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“In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream.” You can, however, usually hear space ships blowing up. Go figure. On this, their 100th episode, join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they spend the night on the Nostromo, the science fiction version of an old dark house, with Ripley and the gang on the 40th anniversary of Alien (1979).
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 100 – Alien (1979)
After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
IMDb
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Writers: Dan O’Bannon (screenplay), (story by) Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett
- Alien design: H. R. Giger
- Featured Cast:
- Tom Skerritt Dallas
- Sigourney Weaver Ripley
- Veronica Cartwright Lambert
- Harry Dean Stanton Brett
- John Hurt Kane
- Ian Holm Ash
- Yaphet Kotto Parker
- Bolaji Badejo Alien
- Helen Horton Mother (voice)
As of June 22, 2019, it has been forty years since the release of Alien, so the Grue Crew thought it would be the perfect choice for the 100th episode of DoH 1970s. The film had a profound impact on each member of the Grue Crew, as it did on society as a whole. Over the course of this extended episode, it’s hard to tell what Doc, Chad, Bill, and Jeff like the most about the film. They unanimously trumpet nearly all aspects of the film: Ridley Scott’s direction, Dan O’Bannon’s script, each of the 9-member cast, H. R. Giger’s designs, and the practical effects.
Doc also tells a story about the first two times – well, maybe it was 1.5 times – he saw Alien. The craft of setting up a jump scare, even when the audience is expecting it, is discussed by Bill. Let’s face it. Everyone knew something was coming out of that egg, but everyone still jumped! Chad and Jeff first saw the film on HBO. Chad then took note of all future showings and took in as many as he could. Each of them had been lulled into a false sense of security by the films leisurely and uneventful pace, at least until the infamous face-hugger and chest-burster scenes maxed out their anxiety, tension, and fear. Your faithful Grue Crew trust that all of their listeners have seen Alien multiple times, but in this case, excess is never enough. Pull it up and watch it again, and again, and again.
To end the podcast, the Grue Crew look forward to the next 100 episodes and give a special thanks to The Black Saint. “Guard well the pips, and the fruit shall grow without let.”
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
