when the villain is actually terrifying

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
  • Lots of monster movies make the mistake of showing their deadly antagonist too much. Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) does not. Here's why.
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ความคิดเห็น • 554

  • @SceneItReviews
    @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +526

    what's scarier?? showing the monster...or hiding the monster?
    (i suppose this extrapolates to horror in general too - slasher or supernatural?)

    • @thesfnb.5786
      @thesfnb.5786 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Both. Slasher and supernatural
      both to the first question too

    • @KnjazNazrath
      @KnjazNazrath ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Existential horror is the best. How does "Being John Malkovich" fit into your paradigm?

    • @noelv1976
      @noelv1976 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Monster hidden is pretty good. Midnight Mass wasn't scary scary, but not seeing the monster at rhe first few episodes was just perfect. Then they showed the monster and it was meh.

    • @philonetic321
      @philonetic321 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Cloverfield sucked and the monster was silly. Jason and Myers managed to pull off the same fear in anticipation while being out in the open. Both styles make you question every corner turned. ALIEN is great but Jodorowsky's DUNE had to fail, Ridley Scott was nearly fired, Ripley's character was nearly killed off, the budget was doubled and still wasn't enough. Without the ALIEN, it would've been just another forgotten monster film. The father of Biomechanics and the Necronomicon had to give us his unearthly monster and biomechanical Derelict ship.

    • @baa9865
      @baa9865 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      not the best exampes, but birdbox is better than a quiet place precisely because the monsters aren't seen, although it seem like it makes for a longer story in general when the monsters are shown to the viewer

  • @tuomashaapakoski5250
    @tuomashaapakoski5250 ปีที่แล้ว +5855

    "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." -Alfred Hitchcock

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +220

      Hitchcock 🤝Suspense

    • @SuperMaster000X
      @SuperMaster000X ปีที่แล้ว +2

      🗿

    • @therearenoshortcuts9868
      @therearenoshortcuts9868 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      there is no sexiness in the bang
      only the anticipation of xxx LOL

    • @whynottalklikeapirat
      @whynottalklikeapirat ปีที่แล้ว +29

      It’s kind of nonsense. Anticipation is great - it’s king - but the bang can be scary too and it’s consequences even scarier …

    • @idenpropovad1034
      @idenpropovad1034 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      ​@whynottalklikeapirat I would think what happens after the bang is more reffered to as horror, as the first thought in aftermath of a 'terrific' event can still terrify, but more likely leaves a horrified sense before they think "what happened?"

  • @ariochiv
    @ariochiv ปีที่แล้ว +580

    The sound of Lambert's death may be the most horrifying use of audio I've ever heard in a movie.
    On repeated viewings it seems more and more artificial and unrealistic, but the first time I heard it, it was utterly terrifying.

    • @Gigan10610
      @Gigan10610 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Agree, that shit had me trembling for hours

  • @leesasuki
    @leesasuki ปีที่แล้ว +614

    One of the best horror game I ever played is "Prey", it has its basic monster to be able to mimic anything nearby. This make the game super fun and scary as most of the horror are in my mind, I have no idea which object is real and which is fake, and that make the tension high and the whole game really really great

    • @-_.Melody._-
      @-_.Melody._- ปีที่แล้ว +27

      _NOT A MIMIC_

    • @2kanchoo
      @2kanchoo ปีที่แล้ว +82

      Give alien isolation a try. With headphones it damn near gives me panic attacks listening to the bugger running around in the vents etc.

    • @sugoha_2548
      @sugoha_2548 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Oh hell yeah, one of my top 5 favourite games ! While everyone cites mimic as being the scariest enemies, I'm personally more frightened by poltergeists

    • @leesasuki
      @leesasuki ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@sugoha_2548 Yeah! That enemy sound simple on paper, but the build up and reveal of it is so cool and scary!

    • @ManlyOBeeferton
      @ManlyOBeeferton ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Try Alien Isolation or Resident Evil 7 in VR :D. Those have scared me significantly more than the vast majority of horror films.

  • @monacaravetta
    @monacaravetta 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +18

    ALIEN is NOT painfully slow. It is a perfectly paced masterpiece. So many that were born after this time period have no attention span.

    • @kristopherloviska9042
      @kristopherloviska9042 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      I could not agree more. The first one is BY FAR the best of them all.

  • @dwightbaldwin5500
    @dwightbaldwin5500 18 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    The tension really starts about 20 minutes in when they find the space ship. And this also came out in 79, when people were more patient. It wouldn’t work in 2024

  • @spinningredchair8092
    @spinningredchair8092 25 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Just knowing something is there and not knowing exactly where is what makes horror horror. Fear of the unknown, because guessing whether or not something exists is less terrifying than knowing it exists and not knowing when and where it will strike.

  • @keiichi8191
    @keiichi8191 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a lot of these behind the scenes shows featuring now-classic franchises shows me is just how little Hollywood executives and professional reviewers actually understand about what people like and want to see. Then I look around today and realize nothing has changed.

  • @Monkey_D_Luffy56
    @Monkey_D_Luffy56 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I've seen a lot and I mean almost all of the scary things in movies, series and some internet videos from cannibals, monsters, demonic possession, death ( final destination ), psychopaths, ghosts name it i saw it but the only thing that scared me to the bone is when I saw the ending of Cloverfield Paradox and I don't know why

  • @retro.raider
    @retro.raider หลายเดือนก่อน

    I LOVE the kitty cat survived Alien ❤

  • @dillpickle7402
    @dillpickle7402 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I fell in love with this movie when I was either 7 or 8 years old.

  • @chrissnyder8415
    @chrissnyder8415 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The villain was actually the company Waylen Yutani. Not the Xenomorph.

  • @Tiger_Simple
    @Tiger_Simple ปีที่แล้ว

    I’m sorry but the air vent scene wasn’t scary to me for ONE reason… it’s the hands! When I saw the movie for the first time I thought he wanted a hug or something xD

  • @danmang923
    @danmang923 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Scariest creature design ever is Alien hands down.

  • @LSP2387
    @LSP2387 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2443

    The cat's reaction to a person getting violently killed by a monster is far too real.

    • @RodrigoMorenoAviacion
      @RodrigoMorenoAviacion 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +58

      The shot of Jonesy's reaction to tge appearance of the xenomorph is my favorite in all of cinema's history.

    • @christophertadeo6120
      @christophertadeo6120 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +69

      "What's the mater with u people.. Never seen a feline pounce on her meal before"- cats thoughts

    • @paavobergmann4920
      @paavobergmann4920 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +31

      @@christophertadeo6120 "Hmpf....who´s gonna open my next meal now?"

    • @MySerpentine
      @MySerpentine 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +42

      'Well that was slightly odd. Now what?'

    • @Tarnished-bn5gq
      @Tarnished-bn5gq 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +39

      “Wow, I missed the part where that’s my problem.”

  • @whitevii1533
    @whitevii1533 ปีที่แล้ว +3287

    My Dad still talks about how shocking it was for Tom Skerritt's character Dallas to die. He was the only really known actor in the movie and a lot of people went because they recognized him. Nobody expected him to die and it really makes that jump scare even more effective. Nowadays killing off a main character or well-known actor isn't unheard of, but you just didn't do that back then. You're watching him in these vents and it's scary but you still feel an element of safety. "Surely they won't kill off Tom Skerritt..." It makes the jumpscare (and the rest of the film) very unpredictable.

    • @Duothimir
      @Duothimir ปีที่แล้ว +138

      >Tom Skerritt
      >Completely ignores John Hurt, the actual biggest name in that movie at the time, who was killed off first specifically because he was the biggest star they had and it would be shocking

    • @whitevii1533
      @whitevii1533 ปีที่แล้ว +151

      No need to be a dick about it. He coulda said Hurt and I remembered the conversation wrong. Either way, both were famous and both were killed off because of that shock factor.@@Duothimir

    • @AmeliaMastervally
      @AmeliaMastervally ปีที่แล้ว +26

      OMG I had a similar experience with the movie Life (I recommend watching it before reading but whatever) I only recognised Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal and went "oh I guess they'll be the main characters!" nope. Those bitches were dead IMMEDIATLY

    • @Mokiefraggle
      @Mokiefraggle ปีที่แล้ว +28

      @@Duothimir I mean, it could also entirely depend on one's viewpoint. Skerritt is an American actor, so someone whose knowledge of film is primarily Hollywood-based rather than British films would possibly be more likely to latch onto him as "the big name actor" than Hurt. Especially since Skerritt featured in things like M*A*S*H, which would probably have been fairly well-known in general. Meanwhile the list of films prior to Alien that we see Hurt in are primarily British dramas, with only Midnight Express (and providing the voice of Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings animated film) standing out as something you can guarantee an American viewer would have seen.

    • @Cal6009
      @Cal6009 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      It still works now because there's still the convention of the leading man surviving

  • @Pheebs77
    @Pheebs77 ปีที่แล้ว +1855

    The scene in the air vents is just a masterclass in suspense. The music, the lighting, the claustrophobia, that haunting beep then Lambert's screaming, I shit myself EVERY TIME.

    • @wondermo0247
      @wondermo0247 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      maybe don't eat taco bell while watching alien? hehe

    • @itchytastyurr
      @itchytastyurr 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      i wish the guy in the suit reached out and grabbed the camera- he just put his arms out and held it like he was asking for cuddles....

    • @tsitracommunications2884
      @tsitracommunications2884 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      she should be whupped for her loudmouthed scream. lamberts a wuss

    • @arsstv
      @arsstv 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Except for the cringiest pose ever thrown by the Alien. Even 7 year old me facepalmed as hard as it gets on the sheer stupidity and destruction of suspension of disbelief.

    • @user-DrKritz115
      @user-DrKritz115 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@arsstv No you didn't 😒

  • @mirdala5231
    @mirdala5231 ปีที่แล้ว +1270

    I think you're right - Alien works so well because you DON'T see the Alien. I went to see it on the big screen for the 30th anniversary (and having seen it several times on the small screen). It's SUCH a different experience. It was perhaps the tensest I've ever been in my life. Alien is a classic and I think it stands up well, it's a story about ordinary people overtaken by extraordinary events. I think what's missing is the shout out to the man in the Alien suit who helped make the creature into something real. Still, great and thought provoking piece.

    • @criztu
      @criztu ปีที่แล้ว +9

      axually, the story is about an entity that dehumanizes man. 'xenomorph' means "foreign, alien form"
      that strange form is, in Ash's words "unclouded by consciousness, delusions of morality".
      in other words, dudes who rule the system wants us to live like robots, psychos, without discernment of good and evil.
      the same theme is explored in Blade Runner, where a dude claims he "builds replicants", but he dehumanizes humans.

    • @cattysplat
      @cattysplat 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

      It keeps the tension always high because it never gives you an out by giving it screen time. You never know where it's going to show up next, which keeps the tension high and constantly coiling.

    • @josephharrington7129
      @josephharrington7129 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      A old friend of mine, his dad was the stunt man in that suit, and for Aliens as well (two of them did Aliens I believe). Agreed, did an amazing job.

    • @cothinker680
      @cothinker680 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Tbh I find this movie so boring I slept

    • @deltaskelta7286
      @deltaskelta7286 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      @@cothinker680 you're so cool and brave

  • @bentoomet8805
    @bentoomet8805 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +124

    The newest Puss In Boots movie surprisingly shows this in a fantastic way. The villain is a construct of death that just lingers the whole movie, often times just giving a faint whistle in the background that makes the hair on your arms crawl. It’s a kids movie, but I love when movies like that really flesh into an aspect of movie production so intensely that anyone can appreciate it.

    • @Jibriltz
      @Jibriltz 27 วันที่ผ่านมา +10

      Funny that the antagonist in a children's animated comedy film is probably the most terrifying, menacing villain that I've seen in a decade. That film doesn't get nearly as much credit as it deserves.

    • @QuisshyArchive
      @QuisshyArchive 13 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@Jibriltzfr, one of, if not the best animated movie of all time. It was so refreshing for me when it came out because most recent movies that have come out have just been utter garbage, and i was starting to think there was something wrong with me, but when i saw that movie it gave me hope that movies can still be amazing. I think it’s so funny how the characters that are on screen for the least amount of time, are the most memorable characters of the whole film.

  • @twisterwiper
    @twisterwiper 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +302

    Veronica Cartwright delivered an absolutely GOAT level performance in Alien. The despair, and the terror she portrayed was deeply unsettling.

    • @crispybits3765
      @crispybits3765 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +24

      She was terrific, they all were. What I still love is how their performances make each character feel very genuine and natural, whilst also being distinct and representative of different things.
      Dallas is the calm figure of authority.
      Kane is the explorer.
      Ash is the corporate overseer.
      Brett is the apathetic, worn down blue collar worker.
      Parker on the other hand is the passionate voice of the working man.
      Ripley, of course is the unexpected heroine.
      .....and then Lambert, imo, plays the role of the audience, on first seeing this film, utterly terrified and struggling to cope with the horror that is facing them.
      7 fantastic performances, and each worthy of awards. 8 if you count Bolaji Badejo as the Alien itself.

    • @c.moriarty1178
      @c.moriarty1178 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      She was breaking down as many would in that situation. Another reason the ensembles of the first two movies felt so real; there's always a Lambert or Hudson in the group losing it while everything falls apart

    • @juniper665
      @juniper665 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      The sound design of her screaming as Ripley runs through the ship to get to her and Parker always stands out to me.

    • @LordofMovies91
      @LordofMovies91 28 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

      I also recommend watching Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) if you haven't. She's just as good, and only 1 year prior.

    • @twisterwiper
      @twisterwiper 28 วันที่ผ่านมา

      @@LordofMovies91 I haven’t seen that film in 30 years or so. I wasn’t really aware that she was in it. I will give it another view for sure. Thanks! 👍🏻

  • @nanatake2go
    @nanatake2go ปีที่แล้ว +304

    getting very strong "Every Frame A Painting" vibes over here....
    you deserve a WAY bigger audience, love your video essays!

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +33

      no one's ever topping Tony and Taylor, but appreciate the compliment ✌

    • @ronaldmilner8932
      @ronaldmilner8932 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I just joined, so it is getting bigger.

  • @kyoswkyosw1216
    @kyoswkyosw1216 ปีที่แล้ว +216

    Tremors did the same to an extent. Every little piece we think “Ah, there’s the monster” and then, that was just a tiny part of it, so we’re left thinking “So how did THAT happen then?” And even AFTER the full reveal, the entire premise of “even if you know what it looks like, you can’t see it coming anyway” added a whole other level of scary

    • @ARuiz-eu3hk
      @ARuiz-eu3hk 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Hell! Fuckin love tremors. It's too damn good like alie in my opinion.

  • @_The_Archive_
    @_The_Archive_ ปีที่แล้ว +245

    Fun Fact: At the premiere of the movie, religious zealots set fire to a model of the Xenomorph that was displayed outside, believing it to be the work of the devil.

    • @diversityhobbit
      @diversityhobbit ปีที่แล้ว

      HR Geiger was inspired by demonic imagery

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +68

      did little facehugger models jump out of it?
      would've been 4D chess from the marketing department

    • @internisus
      @internisus 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

      The prop that someone tried to burn was actually the space jockey.

    • @ito2789
      @ito2789 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +18

      Those losers will always exist unfortunately.

    • @eastbow6053
      @eastbow6053 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@ito2789 in afganistan the religion of peace broke every single temple and statue of Buddhism the country used to worship that religion, those were beautiful statues and i agree with you losers will always exist

  • @phrozac
    @phrozac ปีที่แล้ว +261

    "Alien is...painfully slow by comparison...". No sir, Alien is exquisitely paced. As Ridley said, that pace is deliberate and brings the viewer into the reality he's trying to sell. I wouldn't change a second of it. If anything, the newer movies are too fast and don't allow viewers to settle in but that's another conversation, one about familiarity.

    • @DanialTarki
      @DanialTarki หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I politely disagree.

    • @gearhead743
      @gearhead743 19 วันที่ผ่านมา +3

      both, both is good. I honestly deeply respect the change of direction Aliens took, because, ultimately, trying to do the same thing again would have almost certainly fallen flat. The change of direction gives Aliens a fighting chance at holding its own as a movie.

  • @robbingcars9140
    @robbingcars9140 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +21

    “Nothing happens for 45 minutes” “LORE HAPPENS”

  • @JDroneX
    @JDroneX 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +70

    When he says "her death is heard, it's probably more frightening hearing it than seeing it." it immediately made me think of Lethal Company, and how even though its such a simple game one of the more terrifying aspects is when you are playing with others, and generally all of you are at first goofing off and having a good time until the monsters and accidents pick you off one by one, hearing people scream and then abruptly get silenced either in the distanced or through the walkies only adds that much more tension to an already eerie situation.

  • @EddValdez
    @EddValdez ปีที่แล้ว +89

    I think The Descent (2005) nails hiding the monster well too. The movie was set underground so shadows and silhouettes from a distance worked well for the terror.

  • @atothetaco
    @atothetaco ปีที่แล้ว +252

    There's a film I saw a trailer for recently called The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and the first half was amazing they built up the monster by showing what it had done and the legend behind it.
    Then the second half of the trailer happened, which showed off the full monster every second it could and killed almost any tension they had built

    • @noelv1976
      @noelv1976 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      Yes!! They could have hidden the monster but nope. I don't get why these corporate entities want to show everything in a trailer.

    • @bananaempijama
      @bananaempijama ปีที่แล้ว +25

      That is why Alien's trailer is, for me, the perfect trailer. Shows confusion, tension, mystery. In the end you want to know wth was that and you have seen 0 from the creature itself.

    • @sunchips18
      @sunchips18 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      What makes the Demeter segment so good in the original Dracula novel is that you never see Dracula.
      You only get accounts from the captain’s ship log as he watches his crew slowly go crazy as they get picked off one by one.
      He has no idea what’s going on. He probably doesn’t even know what a vampire is, but his crew are still dying, and the segment’s eldritch, existential dread is peak literature.
      In my mind, a perfect adaptation of that segment would’ve probably been a cross between Alien and The Lighthouse.

    • @Dravianpn02
      @Dravianpn02 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      ​@@sunchips18that's what I was hoping it would be, but nope. Waste of a film.

  • @oskarthenarrator
    @oskarthenarrator ปีที่แล้ว +115

    I agree that hiding the monster is always beneficial. I also think Alien works as well as it does because it is such a slow build. It takes so long for anything to happen, and that makes an audience nervous, jumping at things that don't deserve it, looking for some clue, focusing too hard, and BAM!
    Beautiful filmmaking

    • @Mokiefraggle
      @Mokiefraggle ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Also, the film starts out with such a weirdly casual air of the crew waking up and going about business as normal, that from minute one you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. That's part of what makes the scene with the chestburster so horrific when it does happen, is that things are so perfectly normal. You could almost presume that things were just fine, that everything was okay and back to normal now that the facehugger was dead, and then _THAT_ happens. There's a whole lot of by-the-numbers "we're just doing our job" feel to so much of the early part of the film, such that you know something really horrific must be waiting in the wings, but you're still not expecting that to go down right in the middle of _dinner!_

    • @paavobergmann4920
      @paavobergmann4920 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I felt the same about "The Thin Red Line", when there is like half an hour just catching runaways, and then an entire invasion onto an abandoned beach, and suddenly a bullet whips out from the fog, and you don´t even know where it came from, never mind spotting the shooter. That was absolutely terrifying, because you were already biting your nails after 40+ minutes of suspense

    • @capndallas4918
      @capndallas4918 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@paavobergmann4920 you're wrong about that. Well on 2 fronts. There were 2 shots plus it wasn't built around suspense

    • @paavobergmann4920
      @paavobergmann4920 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@capndallas4918 It´s about how war crushes the soul and the suspense of boredom under constant threat is part of it. Also, I don´t mind if there were 2 shots in the foggy bamboo. doesn´t matter. there was nothing, and then there was a shot. and then another one, but I am not talking about the second shot.

    • @___idk
      @___idk 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      yh

  • @vickystrudwick3939
    @vickystrudwick3939 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    I couldn't agree more - "hidden" is way scarier. I remember being terrified by the Amityville Horror when it was out (the late 70's, I think ) because my imagination produced far more terror than any descriptive prose or illustration. Alien is the same - the hints and glimpses let your mind run rampant and that lets us give ourselves the scare and thrill we're after.

  • @mrfrosty3
    @mrfrosty3 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    I first saw Alien when it was on tv in the early 80s, I remember everyone loving it, there was no talk about it being slow or boring. I think it is close to perfect.

  • @losalfajoresok
    @losalfajoresok ปีที่แล้ว +146

    It's definitelly a masterpiece, all the elements of the movie are crafted with love and care

  • @79E13
    @79E13 ปีที่แล้ว +72

    Definitely scarier having hidden monsters

  • @duxpe
    @duxpe ปีที่แล้ว +68

    If i remember correctly, Terry said that even him couldn't put the finger on what made the movie so good and scary. For me Alien is a masterclass in multiple areas and it is what happens when everyone involved focus on the same objective (the horror). In a lot of other movies in the genre i get the sensation that the light is too plastic, or that the editor is in a hurry, or that the sound design is taken over by the score and etc... That goes to show that if even ONE element is not on target with the vibe that the movie needs the whole thing can fall apart.
    (Note: there is no right or wrong in horror, i think you can make any vibe work, but is the director and producers job to communicate that well enough so no one get it wrong and if someone gets it wrong it need to be changed, check the history behind the score made by Jerry Goldsmith and how it was used).

    • @cattysplat
      @cattysplat 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      The environment is absolutely the star of the show in Alien. It heightens all the tension by being what is shown for the whole length of screen time, feeling very uncomfortable and alien in itself.

  • @justinross9833
    @justinross9833 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    The first time I saw this movie as a kid, I definitely thought it was slow. Now, watching it with matured eyes, I have a different level of appreciation with Ridley's craftsmanship.

    • @zozako1
      @zozako1 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      when i was a kid(i was 8 and i truly loved to watch horror movies even a Doom movie in that age, maybe i was too young for them but i still enjoyed them and never regret that i saw em) i actually watched every episode of Alien and also eventually Predators with my grandpa
      and i really enjoyed them, they were really fun and i truly loved the anticipation it had
      i didnt think of it as a slow film in my personal opinion, i truly loved every second of it
      it was overall so beautiful
      even after 10 years its still on my list of Best Movies ever seen

    • @kristopherloviska9042
      @kristopherloviska9042 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      When was this? Your comment makes you sound like a member of the short attention span generation. Yeah, if you grew up with your entertainment consisting of a bunch of shots no longer than 2 seconds, it would seem "boring". I saw it in the theater during its initial release when I was 13 or 14, and was riveted.

    • @zozako1
      @zozako1 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@kristopherloviska9042 im not sure whether ur talking to me or not
      But i didnt watch shorts, youtube or any stuff back then
      Back then i was fishing with my grandpa, went to farms and such, he taught me alot
      In the end of the day, we always downloaded a movie from a PC and watched it together
      Golden times, i miss them

  • @stevetheduck1425
    @stevetheduck1425 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +41

    Movies that seem slow are one of two things: details matter and people who don't notice or don't understand details are watching.

  • @averycheesypotato
    @averycheesypotato ปีที่แล้ว +36

    Hiding the monster until the big reveal done correctly. But let’s also appreciate that they actually had a monster to reveal- the design is fantastic. A monster movie with an underwhelming reveal at the end is still disappointing

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +7

      True! No point building up to something underwhelming

  • @rome8180
    @rome8180 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    I see the "hiding the monster" approach to horror as having earlier roots than Jaws. If you watch Rosemary's Baby, little of the actual horror in that movie is shown onscreen. You only see Satan in quick flashes during the assault scene. And at the end, you don't see the baby. You just hear Rosemary ask "What have you done to his eyes?" Whatever we imagine is far worse than what Polanski could have shown us. There are more examples of this kind of subtlety and restraint throughout the movie.

  • @fistfullofsalt6311
    @fistfullofsalt6311 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

    The scariest villain in my personal opinion isn't a monster, it actually not even in a book, movie, or television series. The scariest monster in any media that I've encountered is a game called 'Darkwood', and the monster in that game isn't a "Thing" it's the Forrest itself that you are trapped in. It is trying to kill you, or at the very least stop you from progressing further into the Forrest. Every morning is a fight for survival, every night terrifying anticipation of what's in the darkness, ready to hunt you down. I've had moments where I have to put the controller down and come back to it after a few days to a week I was so shaken and scared to keep going. The Forrest in Darkwood is truly the most terrifying villain I've ever encountered, and they do such and amazing job building the anticipation and tension.

    • @nirudangaragoda5286
      @nirudangaragoda5286 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Duuuude! Darkwood rules!!! It's such a bleak game, but it ends with a sliver of hope.

    • @TechnoGin
      @TechnoGin 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yeah like the first Blaire witch movie. It was scary

  • @ethribin4188
    @ethribin4188 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Alien is one of the few horror movies where the characters arent stereotypes.
    Which it is able to do due to its slow buildup.

  • @carpballet
    @carpballet 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    I’ve always said that “Alien” was a great great movie. (Not just in the horror or sci-fi genre) The art department (sets) are absolutely brilliant.

  • @bingerz237
    @bingerz237 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    According to Ridley Scott, the alien is not a monster. It's better than a monster.

  • @jringo45acp
    @jringo45acp 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    I had no idea this was Ridley's second movie. Really his first major one. I thought he had been a seasoned director when he made this. It's a masterpiece.

    • @anhnhvn
      @anhnhvn 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      What's also amazing is that the studio didn't meddle with his vision.

  • @AhHereWeGo
    @AhHereWeGo ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I watched alien when I was a kid, and it scared me so much I never wanted to see it again. When I finally did, several years later, it became my favorite horror film… and still is

  • @bananaempijama
    @bananaempijama ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The fear of the unknown it's the ultimate fear...Alien is prodigal in that. Everything around the creature is a mystery: the origin, its purpose, intention with other creatures, way of thinking,
    The movie defines what horror is with all the elements combined: the creature, the setting, the atmosphere, the crew.

  • @gimpinainteasy
    @gimpinainteasy 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The Blair Witch project was one of the scariest horror movies I had ever seen. I have a VERY creative imagination. Just like Paranormal Activity it allow my mind to run WILD with that the Witch and Demon would be.

  • @ryderbourque7582
    @ryderbourque7582 24 วันที่ผ่านมา +2

    Alien was so good that it really made me think about the xenomorph life cycle and how I can make sense of it by disregarding queens and the black goo from the sequel movies.

  • @Co-Jinn
    @Co-Jinn ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Studio: "Look, nothing is happening for 45 mins"
    ...Classic example of why the studio should have little to no creative control over a film...
    I mean think of the garbage heap we'd have gotten if they had full reign over it....Take the Justice Leauge as a modern example.

  • @aberrance6706
    @aberrance6706 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    This channel is filling the void in my life that appeared when Every Frame a Painting stopped uploading. Please please keep going.

  • @hyperballadbradx6486
    @hyperballadbradx6486 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    'can seem painfully slow' to basic movie goers who don't engage or even truly watch what they are seeing. [ie 90% of viewers and people who thing Netflex is good]
    The movie is a masterpiece - a symphony.

  • @BookMunee
    @BookMunee 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    For me, Alien 1979 final cut will always be an amazing return to the series whenever I pick up new content on the lore.
    After watching Prometheus for the first time I came back to this movie with a fresh perspective and it instantly felt like a chilling callback to that classic horror/unknown feeling. To actually have some insight that suggests the already old movie was actually a baby compared to it's parents lore was insane. To get that juicy scene of the Engineer sitting behind it's unfathomable technology and having no clue just how long it was actually there for, who they were, or for why, until literally several decades after the original film released was just a perfectly engineered formula for success.
    Only a Ridley Scott film can pull that off for me.

    • @jellophant9716
      @jellophant9716 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Fans complain about Prometheus, but I loved it and it fits perfectly within the Alien films. Any complaints about it could also be applied to the first Alien movie I think.

  • @gritcrit4385
    @gritcrit4385 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    That first alien reveal of Signs (2002) was truly horrifying than any monster I had ever seen. I think it has something to do with being similar enough to us while being different enough than us.

    • @gritcrit4385
      @gritcrit4385 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      On a second thought, it might have been scariest for me because it was believable

  • @themakerstoolbox9688
    @themakerstoolbox9688 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Its amazing that so many people thought the movie was super bloody and violent. It goes to show you how much good suspense can make the audience imagine what they are not seeing. Its really incredible what tricks you can play on the audience with good directing

  • @HipiO7
    @HipiO7 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Alien is my all-time favorite movie. Absolutely gorgeous cinematography, sound and art design. Slow paced but huge focus on tension building rather than overdone and predictable jump scares. A simple plot with great revelations. Also some breathtaking sequences, like my favorite of Ripley running back and forth between the bridge and the shuttle with the self-destruct sequence counting down. The shot at 6:21 of Ripley's finger nails bristling in the light and then focusing on her face of abject terror coming up the ladder, knowing the Alien could be anywhere, is burned into my brain. Every time I watch it, I find more reasons to love it even more.
    While Aliens is fantastic and above all an incredible sequel and genre change, I still feel like Alien will always be the better of the two simply for the art and impeccable horror, in great part thanks to barely ever showing the xenomorph.

  • @joshescobar3065
    @joshescobar3065 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    It worked in Alien: Isolation as well. Short but extremely tense encounters

  • @AzraelsFlame
    @AzraelsFlame ปีที่แล้ว +9

    The Boogie Man is another good example that was recently released. Since it was based off of a Steven King book, id expect nothing less than amazing horror.

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I’ll give it a watch! I think Barbarian last year was pretty good example too (at least for the first hour or so…)

  • @Somejaun
    @Somejaun 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Watched this back in 3rd grade I remember being so scared that the cat would die the whole time💀

  • @sder
    @sder ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Every video is so interesting and engaging. Man, I love this channel.

  • @nomercy8989
    @nomercy8989 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    As someone who saw Alien at the age of 6 I have to say the critics are full of shit.

  • @cpuuk
    @cpuuk 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    What is scary is watching the cat (a predator), watching the alien (predator). Genius idea for that scene.

  • @spiderdude2099
    @spiderdude2099 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    The scene in the vents is perfect. You see it for just a second. And I think that’s just enough

  • @davidrees1840
    @davidrees1840 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I saw this in a theatre, expecting something Star Wars-ish, and had the most intense movie experience. I've seen it many times, and always marvel at what a perfect movie it is. It has aged beautifully, and I haven't seen anything in the genre that comes close. It's my favourite movie, up there with LOTR and the Holy Grail.

  • @beetroot_chutney
    @beetroot_chutney 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Shout out to the actors too. They all did a sublime job. Utterly believable and natural characters.

  • @shimadabr
    @shimadabr 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    In hindsight, this movie was a great foundation for a franchise. The audience barely knows about the monster and it barely showed on screen, the only thing they experienced was the sheer tension and horror it caused.

  • @Bicloptic
    @Bicloptic ปีที่แล้ว +4

    You can’t see the monster, but you can hear him.
    Makes it far worse.

  • @makeda6530
    @makeda6530 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I don’t like movies that never show the actual danger, like the teasing is cool but never seeing what obliterated everyone irks me, it’s why found footage is usually my most hated genre. But waiting in suspense can be done well like in Alien, it’s creepy every time and even if you know it’s still great.

    • @claudiamanta1943
      @claudiamanta1943 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Indeed. We need some form of resolution. Otherwise it’s just like foreplay without climax.

  • @Beef1188
    @Beef1188 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    You're not afraid of being alone in the dark, you're afraid of NOT being alone in the dark!

  • @stevehood4263
    @stevehood4263 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hey Jack - Mr Scene it! All your videos are good. Please do one on Sean Penn. He cries in almost every movie and I seem to be the only one who's ever noticed it

  • @Dead_Again1313
    @Dead_Again1313 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My dad said he saw this when it was in cinemas initially. He has always been into sci-fi. He said with the title Alien, he was thinking flying saucers and green men in space suits lol. What he got absolutely blew his mind. He was never into horror, but having grown up with the Alien, Predator and Terminator movies, I was open to horror just as much. Alien blends the two perfectly.

  • @Monkey_Boy9602
    @Monkey_Boy9602 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    ",I read it, and I thought it was absolutely terrible." The documentaries and interviews in the "Alien Quadrillogy" DVD set were top notch! I loved that everybody was able to be honest about their feelings on the project. You could tell that these guys did not like each other and that Dan O'Bannon was still upset with the changes made to his story.

  • @whoeverthisguyis0826
    @whoeverthisguyis0826 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    That one Godzilla movie that came out in 2014 used the same method as Jaws and Alien. Godzilla is shown in only 10 minutes of the film, and that might seem like a little, but it is not! Everything in that film has an amazing payoff.

    • @arsstv
      @arsstv 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      No it wasn't.

  • @kmaguire7161
    @kmaguire7161 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I don't really like horror movies and especially not gory slasher movies but despite not caring for horror Alien and Jaws are two of my all time favorite films. I wish Ridley Scott's overall body of work wasn't so inconsistent though.

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      True, but (a bit like M.Night Shayamalan) it's probably just because he makes soooo many movies. The dude makes 2-3 movies a year, while the other 'auteurs' like PTA, Tarantino, Scorsese etc take upwards of 5 years between movies. Different style and obviously those other directors very rarely miss, but I suppose he just loves making movies, so I can respect it.

  • @pracitus
    @pracitus ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Skillup?

  • @MM-pl5ed
    @MM-pl5ed ปีที่แล้ว +4

    we remember feelling powerless right after the leader Dallas disappeared while watching in the cinema

  • @spacescienceguy
    @spacescienceguy 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I saw Alien as a child and it left me scarred for a decade. Like, 'afraid of the dark and chest pains' scarred.

  • @kietphan3727
    @kietphan3727 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    is it you SkillUp? glad you're also producing great film videos 😊

  • @TheGassy92
    @TheGassy92 25 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    1:22-2:30 .... and this is why, perfectly summed up, why we have like 90% of viewers who watch TV shows/drama like HOTD, Succession, or movies COMPLAIN about it not being exciting or whatever. Cause Hollywood or whatever just pumps out movies/tv series like a puppy mill and gives us mediocre while the majority of people can't focus for more than 15 mins and then complain it wasn't GEWD... lol

  • @Noone-of-your-Business
    @Noone-of-your-Business ปีที่แล้ว +1

    And yet, without those 74 seconds of the Alien actually _being on screen,_ the film would not *nearly* be as powerful. We _need_ the brief glimpses at the anatomial absurdity of Giger's design to _feed our imagination._ Few people can come up with shit as scary as Giger's biomechanical nightmares, so we absolutely need to *_see_* hints of it to soil our pants, and this is precisely what Scott gave us. Sorry, I have to disagree strongly with your title.

  • @JACKBOOT12
    @JACKBOOT12 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The most terrifying thing to come out of Alien is probably the video game it has the best AI I have ever seen the monster actually feels smart

  • @chickkeys
    @chickkeys ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I love this movie so much. I watched it after over a decade again, and was amazed how slow the plot progressed and how the scenic elements where shaped by taking the time to transfer emotions through the screen.
    Such a masterpiece. Will watch it again and return to your video.
    Thank you :)

  • @sammalbee
    @sammalbee 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This may sound silly, but man, watching Signs as a kid with my dad, the scene where the alien walks across the alleyway messed me up so bad for day afterwards 😅 idk if the movie holds up, but the quiet suspense building up to that scene was the first moment I've ever experienced something like this!!

  • @Destruction52
    @Destruction52 23 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    I watched the first Alien movie like 3 weeks ago, when Romulus hit the theaters, I never saw the first 4 movies and I feeled like I needed some context since in the chronological order made sense. I was surprise how well the movie is delivered being like 50 years old, it was an amazing movie from the cast, the mistery around the alien, the ship, the egg, the space jockey, the unknown, the suspicious acting of the android, muthur, it all made sense, and plus, you don't get to see the alien completely, so for the first time viewer it must has been hell of a ride on the imagination. I love that you don't know who the protaganist/heroe of the movie is until the last 25 minutes and yet there is so many questions on why the company is interested in the creature and is willing to sacrifice everything to get it done. The practical effect where amazing, better than 90% of CGI in today's budgets. Its a shame that the prometheus arc was so badly delivered, like there is so many details that is deleted material and give those movies the deep in the lore that is needed, even though a creature like the alien and their race is cool with all of the speculation around it, It's like Gman for Half Life, so powerful and yet the community do not know nothing from this guy and that is more scary. At this point a series will do the trick since in a movie you are bound by the runtime and studios/stakeholders trying to rush everything just to sell.

  • @SunnyJCR
    @SunnyJCR ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Alien did something simple and yet so very underutilized... It established the mundane before introducing the extraordinary.
    The film showed us believable, relatable humans behaving reasonably in a calm environment. That calm felt like a fragile thing that audiences expected to shatter at any moment. The divergence from normality was drip-fed, building tension until it eventually burst to the forefront. Best film in the franchise and one of the best horror films to date.

  • @tyforestreacts
    @tyforestreacts 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Reminds me of Halloween (1978). Yeah, we see Michael kill his sister at the beginning, but practically nothing “happens” until the last thirty minutes of the movie. But that’s what makes the kills so special; we got so much buildup of not just learning who the characters are, but us knowing that Michael is just around the corner and could pop out at any moment. The keyword is “BUILDUP”.

  • @gr0ssotron146
    @gr0ssotron146 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Por isso Alien é um dos meus filmes de terror favoritos :)

  • @noelv1976
    @noelv1976 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I would say James Cameron followed the same narrative in Aliens. It was a slow build to introduce the creatures. And even then it wasn't bloody. We didn't get to see all those Marines get slaughtered. And it wasn't gory like the following sequels. So the first two movies are almost similar.

    • @SceneItReviews
      @SceneItReviews  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Agreed the start is close - POV headcams when they get killed was a great way to hide the xenomorphs/build suspense. But once Ripley drives the ATV in to save them, and the xeno sticks it’s head in the door, it’s a pretty high octane action movie. Heaps of different sets, facehuggers, the pilots get murdered, Newt gets dragged away by one, they get stuck and ambushed in the vents, then the final showdown vs the Queen. Incredibly entertaining (and I probably like Aliens better than Alien tbh), but the first movie is scarier imo. Geeez they’re both miles better than any of the sequels though.

  • @ufinc
    @ufinc 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    my grampa wanted to watch this movie with me and got really upset when I feel asleep 3 times it's just so boring afksdfsh lmao

  • @TetsuoShimaNo41
    @TetsuoShimaNo41 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I disagree that it feels slow. I always felt the movie had great tempo, there's intrigue driving the story.

  • @muaythaifighter_05
    @muaythaifighter_05 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This video is very well-made. A Blade Runner: 2049 analysis would be awesome.

  • @panmoncada7257
    @panmoncada7257 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I feel like hereditary did this so well. It’s shocking and horrifying but otherwise there’s not a ton of horror past the decapitation. But those last 30 minutes DO. NOT. STOP. and it stays burned in your brain

    • @joshuah9109
      @joshuah9109 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I love that movie!!

  • @stevetheduck1425
    @stevetheduck1425 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Budget constraints have made movie-makers hide the monster ever since movies.
    Showing the monster costs more, so monsters are people, people-shaped, invisible, people with funny noses (a whole other trope), and Humans in some almost-familiar uniforms.

  • @ajpip9719
    @ajpip9719 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is VERY quickly becoming my favorite channel!!!!

  • @danielmarlowe7175
    @danielmarlowe7175 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    That which is unseen and unknown commands the greatest fear

  • @orterves
    @orterves ปีที่แล้ว +2

    All the reviewers complaining how gory it is not realising it was their own imagination

  • @ApocalypticK9Art
    @ApocalypticK9Art 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Its just like when was a massive spider in my room. This thing was a beast! I saw the top of it behind something on the floor, desperately hunted for it but didn't see it again until 2 days later (where I again only caught a glimpse!) Seeing parts of - or hints to - the monster occasionally rather than its full build many times throughout the film evokes fear in films as much so as with pesky spiders who think they own your house!

  • @SkyGemini-od4sb
    @SkyGemini-od4sb 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    It depends. Alien is a creeper, it doesn't need jump scares. It's also better that the alien was mostly hidden, it was way creepier.
    But when you have something like the Borg in Star Trek, the terror is when they're up close and personal.

  • @IlIDOOMGUYIlI
    @IlIDOOMGUYIlI 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This is why I can't believe how bad Alien Covenant was

  • @Immolator772
    @Immolator772 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I like Alien for what it is, but as horror? I never found the alien to be terrifying even as a kid. Maybe it's because of it's exposure. The premise itself is really creepy. Least the alien will be contained in the ship, unlike the alien from The Thing.

  • @Hunty69
    @Hunty69 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    skillup?

  • @Schmidt54
    @Schmidt54 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The thing with the Alien movie is: The viewer from the first second onwards just KNOWS something is up. Somehow everything, every setpiece and lighting, is so perfectly scary for no apparent reason, the Xenomorph itself fits more into the human designed ship than the humans.