Ridley Scott’s seminal classic Alien redefined what sci-fi horror movies were all about during the conclusion of the 1970s. The decade had been marred predominantly by overly psychedelic and trippy films that went for artistic expression rather than a frightening premise, save a few instant classics like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Alien marked a dynamic shift in focus towards hyper-realistic, plausible storytelling with the right mixture of special effects and creature prosthetics to elicit pure, sheer terror. Over 40 years later, it’s still a terrifying movie to watch with plenty of memorable one-liners that fans love to quote.
10 “Right!”
Crew member Brett wasn’t known for his charming personality or his ability to hang in a healthy conversation, but he was prone to agree with everything his best buddy Parker said. Brett utters this quote repeatedly throughout the film, much to the annoyance of the rest of the crew.
Eventually it all becomes too much for Captain Dallas who tells them to knock it off, which is understandable given the stress the Nostromo’s crew had just endured on the planetoid LV-426. Sadly, Brett would be the second crew member to die at the hands of the xenomorph, preventing him from saying “right” any more— or saying anything else at all.
9 “Paralyzes Him, Puts Him In A Coma…Then Keeps Him Alive. Now What The Hell Is That?”
After dragging an unconscious Kane back to the ship, Dallas and Ash remove his helmet to expose the parasitic facehugger wrapped around his head. They subject Kane to a series of examinations and tests which show the parasite has pushed an organic tube down his throat which they presume is feeding him oxygen.
This puzzles Dallas almost immediately, who wonders why a seemingly aggressive alien species would bother to attack and paralyze its victim, then keep it alive for no discernible reason. Unfortunately, the crew would soon discover the horrible truth behind the xenomorph species.
8 “This Thing Bled Acid! Who Knows What It’s Gonna’ Do When It’s Dead!”
After running a series of experiments on the facehugger organism in an attempt to get it off of Kane’s face, the creature eventually let go and scurried into a dark corner to die alone. That was enough for science officer Ash to relish the thought of running even more tests on the alien intruder to discover its secrets.
The insanity of the premise wasn’t lost on Ripley who quickly reminded him that one of their tests ended up with molecular acid eating its way through several decks, which made her wonder what else the organism was capable of.
7 “I Remember Some…Horrible Dream About…Smothering.”
After Kane awoke from his facehugger-induced coma, he didn’t appear to be suffering from anything more than a bit of lethargy and a sore throat. The foreshadowing took place when he was asked what he remembered of his ordeal deep in the bowels of the derelict spacecraft.
Kane uttered this quote in response, which should have been enough to cause the hairs on anyone’s arms to stand up. Clearly his time under facehugger control was a traumatic one from a physiological standpoint, and his body had reacted accordingly.
6 “Now, Anyone See This Thing, You Catch It In The Net That Parker’s Holding On His Lap. Parker, I Don’t Want Any Heroics Out Of You, Alright?”
After the death of Kane at the hands of the alien chestburster, Dallas paired up two teams to go and hunt for the newborn in the unsettling corridors of the Nostromo. The team went through last minute prep, including some basic training on the use of cattle prods and motion trackers.
When the time had come to deploy the teams, Dallas ordered that the creature be captured in a net that Parker was holding, but he was quick to address Parker himself with this rather funny quote. Parker looked on, oblivious as to what Dallas was insinuating, making it more comical.
5 “That Son Of A Bitch Is Huge! I Mean…It’s Like A Man! It’s Big!”
It didn’t take long for the xenomorph intruder to grow from a small dog-sized newborn into an eight-foot tall nightmare, and it began carrying out its instinctual programming almost immediately. When Brett was separated from the rest of his team to find Ripley’s cat Jonesy, he inadvertently attracted the alien who had been stalking him.
The last thing Parker and Ripley saw was Brett’s corpse being lifted into the air ventilation system by the alien, and the sight of it shook Parker to his knees. For the first time, his macho bravado and comical tone were replaced by fear as he remarked on just how huge the creature was. Clearly, the scenario had shifted.
4 “Oh God! It’s Moving Right Towards You! Move! Get Out Of There! Behind You! Move!”
Dallas was next on the menu as he took up on the unenviable task of flushing the alien out of the air ventilation system so it could be trapped. Things seemed to be going according to plan until the alien began using the vent shafts to circle around and advance on Dallas.
Watching the horror unfold on the simplistic digital readout of the motion tracker was Lambert who held special affection for Dallas. When it began closing in, she screamed these words over the intercom to Dallas in an effort to get him to out of there, but it only drove him into the path of the alien’s killer jaws.
3 “Will You Listen To Me, Parker? Shut Up!”
One of the most memorable quotes of the entire Alien film was a scene involving Ripley and Parker. Director Ridley Scott had told actor Yaphet Kotto to goad actress Sigourney Weaver during the largely improvised scenes in an attempt to bring out some actual frustration.
Eventually, Sigourney fell for the tactic hook, line and sinker and yelled out this quote in frustration towards Yaphet, all while remaining in character. What’s on screen is real anger, and nothing was faked.
2 “I Can’t Lie To You About Your Chances, But…You Have My Sympathies.”
It’s revealed in the third act that science officer Ash is a trojan horse operative working for the Weyland-Yutani company who have special interests in making the xenomorph creature their hot new bio-weapon. Ash also happens to be an android, and his programming dictates that he murder Ripley in order to prevent her from sharing the company’s agenda with Parker and Lambert.
He fails in his task and ends up a beheaded heap of electronics. Ripley reactivates Ash’s head and interrogates him about the nature of the alien, and he ends up spilling the beans. Before the three of them flee for the escape shuttle, Ash utters this popular quote with a smirk on his face before Ripley takes a flamethrower to him.
1 “This Is Ripley, Last Survivor Of The Nostromo…Signing Off.”
Ellen Ripley narrowly escaped the Nostromo’s self-destruction sequence by the skin of her teeth, but unbeknownst to her, the alien had stowed away on her escape shuttle for a return trip to Earth. Once on board, Ripley realized that her life was in jeopardy as the disoriented alien slowly began regaining its senses.
Carefully, she donned a pressure suit and blew the alien out of the ship’s airlock with a little help from a harpoon gun, putting an end to it once and for all. After logging her final entry, Ripley uttered this quote before signing off and entering hyper-sleep. Little did she know it would take 57 years for her to make her way back to Earth, and her nightmare had only just begun.
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