October 2023

Malevolent Mutations: Alien Resurrection

Unit photography by Suzanne Tenner and Sam Urdank, Courtesy of 20th Century Fox This article was originally published in AC Nov. 1997. Some images are additional or alternate. In the summer of 1979, an ominous decree (“In space, no one can hear you scream…”) was issued to legions of unsuspecting moviegoers. Skillfully directed by Ridley Scott and photographed by Derek Vanlint, CSC, Alien became an instant genre classic whose novel look influenced a score of imitators. The film's menacing, claustrophobic atmosphere, nightmarish bio-mechanical alien creatures (designed by Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger), and haunting visuals tapped directly into the terror regions of the human psyche. Writer/director James Cameron and Adrian Biddle, BSC then...more