Summary

• Alien (1979) is a perfect horror meets sci-fi film.
• The combination of slasher tropes and sci-fi elements make Alien a unique and unforgettable movie.
• Kane's death scene, with the iconic chestburster, is the most memorable and impactful moment in the Alien franchise, and it was foreshadowed quite early.

Alien TV show. Still, the original film remains among the best of what the franchise has to offer.

Although James Cameron’s Aliens tried to do something very different, the Alien movies have struggled to balance nostalgia with originality. For example, Ripley – or at least other versions of her – was part of the saga’s first four films. More recently, Alien: Covenant tried to mimic the slasher aspect of Alien (1979). However, from the atmosphere to the tone and even the dark humor behind the characters’ deaths, Alien cannot be easily rivaled.

Alien Subtly Foreshadows Kane As The Movie's First Victim

At the beginning of Alien, right after the crew of the Nostromo wakes up from their chambers, Kane says that he feels “dead,” a reference to how uncomfortable the hypersleep process is. This is followed by Parker making fun of Kane, saying “Anybody ever tells you you look dead, man?.” Ironically, Kane would be the first character to die in Alien. Although the scene initially plays out as a little joke to establish the friendship between the characters, it can be read as a meta joke by the filmmakers given that Kane would soon die in one of the most gruesome, iconic death scenes ever.

A highlight of Alien is how it combined larger-than-life sci-fi aspects with classic slasher tropes. This is something not even Ridley Scott’s other Alien films, Prometheus and Covenant, could match. Every Alien movie has been bigger than the previous one in of scale or lore, yet the simplicity of the original film and its “who will die next” premise is what made it so great. From the moment the chestburster first appears followed by Kane’s horrible death as a result, Alien becomes a claustrophobic, anxiety-filling movie that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.

Alien's Opening Hint Makes Kane's Eventual Fate Even Darker

The buildup for Kane’s death in Alien makes the scene in which the chestburster appears even better. The movie quickly establishes its main characters and makes audiences care about them, which is one of the most important things a good slasher or any horror film in general needs to nail. Adding a bit of humor or even irony to a character’s death can also make it more impactful, which is something Alien did very well. Even the dinner scene initially starts as a more relaxed, positive moment following the scariness of LV-426, only for the film to abruptly switch the tone again.

The fact that Ash, the android secretly posing as a human whose mission was to bring the specimen back with him regardless of what would happen to the rest of the crew, knew exactly what was about to happen to Kane also makes it all even darker. The rest of the deaths in Alien are also quite impactful, especially as the movie reaches its climax, but none match the chestburster scene. It can be argued that Kane’s death is the most iconic scene in the Alien franchise, and it works especially better for those who have never been spoiled of the character’s fate.