this point.
Gotta watch the Assembly Cut for the next one, though there are still many bits I'd say are better in the Theatrical, Assembly's still the way to go. Then go for Theatrical for Alien: Resurrection. Also, Aliens was '86 not '84.
I've never heard anyone say they downright hate this film, that's really odd to me that multiple people said that to you!
right?? i'm going to ask them why because I never did haha. but a few of them prefer atmospheric horror and dislike action too so that could be why
On behalf of my Ginger cat Thanks for the compliment! Ginger Female cats are extremely rare, long haired even rarer so I'm sure she appreciates any praise :D
Lance Henrikson/Henriksen? wanted to play The Terminator and almost got the job before Cameron met Arnie lol. So Cameron offered Lance the part of a robot in his next film, Aliens :D
I think the general lore regarding the different looking Aliens is Drones (Alien) and Warriors (Aliens) but I always figured the changes to their head maybe because they're older. We only knew the first one for less than 24 hours. Behind the scenes it's the same reason changes are made, merchandising rights. They needed to make the Aliens 25% different looking in order to maintain the rights for the toys... Yes there were toys aimed at Kids for Alien, Terminator, Robocop... I don't know why, but being a Kid back then, I was pleased.
The Cocoon as Ripley calls the Nest, is created through individual Alien's secretions. I guess they jsut get sweaty and crawl around.
There's a novelisation and a short audio semi prequel about what happens on LV 426/Hadley's Hope... Very cool. Oh and the Directors cut of Alien and Aliens are a must watch. You get to see the Colony etc and guess who's in charge? Captain Hollister from RED DWARF!!!
Alien 3 has a very, very mixed reputation and 2 quite different versions, I believe the Assembly Cut is the best and it's littered with British Actors like Charles TYWIN LANNISTER Dance, John Glower, Pete Postelthwaite and the guy from Dr. Who's Impossible Planet/Satan Pit episodes. The Security Chief guy who dies in a ventilation shaft... I feel bad now as I forget his name. Definitely worth seeing and Ripley rocks the bald head look.
I've always wanted a ginger cat called pumpkin they're wonderful!
Thanks for all the lore and info! I really need to check out the directors cut for Newt and red dwarf stuff alone but I've heard it's so much better. I'll take a lil break from the series but considering watching all of them eventually here!
the whole Aliens lair scene, was filmed at Acton power station, greater London, as was the...Axis chemicals paint factory scene in the 1990 BAT MAN.
Giger himself, NEVER worked on this sequel (which cost more than twice the original film's budget)
I
But still, an 18 million dollar budget was pretty darned low for a 1980s movie.
Aliens came out in 1986 not 84.
Thank you for telling me! I have number blindness so they merge together but fixing should help the algo!
It was great to see another one of your reactions. Before this I've seen your reactions to "The Thing" and "Alien." The volume of the movie was pretty low, which is the most common problem I see with new channels.
The film was shot mostly at Pinewood Studios in the UK, and used a combination of practical effects and miniatures, as well as some early CGI. Cameron insisted on using practical effects for the film, rather than relying too heavily on CGI, which was relatively new at the time. The exterior of the colony was filmed at the Acton Lane Power Station outside of London. The set had over 350 tons of steel scaffolding to form the exterior and would cost over $5.4 million USD to construct today.
Forensic sculptor Douglas Tait played an amazing behind-the-scenes role in designing the aliens. Tait was reportedly unhappy with the initial design for the aliens, feeling that they were not intimidating or impressive enough. He then took it upon himself to create a life-size model of his own design, working in his own time after hours and presented it to Cameron and company. They loved it and it was put into the film.
I enjoy your reviews. You have interesting and very articulate comments and analysis. From my point of view, your accent is very cool and elegant.
I've seen many horror films growing up, but my taste for them is a little more selective than it once was. I do like sci-fi and action. I can promise that any time you react to a film I've seen and didn't hate, I'll be back to see your take on it. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the lovely comment! Im so grateful for Tait I agree with him so much, the design was a massive improvement! Unfortunately due to copyright stuff the volume of the movie has to be low (first film took 5 blocks) :/
You should know this movie was filmed and produced in Pinewood Studios UK north of London , just like previous Alien movie. Whole terraform base was actually outdoor and indoor sets of an electrical power plant in Midlands previously used in filming Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989)
I've been passed Pinewood a BUNCH of times! I didn't know Aliens was filmed there though!
@@skeletalk Both Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) were filmed in Pinewood Studios. Except the director James Cameron most of the production crew was British. The acting cast was mostly American and they were quite unused to British weather. In the scenes where Colonial Marines approach terraform base entrance first time , you can see tough female Marine Vasquez is shivering. The actress is from California and her quote , she was not expecting chilly rain
Ha! The 'Sulaco' is shaped like a 'gun' an purpose! Good eyes! More fun facts. Sigorney Weaver hates guns and was very apprehensive at first when handling them for this. The Queen has at least 2 people in the costume, one an either side of the body, and it opened like a clam shell. The head was totally animatronic.
Oh it was on purpose that makes sense! I've heard she didn't like guns and why she wasn't a fan of the games too. The head was animatronic omg! So impressive
Queen takes Bishop. there are no other aliens films after this one they are all hypersleep dreams, the first they use a soldier to make it ready for the queen, in the 2nd film its weeks later, so the drones workers are differentm like Ants, they are designed by the queen for its needs. theres a HUGE lore about Aliens and the species and evolution
I'm sure it's been recommended already and if you've never seen it, Event Horizon is a great scifi horror movie from the late 90s. There's also one called Cube,also from the late 90s.
Event Horizon one of my favourite films! I also really enjoyed Cube too! Now I wish I had started this channel earlier xD
25:00 I miss the rear projection from Cameron's films, used to perfection in T2. The crashing dropship miniature is projected onto a screen behind the actors. All recorded on camera so there's minimal disconnect between the dropship and the characters.
That's so awesome omg!
Heart survivor and horror fanatic. Keep up the good fight!
💙💙💙
Best sci-fi fantasy film EVER! Now stop there, no need to watch any more of the Alien saga, the story ends here.
truth.
Aliens is arguably the greatest sequel and the greatest sci-fi ever made
Oh - I just realized that there's one thing that might interest you. You mentioned that "Ripley is now a mom" as Newt was introduced. Now, I don't know if you've watched the Director's Cut and missed that, but they included a scene where Burke told Ripley that her actual daughter died from old age. That's why Newt brought out Ripley's maternal side, because she already was a mother. Caring for Newt was for her a bit of a redemption for not being there for her own daughter. They removed that scene from the Theatrical version because it wasn't necessary for the plot itself, allowing them to cut down on the running time.
The game _Alien: Isolation_ actually allows the player to play as Amanda, Ripley's daughter, in her quest to find the Nostromo ship from the first Alien movie. Of course it's never going to be as easy as it sounds since it's a horror game. It's a really good game and emulates the oppressive, claustrophobic feeling from the first movie, though it is of a grander scale to keep the game more interesting beyond an hour of two.
god I wish I found the Directors now it seems 10x better honestly, those little things are imo so crucial. I didn't even know she was a mom. I really need to play the game thinking about streaming it sometime!
@@skeletalk Haha, that's why I mentioned it. I figured you might want to look into that game since I noticed you also stream ;)
And yes, the Director's Cut actually delves a little bit more into Ripley's character and her squad mates. It's not a lot, but it really adds to the character development. There's like 4 extra scenes or something, so in case you'll ever decide to rewatch, pick the DC and experience a few new things :)
he passed out on the drop because he was bored and so used to it. The cool level headed guy.
Greetings! I like to almost "audition" reaction and "First Time Watching" channels and I'm happy to say that with this reaction to "Aliens" you've won my subscription! You have a natural easygoing charm. I find that I enjoy reactions that are well put together and adept technically, but also have a unique background and "hook" to offer additional perspective and insight, and with your artistic inclinations and experience you're more effective and it helps you stand apart from the pack. And a well-developed sense of humor is a plus! You certainly possess that. It's always a bit more fun and satisfying when you've taken stills and shots from films and contrasted them with your own work and highlighted what draws you in aesthetically to the designs in question. I haven't seen a lot of your work, (so far) but I think if you haven't already advertised your art for commissions and sales, you could definitely secure yourself a new stream of income that would naturally work in synergy with your TH-cam offerings, while simultaneously giving you more opportunities to practice, mature, and grow as an artist. One attribute of horror and science-fiction fans is their enthusiastic desire to support and champion artists they like and admire- even financially. We are loyal, curious and love to help out other like-minded individuals, but you probably already know that about the horror community!
I've been around since Methuselah and have been a horror fan for the vast majority of my life, so I'd like to pop in now and again with the odd suggestion or two regarding recommendations for films to watch. They wouldn't necessarily highlight an inordinate amount of design work, but I have a suspicion you would enjoy them, even on your own time. I know "First Time Watching" accounts get bombarded with suggestions to watch, but the only one I'd recommend for now for a chillingly good time is a 1981 film named "Dead and Buried". It does have solid, unnerving practical makeup FX coincidentally executed by Stan Winston who did the stellar work here you're watching during "Aliens". It shares a lot of the same punch and ghoulish charm as the EC comics that inspired "Tales from the Crypt". If you do wind up intrigued enough to watch it, you'll see what I mean!
I'll wrap up by congratulating you on you channel and I look forward to your growth and development as both an artist and TH-cam personality.
Cheers and warm regards!
This was such a lovely comment, I'm so insanely happy thank you so much!! Glad to have you in the Skeleton Cult!
I had always hoped my artistic background would separate me but worried my desensitation to horror (and artistic overwritten brain) might make people think I don't care about parts (if my heart rate is low or I'm talking/concentrating) especially with ADHD ontop of that, I know a lot of people don't like a lot of talking - which defeats the purpose of a reaction channel in my humble opinion!!!
I've been freelance/self employed as a concept artist and worked on big commissions for years but with the uptick of AI art (and social media shadowbans) I've unfortunately lost out on a lot of my jobs and clients so taking a step back from paid work for now. Desperately hope it picks up again as it's my number 1 love in this world but thinking of creative ways to implement my art in videos now too.
I've not heard of Dead and Buried before will have to check that out, happy for people to keep up on the recommendations it actually helps me narrow down what should be prioritized too, thank you!!
Impressive and extremely well-made movie! (2023.08.27)
an amazing film packed full of H.R. Giger loveliness 🤠 dig the reaction
We love gieger here!
Not a ding of CGI in this movie. All practical, miniatures, sets etc.
The only thing not practical were the lightning effects at the end, which were rotoscoped and blended using on-set lighting/lightning.
They even made the ship and the troop carrier for real.
The dropship was initially built from spare parts from an AirFix kit, and they then used that for the wide shots... and they replicated it in full size so the actors could interact with what was basically a real 50ft long prop/set-piece.
For the troop carrier, they used a real vehicle that's used to tow airplanes, and kitted it out with extra panels and that gun on the front.
My fave bit of trivia:
They made this entire movie with only 6 alien suits and one partly animatronic Queen.
Using editing and cuts, wire work etc, they made it look like there were hundreds.
I said partly animatronic Queen, because inside the head were motors for the jaw and tongue... but inside the body, were 4 people controlling the arms and legs.
The one or two walking scenes for the Queen, they had it rigged up on wires, and the people inside were controlling all of the limbs at the same time.
Same with the powerloader Ripley uses.
It was a mixture of miniature, remote control parts, stop motion, and a real set-piece hung on wires that Sigourney Weaver actually wore as a giant mech-suit.
The scene where the dropship crashes, was also done for real, in camera, on set.
The footage of the actors was on the set... but the background behind the actors was footage of a miniature dropship... and they rear-projected the footage onto a huge screen on the set.
It's the same technique that Cameron then perfected in the Future War start sequence in Terminator 2. Miniature footage projected onto a back-screen, real people and vehicles etc etc in the foreground, and all filmed in-camera.
I love rotoscoping, but I would potentially put that under practical too! So impressive.
I was honestly convinced there was hundreds of xeno's, the smoke and mirrors is top-notch
Practical effects are a dying art in this digital age of the industry. Just imagine if Alien never happened and someone pitched it today, think about how much different it would feel if the alien was all CGI.
Yeah it's sad, I doubt it would get much love with practical effects nowadays but who knows!
We'd probably get to see the alien a _lot_ more since they'd want to show off their fancy CGI, but that would completely ruin the mystery aspect of it, which I think would ruin the movie...
probably with an extended cast, as is the case here, things have to be...thinned out diluted, new characters have to have less screen time, meaning you get less time to know them & care, especially when things are faster paced, than in the original.
R.I.P. Hudson/Bill Paxton
just an FYI as well. Check out a novel called Aliens: River of pain. It tells the story of what happened to this colony. Its a great read.
will check that out sounds good!
Does anyone know if that Xenomorph queen is so big because it came out of the "Space Jockey" from the first movie?
Hi Katie, thank you so much for reviewing Aliens, such a Classic Sci-Fi film.
One of the very rare sequels that are better than the originals
I'd say it's different, whether it's better or not depends on what you enjoyed about the first one (same as with the two Terminator movies... and no, just as with Alien(s), there were never any more than the two movies 😜). Me, personally, I prefer part 2 in both cases, but they are nowhere near as good _if you enjoyed the originals for their horror aspects._
You're most welcome, thank you for watching & your support!!
Someone said they hated this? Usually the discussion is which is better. The first one or the second. But I've never heard anyone say they hated Aliens. Now a lot of people hate the third one and I'm one of them.
Ripley daughter died 2 years b4 Ripley was found in the beginning of the movie. Her daughter was newts age when she left in the first movie.
oh god thats horrific
Each movie is filmed differently. 1) horror/suspense 2) action horror 3) thriller sci-fi 4) graphic novel styled sci-fi thriller
It would be better if we could hear what is being said in the movie (and some of the ambient noise).
As someone who grew up in the 80s the thing that bugs me about most modern movies is they look to clean. Specially when they are shooting scenes taking place in the 70s and 80s. Cities back then were dirty, grimy, had trash in alleyways. Houses were built and decorated with dark colors. Because dark colors hide dirt. Remember there were a lot of smokers back then white walls would turn yellow in no time. Dark wood paneling hid the nicotine. Dark carpets hid dirt from your kids. Etc. Also actors would get dirty in older movies. They didn't always look fresh from a shower. (When was the last time you saw a leading actor sweat?) Modern movies feel clean and polished, the places in them dont feel lived in and the people don't feel real
Anyone talk how much bad-ass are Rambo, John Wick or some MU hero.
Ripley fight friking zenomorph aliens. In their nest. Alone. That is bad-ass.
The Alien Queen is approximatly 15ft tall, with 2 small men operating the arms. it is impressive, Giger himself liked it, but again it doesnt exceed the first original look in the origin film.
gosh that is impressive!
A movie that one can say is better than the first one
You should watch the Horror movie Near Dark it stars three of the actors from Aliens, Lance Henrikson (Bishop) Jeanette Goldstien (Velasquez), and Bill Paxton (Hudson) Is described as a Neowestern Vampire film
Sk, you should have watched the extended version which, among other things, explains where Newt came from and what happened to Ripley's daughter (which also explains the bond between Ripley and Newt).
ahhh I know! I couldn't find it? but from everything I've heard it honestly has crucial important stuff in it that really should be in normal ed
@@skeletalk That's a pity. :-(
Hey, just found your channel. Aliens is one of my all time classic films. I grew up watching it and wanted to be a space marine, go figure haha but yeah, I too just hit 1000 and also I'm making a horror film as we speak, so I'll let you know when it's done. Be nice to hear what you think of it. Take it easy :)
I'd love to check it out when you're done! Thanks!
@@skeletalk Cool, I'll remember :)
Don't mind airplane landings, but I was on a military transport, and it was only my second jet flight, we came in during bad weather to Cherry Point MC base. The plane was bouncing hard all the way down, and then it was also low cloud cover so when we finally come out of the clouds there is the tree line, and then the bay we cross to get to the airfield.
After we disembark we watch 2 Chinook helicopters land, our Captain comes over and says 'oh those were sent up in case we went into the bay.' 🤐😳
"The Expanse" isn't a true horror sci-fi series, but there are some occasional horror elements. I suspect you'd like the series.
Interesting you picked up on the Red Dwarf comparison: the set designer for s3 based his look on the designs from Alien and Aliens!
I have no idea what Alien's budget was but I know RD's was literally non existent but I'm not as well versed in Sci-Fi but RD was a household fave growing up
One of my absolute favorite films, and one of the few sequels that just might be superior to the original (along with Dawn of the Dead and The Godfather part 2). My high school had a substitute teacher who behaved slightly like an android and just seemed a little slow and a little "off" at times, and my smart-ass 17-year-old self started calling him "Bishop." He looked superficially like Lance Henriksen who played Bishop in "Aliens." Little did I know that the nickname would stick, and *many years* after graduating, I would hear stories about kids calling him "Bishop" whenever he would be called in to sub for one of their classes. 😅
Great sequel indeed!! Hahaha I can't believe you had your very own bishop!!
@@skeletalk Hi skeletalk.I wish you’d watched the SPECIAL EDITION VERSION OF ALIENS, as that tells you about Ripley’s loss and Newts backstory.Also there are some great extras to look out for.I totally agree with michaelfrancisco.ALIENS is a brilliant sequel.Up there with the likes of DAWN OF THE DEAD,THE GODFATHER PART TWO and TERMINATOR 2:JUDGEMENT DAY.I’m hoping you get to watch the special edition version of THE EXORCIST(a creepy coming down the stairs scene in that version), the 2011 THE THING prequel,which tells the story from the Norwegian perspective and which leads to the events at the American base and the 2004 DAWN OF THE DEAD remake.I want to hear your views on that version and the comparison to George Romero’s 1978 classic.💀👍
The sequels that are better than the originals are
The Godfather 2
Terminator 2
Blade II
Aliens
@@richieb7692 I'd somewhat disagree with Blade II, but admittedly mostly because I can't stand body horror, and _that_ is really over-the-top in Blade II...
"'e's on a mission innie" - every so often, you get a bit London in how you talk! Mostly it's I'd guess a Surrey accent, but there are bits I'd guess maybe think you're from outer London. Not looking for an answer, I appreciate how much youtubers will want to preserve their privacy, it's just something that amuses me when you get little nuances in how someone speaks.
Glad you really enjoyed this one, I prefer it to Alien because my genre preferences go that way, so I can appreciate someone going the other way for the same reason. It is a really well paced action movie, with bits of horror design/ambience fed in to the mix. The logic hods up, the stakes are engaging, Ripley is a fantastic central character - it avoids a lot of the pitfalls that blight the genre. I know what you mean about formula though, the second Die Hard movie 'lampshades' the way they re-use the plot beats of the first one with dialogue, but Aliens feels like a sensible return/escalation going from a single person being implanted to what happens if many people are. I like the decision they made with Alien 3, and would say it is worth a look for you and your sensibilities, but the quality of the films in the franchise definitely tail off...
If you prefer it because of the direction, there is something I've been pondering with the Avatar movies. James Cameron made some fantastic films with Terminator and Terminator 2, and Aliens, and while I can appreciate his technical ability, I find in a lot of his movies the characters are a bit thin/bland. The villains/antagonists in particular skew somewhat cartoonish like Burke here, and especially Billy Zane in Titanic. I don't know if the Avatar movies would fit the ethos of your channel (they feel like Sci-Fi tinged with fantasy), but I'd maybe point you at them to enjoy the designs and visuals while not enjoying them much myself as movies. I'd honestly put the flying sequences in How To Train Your Dragon ahead of Avatar, even without noting how much more I liked Hiccup and Astrid. Yeesh, I just realised that this may have been the s**tiest, most tepid recommendation I've managed to give a film...
I think the problem with CGI isn't so much the medium as the fact that it can be done quickly means it is often done without the attention to detail that elevates set design etc. With those you tend to know that you can't cut corners because you can't risk having to try and fix it in post, which (as far as I'm aware) is much easier to do when compositing from a CGI source that you can go back and re-edit. Avatar is maybe a good argument for CGI, I just wish they had paid as much attention to the script...
Not sure if you'll ever be the type of person who'd want to go and watch Top Gun, but I'd maybe point you at Predator partly because it ends up crossing over with the Alien franchise (mostly because of what I think may have been intended as sight gag in Predator 2), but also because it's maybe an action film with more of a horror vibe than Aliens. The threat here feels more environmental than personal, while Predator maybe is more in line with the slasher flicks but with well armed jacked-up protagonists... If Skele does Sci-Fi becomes an avenue you maybe keep pursuing, I'd say Robocop and Starship Troopers have elements you might enjoy while not having much of a horror vibe (if at all), Dredd and Edge Of Tomorrow are films with parts I think will really appeal to your visual sense, and Blade Runner has all the robots you could ask for! I'd also throw in Gareth Edward's Monsters because of it being made with virtually just a DSLR camera and a laptop for the SFX. It's very much a character study with sci-fi elements and while it's not perfect, it does put a lot of bigger budget films to shame.
Anyway, thanks again for a fun reaction video. Looking forward to your next one!
haha I'm actually from way out in the countryside but have London family so my accent dips!
Yeah so, you touched it a bit- The Avatar films, well, while I think theyr're beautiful I just find the script not good. it lulls so often and I feel taken out of it because of how droning it can be- but yeah it is gorgeous I just find it hard to sit though. I'm getting a lot of recomendations for Terminator but unsure if I'll enjoy it- will have to see! I'm def going to be exploring other genres after horror I think so Sci-Fi is a yes. Thank you for the lovely comment and sticking around!
@@skeletalk So if I read your sensibilities correctly, I would lean towards you enjoying Terminator 1 and 2. The first film is somewhat close to a slasher/serial killer film in terms of tone and pacing, with an inhumanly powerfully antagonist. I'm not sure how you draw a line between when something is a horror film vs a thriller, and I've seen it given both genres by people. It has a very particular design aesthetic and practical effects. Terminator 2 is less horrific in tone (though still with some nightmare fuel), and features some really strong character work.
I'm going to be very interested to see how you respond to the art and design choices in sci-fi. It's a shame there are only a small number of 'cyberpunk' movies as that subgenre is where you tend to have a gritty looking settings and machinery (for your Red Dwarf fandom), but it's also a genre where you can get a lot of interesting ideas about how people and technology intersect. I tend to approach things primarily from a story angle, so as long as you keep up your niche of looking at things from a highly visual perspective I'll be sticking around. Even if you're not a Londoner! :-p
please turn the volume up so we can hear what's being said in the video you are watching !!!!
What is the stone? amulet? on your necklace?
Amber it was a gift from my grandma! :)
Seeing as you’re into horror, you should check out the low budget vampire movie, Near Dark, as it also stars the actors who play Hudson, Bishop, and Vasquez, released only a year or two after Aliens.
oh wow I've never heard of this!! thank you!
i think you will love the fourth take on this franchise .. though not a great movie or really good either but it has some awesome alien design .. for an artist worth a look, for a movie fan, not so much
Ooh that's interesting actually, I was considering dropping the franchise for a bit but if its worth looking over artistically then it's def worth a watch!
@@skeletalk the third has neither fan or artistic merit, but the fourth is like they said to there entire crew "design an alien", and then said "screw it, we will include the lot"
1. Michael Biehn/Hicks played Reese in Terminator as did Bishop/Lance Henriksen as the assistant police chief.
2. Am I the only one thinking that maybe they're so cheap that they sent her back out hoping she isn't going to collect her back pay. 57 years is a shitload of Benjamins. They totally screwed her.
3. Bill Paxton RIP Bill😇 He was Chet in "Weird Science". Much of his dialog is ad-lib.
4. Possibly the best dialogue in the movie: Hudson, "Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?"
Vasquez, : "No have you?"🤣
5. IRL Paul Riser's mom during a preview viewing actually stood up and cheered when his character Burke got his.
6. Carrie Henn/Newt after this movie her nickname became SCREAM.
7. Mom VS Mom. Don't piss off momma🤬🤬
Omg I didn't even realise how much money the company owes Ripley! 😂 Hell yea momma vs momma!
@@skeletalk I'm not sure about that necessarily but the true villain of Alien(s) is undoubtedly the company, not the alien(s). Like a lot of '80s movies, the real villain is corporations/capitalism.
The true villain in Alien was the company, sending out the crew and deeming them expendable; the embodiment of the company in Alien was Ash.
The true villain in Aliens is again the company, this time embodied by Burke. Always putting profit over human lives.
the company is 100% the villian @@SchulzEricT
James Cameron says the third best one after this for him is "Aliens vs Predator". Just do them all.
yeah I prob will do all of them but less priority to these two!
Loved the "Is he or isn't he" Bishop journey for you. Most of us experienced the same! Still my favorite movie of the franchise. Loved the reaction Katie! ❤
Hahaha it was a journey indeed 😂😂 but seemed like a red herring!
Not so fun fact. In the end, Lance Henricson was given cups of milk mixed with yogurt for his "blood". It curdled under the lights and he still had to keep getting mouthfuls for the scene. He got super sick from it.
oh nooo that sounds super gross :(@@eddiejravannen
If u loved this, u have to watch The Terminator 1 and 2. U are going to love the practical effects on the first movie.
So since, Alien is a Disney franchise nowadays, for the last few years, does the Xenomorph count as a Disney princess?
best comment, AND YES!
Great reaction, I was hoping to see a reaction to the Special Edition so more lore could be shown for Ripely and Newt but oh well. Since you love Horror, I recommend The Nun for a reaction.
Weirdly I couldn't seem to find it anywhere but I've heard its soooo much better
Definitely lone of the best sequels of all time. It uses the original concept respectfully but expands on it and changes the genre of the movie so as not to force too many comparisons to the brilliant original which lets it stand on its own two sturdy and strong cargo loader feet of awesomeness.
Ripley is one of my all time favourite movie heroes together with Sarah Connor and John McClane - regular people forced into very much not regular circumstances and rising to the occasion with intelligence, creativity and courage.
I was really impressed for a sequel, some amazing creativity and practicals too. I just adore Ripley she's such a role model as a woman
Katie, I loved your reaction. If you really love horror movies, please react to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Enjoy this Tobe Hooper masterpiece!
Hicks fell asleep. He is so used to this.
Another excellent reaction. Thank you. Ellen Ripley has two important capital C's for heroes: Competence and Charisma. I just hate when hero is incompetent fool just with plot armor survives things. Ripley survives because she's competent and knows her stuff.
Few Recomendations as I barely managed to glance your list so sorry for duplicates
Sunshine (2007) by Danny Boyle: its beautiful movie with amazing soundtrack. Its spiritual successor of Alien in terms mood making and how it was shot.
Pandorum (2009) by Christian Alvart. All the closed space, dark corridors and horrible creatures. Little known but has strong cult following and its good film.
Both these films have similarities in Event Horizon that you have liked Katie so these might be worth of checking.
Then: James Cameron:
Abyss (1989) very dense feeling thriller and Scifi. Its borderline horror in some shots and mood building style.
Terminator (1984) More of Scifi-Horror-Action film. What James Cameron could do with shoe string bugdet defined entire genre.
Terminator 2 (1991) yeah its action its lighter than first one but: Special FX, make up and visual shots / stunts alone are worth watching this film.
Gneral Horror films:
American Werewolf in London (1981) By John Landis. Still one of the best werewolf films and has amazing transformation sequence. Still today absolutely creepy how they did it and still the best werewolf transformation.
Predator (1987) John McTiernan. Yeah, its another Arnold film, but flawlessly transforms from Thriller into action into Scifi-horror-survival. You won't be disapointed.
Thank you so much again!! Ripley is just a fantastic role model!
Padorum and American Werewolf are on the list (thinking to bump werewolf up a lot of people seem to want it) Not heard of Sunshine or Abyss and haven't seen any of the Terminator films- Thanks so much for the recommendations!!
While this has horror elements, in comparison to its predecessor "Aliens" is more science fiction/action.
You should try a couple of 80s classic movies. Legend which stars a very young Tom Cruise. It's high fantasy. And Labyrinth which is another classic. They are more films for young adults bit have some of the best artwork and prop designs of that era. The best has to be Jim Hensons The Dark Crustal.
Labyrinth is my all time most favourite film I have merch everywhere 😂😂😂 and dark crystal is a huge favourite too. Wish we had more like that. I love Jim so much
Great reaction to an all time classic movie!
This is the perfect ending to the Alien saga. I went to watch Alien3 but hated it so badly I walked out barely half an hour into the movie. I've never watched anything else from the extended series, and I never suggest that other people do so either. That's just my opinion though, and it's worth what you paid for it: nothing. This really is the perfect ending to the Ellen Ripley/Alien saga. In my mind I decided that they all made it back safe, the Company went bankrupt after paying out damages and fines, Hicks left the Colonial Marines and he and Ripley married, and they adopted Newt. Bishop's personality, memories, and programming were put into a new Bishop body and he became Mr. and Mrs. Hicks' butler and friend. A much better ending than the future Alien-themed cash grabs.
The art/set/props/costuming department for this movie deserves all the kudos. They really made the environment, the events, EVERYTHING look so fricking amazing! In my opinion they deserved every academy award for their work.
Michael Biehn was great as Hicks and I liked that he survived this movie too, unlike the standard trope of only one person surviving a horror(type) movie. And the old joke held true: If he doesn't have a mustache he's a good guy.
Vasquez, the ultimate bad-A marine, was probably an obvious death, but at least she got a good amount of screen time and had a lot of personality instead of just being painted on the backdrop as so many non-lead actors tend to be. The same goes for Lt. Gorman. He really grew into the leadership role, and became brave when it hit the fan too. It was nice to see someone who was the weakest link early on become stronger when the chips were down.
Paxton as Hudson was great. He was scared as crap, but when it was time for action he was right there in the thick of it, doing the best he could, no matter what, until the end
One of my favorite stories about this movie was told by Paul Reiser who played Carter Burke. He took his mother to the premiere and told her nothing about the movie beforehand. She joined in with the rest of the audience applauding when Burke died, and from an article I read he said that for weeks afterward every time they saw each other when she saw him she got this look of disgust on her face, this "I can't believe you did that" kind of look. That's what made him really believe that he could be an actor.
I have my own Aliens movie story, which I think is amusing:
After I graduated high school, I became an advisor for the church youth group I had belonged to before graduating. In 1988, when I was 20, we had a lock-in one fall weekend. The high school youth were allowed to pick movies to rent for the lock in. Aliens was one of the ones chosen. I had kind of seen it before, but it was as background while hanging out with friends, so I didn't know much about it. We started watching it around 11 p.m. All of the adults and most of the teens had gone to sleep in the rooms set aside for that, while a few teens and I started watching Aliens in the High School Sunday School room in the large basement of the large church. The teens all left and went to sleep before we reached the halfway point, but I was interested so I stayed up and finished the movie.
It was now around 1 a.m. All the lights were off because everyone but me was asleep. My last task before I could sleep was to go around the unlocked areas of the downstairs and make sure none of the teens had snuck off to do anything they shouldn't have. So here I am, walking through dark cinder block walled hallways with exposed ductwork overhead, and no lights except for the occasional faint red lights of the "Exit" signs. My heart is beating like a jackhammer as I carefully edge my way through the dark halls, knowing that there are no xenomorphs but still expecting some kind of jump scare that's going to make me lash out and crap myself at the same time. Luckily, everyone was fast asleep and I finished my rounds and went and lay down, but it was probably the least restful sleep I had and the most nervous I had ever been in church.
Skele ... with Alien 3, you definitely want to check out the reworked Special Edition version, which is much closer to director Davfid Fincher's original "director's" cut, before the studio took it away from him in post and chopped the hell out of it. The theatrical version is okay but pretty clunky, but this special edition is a MUCH BETTER film all round.
Also, Hicks isn't passed out during the first drop, he's just done this so many times in the past that he's completely blase about the whole thing, so he's nodded off in his seat. Hence when they start getting ready to go before landing, Sgt. Apone says: "Somebody wake up Hicks."
Javik would have thrown that thing out the airlock long before Ripley got into the power loader 😆 Amazing movie, and probably my favourite of the franchise. Alien is very good, but Aliens has more memorable scenes, and while the effects in Alien are good for the time, the xenomorph sometimes looks a bit more like a guy in a suit, which it is. Hmm, I kinda want to rewatch the Alien vs. Predator movies now. It has been some time since I watched them, but if I remember correctly, I didn't think they sucked as bad as some people seem to think. And those two franchises have been linked together since Predator 2.
yeah that was my issue with Alien - it's my fave but I think that the Xeno looked too much like a man in a suit- however they could have bypassed this with more subtle shots (not showing the entirety) which is also my general opinion for monsters in horror if you're going the atmospheric route, we don't need to see everything. The mystery is the scary bit
@@skeletalk Yeah, I guess that's one of the reasons Ridley Scott went the atmospheric route instead of the guns blazing route James Cameron went in Aliens, he didn't have the technology to make action scenes where he showed more of the xeno, and make it look believable. In Aliens, the xeno's look amazing though, in my opinion, considering it came out in 1986. But I think that's why both movies are so loved, and considered classics, they are in the same franchise, but very different. When Cameron made Aliens, he didn't just ctrl+c/ctrl+v Alien, he did his own thing. As for Alien 3, I kinda like it, but it doesn't hold a candle to the first two. And Alien Resurrection, meh... well, I guess it's ok, up to a certain point in the movie.
so far my opnion is Alien is overall better & better director (preference) but Aliens has better Xenos!@@Pascal-the-Rascal
@@skeletalk Yeah. Both of them are successful in what they were trying to achieve, and James Cameron builds upon what Ridley Scott started. I have a hard time chosing between the two, if I feel like watching an atmospheric movie, Alien is an obvious choice, and if I want to watch an action movie, Aliens is a great movie, that also has its fair share of atmosphere. And I do think Sigourney Weaver is fantastic in both. I love sci-fi, and there are some other cool space horror movies that I also think are quite enjoyable.
If you've not seen In the Mouth of Madness you should check it out, it's John Carpenter and has some cool Lovecraftian creature designs.
ive been trying to get the react up for a few days but it keeps getting blocked xD soon though!!!
One of the things I seek from reactors is if they can provide some intelligent commentary on what they watch. The majority that I’ve seen only comment on the most mundane and typical aspects of movies, making their reactions incredibly dull, cliche, and boring beyond words (not to mention when they overreact).
However, I am very happy to have watched some of your videos where you offer unique insight based on your artistic background. I love hearing experts speak on matters that they are familiar with, and when they can apply it to other things such as movies, it’s quite fascinating. I’ve really enjoyed hearing your commentary on the aesthetics of the Alien franchise; at least you provide something unique and different!
If ever you decide to diversify your reactions, I would love to hear how you look at certain Asian cinema, particularly certain aspects of martial art movies. At the very least, for an artist, I highly recommend Jet Li’s “Hero,” if ever you choose this route.
Thank you again for the reaction!🎉
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! I really appreciate that people are enjoying my perspective, a tad obsessive but definitely unique! I will likely consider other genres after horror as long as they can be viewed from an artistic mindset!! 🥰
It's time for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Sir Anthony Hopkins is waiting for you. Enjoy
I actually have a beautiful framed poster just out of shot- one of my upmost favourite films and the books too!