Hey! It's Alien Day!

Today is Alien day, so let’s talk about that little movie from 1979.

My dad told me the story once of the night he saw Ridley Scott’s epic horror movie about a space freighter crew besieged by a vicious and relentless alien. He said that film put the fear of God in him for days after. When he came home from the theater after seeing the movie, it was late at night and the house was dark. The rest of the family was asleep in their beds, and he crept up the stairs so as to not wake anyone. As he passed the hallway bathroom, he glanced in the blackness and saw the shower curtain move slightly. His heart jumped into his throat, and he described stifling a scream. He was certain this was the xenomorph jumping at him. I imagine he envisioned the shot in the air ducts when Dallas is attacked by the alien; a toothy, slimy, alien with arms outstretched to him.

And then, out popped . . . our toy poodle, Scruffy. He bounced out of the tub and down the hall toward the master bedroom. It took my dad a while to get his breath back.

With that story, I wanted to see this movie; this film that managed to scare the beejesus out of my own father. But I was nine years old, and R rated movies were not on the approved viewing list for me just yet.

Then I managed to see it on VHS at some point and I understood. Alien is a masterpiece of sci fi horror. It’s not just “Jaws in space.” It taps into a our fears of home invasions and the unknown dangers found in nature.