Year: 1979
Runtime: 1 h 57 m
Language: English
Director: Ridley Scott
Budget: $11M
A team of astronauts investigates a distress signal from a remote planet, only to encounter a deadly extraterrestrial threat. The terrifying creature stalks and hunts the crew of their spaceship, leading to a desperate fight for survival as they struggle to understand the nature of the alien and escape its deadly pursuit. The film is a chilling and suspenseful science fiction horror masterpiece.
Warning: spoilers below!
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Alien (1979), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
The Nostromo, a commercial towing spaceship, embarks on its journey back to Earth after hauling a massive refinery along with twenty million tons of mineral ore. The ship’s crew, consisting of seven members, is in stasis during the return trip. Suddenly, an unknown transmission from a nearby Planetoid prompts the ship’s computer to wake the crew. Following orders from their corporate employers, the crew detaches the Nostromo from the refinery to investigate, leading to some damage upon landing.
Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) venture out to trace the signal’s origin. Meanwhile, Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm), and Engineers Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) and Parker (Yaphet Kotto) remain on the ship to oversee repairs and monitor the situation.
Upon their investigation, the trio stumbles upon a decrepit alien spacecraft, inside which they discover the remains of a colossal alien creature, its ribs grotesquely exploded outward. As the Nostromo’s computer decodes the signal, Ripley determines it to be a warning. The crew then finds a vast chamber filled with alien eggs, one of which attaches itself to Kane’s face. They bring the unconscious Kane back aboard, where Ash allows them in, defying Ripley’s quarantine protocols. Initial efforts to remove the creature fail as it releases corrosive acid, but eventually the creature drops off and is found lifeless.
After repairs are completed, the crew prepares to resume their journey. However, when Kane regains consciousness, he unexpectedly chokes during a meal, and an alien creature bursts forth from his chest, leading to his death and the creature’s flight through the ship. Armed with makeshift weapons like motion trackers, electric prods, and flamethrowers, the crew tries to hunt down the Alien. The ship’s cat unexpectedly draws Brett into danger, resulting in him being killed and disappeared into the ship’s air shafts.
Dallas enters the air shafts in a desperate attempt to flush the creature out into space, but he too falls victim to the Alien. Lambert urges the remaining crew to evacuate in the shuttle, but Ripley, now taking charge, explains the shuttle cannot accommodate all four of them.
Through a harrowing realization, Ripley discovers that Ash is a robot created to ensnare the Alien and return it to corporate masters, even at the cost of the crew’s lives. When Ash attacks Ripley, Parker intervenes, taking the android down. As they plan to arm the Nostromo’s self-destruct mechanism to escape, Parker and Lambert meet their gruesome end at the hands of the Alien while gathering supplies.
In a frantic effort, Ripley kicks off the self-destruct sequence and rushes to the shuttle, only to find the Alien blocking her escape. Unable to abort the self-destruct, she narrowly escapes as the Nostromo detonates behind her.
However, her trials are far from over. As she prepares to enter stasis, Ripley discovers the Alien has snuck aboard the shuttle. In a desperate move, she dons a space suit and opens the hatch, resulting in explosive decompression that thrusts the creature out. Although she temporarily succumbs to chaos, she utilizes a grappling gun to propel the Alien further from the shuttle. Unfortunately, the gun gets caught during the hatch’s closure, tethering the creature as it desperately attempts to re-enter the ship. With quick thinking, Ripley fires up the engines, blasting the Alien into the vast unknown of space. Finally, she secures herself and the ship’s cat into stasis, beginning their long journey back to Earth.
Last Updated: October 24, 2024 at 09:23
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Characters isolated in confined spaces, fighting to survive against a relentless threat.If you liked the tense, trapped feeling of Alien, explore more movies like it. These films feature small groups isolated in claustrophobic settings, facing a terrifying threat. They are high-intensity survival horror stories with a heavy emotional weight and a focus on suspense.
Narratives in this thread typically follow a linear, survival-focused structure. After an inciting incident traps the characters, a threat is introduced and systematically reduces their numbers. The story is a desperate battle for resources, safety, and ultimately, escape, often ending with a pyrrhic victory or total loss.
These films are grouped by their shared core experience: the physical and psychological tension of being confined with a killer or monster. They prioritize a constant, high-stakes atmosphere, relying on suspense and the characters' hopeless situation to create a gripping, nerve-watching experience.
Stories where the vastness of space reveals humanity's insignificance and terrifying new life.For viewers who liked the cosmic horror and monstrous threat in Alien, this section features similar sci-fi horror movies. These films combine science fiction settings with terrifying, otherworldly creatures or phenomena, creating a sense of existential dread and bleak survival against an alien force.
The narrative pattern involves a discovery—a signal, an artifact, or a lifeform—that reveals a terrifying truth about the universe. The confrontation with this alien intelligence or biology is usually catastrophic, stripping away human arrogance and often ending in tragedy or a deeply sobering survival.
These movies are connected by their fusion of science fiction and genuine horror, where the setting of space amplifies the terror. They share a thematic focus on humanity's vulnerability when facing the unknown, a grim and tense tone, and the presentation of a threat that is both physically fearsome and conceptually unsettling.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Alien in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Alien is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of Alien with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Alien. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Alien that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.
Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Alien: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.
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