List of cultural references to Alien
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Alien has been the inspiration for a large number of cultural references in a range of media.
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[edit] In film, video, and television
- Aside from the creation of the Alien franchise and launching the international careers of Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott, the box office success of the film spawned a cycle of far less-successful imitations, including Xtro and Inseminoid.
- There were also attempts to cash in on the term "Alien". Alien Dead was rapidly renamed at the last minute and Contamination was scheduled to be named Alien 2 until lawyers got involved, it was still released in the US as Alien Contamination.
- The distinctive "bio-mechanoid" style of H.R. Giger, made famous by this film, has spawned copies and references in so many sci-fi films and television productions that it has become a design motif in its own right. Famous examples of Giger-inspired design include Independence Day and Species.
- Star Wars' Expanded Universe beings, the Yuuzhan Vong, could represent another example inspired by Giger's bio-mechanoids.
- The Star Trek: Voyager story "Macrocosm" (episode 312) sees Captain Janeway stripping down to a vest and getting out a big gun to see off alien intruders, whilst being accompanied by a soundtrack similar to that of Aliens. Also the designers of the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact said they were aiming at a Gigeresque feel for the cyborgs.
- The impact of Alien also became perceivable in the early years of Japan's direct-to-video animes (see OVA), where it inspired a number of series like Lily C.A.T. and Roots Search.
- The third form of Freeza (from the popular anime series Dragon Ball Z) resembles that of the xenomorphs, most noticeably in his skull structure.
- John Hurt has a cameo in the Mel Brooks movie Spaceballs, parodying the chestburster scene. After the Alien bursts out of Hurt's chest he laments "Oh no, not again!" The alien then sings and dances off screen a la Michigan J. Frog.
- Other parodies have appeared, including Galaxina and numerous episodes of Red Dwarf, in particular "Polymorph" and "Waiting for God".
- The 30 Second Bunny Theater made a version of Alien (with Angry Alien Productions), turning movies into 30-second flash comedies starring bunnies.
- In the episode of Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy "The Day the Ed Stood Still", Ed puts on a monster costume that resembles a Xenomorph. Later, he sticks most of the other kids living in the cul-de-sac onto his bedroom wall with chewed up Chunky Puffs, a reference to the Alien nests in Alien and Aliens. This is further supported by Double-D saying that Ed seemed to be reenacting something he must have seen on "a science-fiction movie".
- In an episode of Mind of Mencia, a politician is complaining that aliens are crossing the boarder, and wonders how. The guy starts to go into convolsions and a small version of Carlos Mencia pops out of his chest like a chestburster.
- At the end of a promo for a new halloween SpongeBob SquarePants episode on YTV, the announcer says " In an underwater flaming pineapple, no one can hear you scream. Except your neighbours."
- In the movie Shrek II, Puss-in-Boots gets inside Shrek's clothes while fighting, tickling him in various funny spots, and eventually gets out of Shrek's shirt by ripping a hole through the center, with Shrek adding a scream, parodying the chest-burster scene.
[edit] In games
- Nintendo's Metroid videogame series shows noticeable influence from the movies of the Alien series, particularly the now-archetypal strong female heroine (though Samus Aran's gender emerges only at the end of the first game and then only if the player operates quickly enough). To commemorate this influence, one of the game's perennial villains has the name Ridley, in honor of Alien director Ridley Scott. Also, Konami’s Contra saga has many enemies that have an astounding resemblance to the aliens. In Metroid Prime, as well, the opening shot is almost identical to the opening shot of "Alien".
- In the computer game StarCraft by Blizzard Entertainment, the Zerg faction resembles the Xenomorphs in many ways. A five-mission demo version of the game (supposedly a prequel to the retail version) even refers to the Zerg as "Xenomorphs". A cutscene involves Zerg aliens ambushing Terran marines in an infested science-vessel named the 'Amerigo'. Quotes from the movie's sequel, Aliens, also appear in the game, though some remain well-hidden (for example, selecting the same Marine over and over will eventually cause him to quote Hudson's line "How do I get out of this chicken-shit outfit?")
- In Viewtiful Joe 2,the last level features enemies similar to the Xenomorphs.
- In the final level of Conker's Bad Fur Day, the protagonist Conker fights a Xenomorph named "Heinrich" while wearing a powersuit.
- The Resident Evil series of games by Capcom shows considerable influence from the Alien series, such as the concept of the character initiating the self-destruct sequence and having to "fight" the enemy in a limited time for the finale. A "chestburster" similar to the Alien features in Resident Evil 2 (1998) and in Resident Evil: Outbreak (2004) and a "facehugger" like creature appears in Resident Evil 4.
- The game Half-Life shows a notable number of influences from the Alien films, notably headcrabs, which closely resemble Facehuggers.
- The game Halo contains references to the film Alien. Aboard the Pillar of Autumn, a poster on the wall announces a missing calico cat aboard that answers to "Jonesy". Also, Marines throughout the game frequently quote phrases taken directly from Alien or from its sequel. One can regard the enigmatic alien species known as "the Flood" as variants of the Xenomorphs, though only in reproductive method and not in aesthetic design.
- The game Tokimeki Memorial : Forever with you contains a reference to the Alien films: it presents one of the characters of the game, the art-loving Ayako Katagiri, as a fan of a painter named "Gergi" (an anagram of Giger), famous for his grotesque and biomechanical paintings. Also, in the Tokimeki Memorial OVA 1, at one point, Ayako appears with a sketch depicting a Xenomorph in front of her.
- The Turrican series of games from the early 1990s included levels directly influenced by Giger's Alien designs. See sample screenshots from Turrican 3.
- The Warhammer 40000 race, the Tyranids, allegedly[citation needed] take some of their inspiration from the xenomorph in the Alien films. Additionally, a variant of the Imperial Guard Sentinel that is clearly inspired by the power lifter is availiable.
- The computer game Space Quest II sees its protagonist, Roger Wilco, chased by a xenomorph-style alien wearing lipstick. If she kisses him, the game is over.
- One section of the Super Nintendo game Live A Live is inspired by "Alien", with the monster a spaceship was carrying breaking out and attacking the crew.
[edit] In music
- Dutch composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen wrote "Perfect Survivor", a song inspired by the original Alien movie, for his progressive metal side-project Star One.
- Techno artist Sysex samples dialogue from the film Alien in a track entitled 'Dallas'. The dialogue was taken from the scene before Dallas encounters the Xenomorph in the vents, and includes the background soundtrack and computer tones as well.
[edit] References
- Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films (by David A. McIntee, Telos, 272 pages, 2005, ISBN 1903889944) - in particular Chapter 15 "The Children of the Alien"
