What Makes The Xenomorph Such A Perfect Design?

TV & Film

Oct 30

“You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? A perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility”

The dying (shutting down?) words of Ash aboard the Nostromo perfectly sum up why the titular Alien in the Alien series has been in the cultural zeitgeist for over 40 years. Homaged, parodied, copied, built upon, but arguably - never bettered. In horror terms, the Xenomorph may just be the perfect organism.

As most people know, the creature was based on the artwork of Swiss artist H.R. Geiger. When awarded the film, one of Ridley Scott’s first actions as director was to bring Geiger on board to bring the extra-terrestrial to life. Birthing this chimera as part dragon, part machine, part sexual nightmare - all bastard. This surrealist fever dream nightmare stood out from anything Hollywood had done or created in this genre in the past – and indeed still does, because it is a singular vision, brought to life by expert craftsman.

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One of the most subtle, yet important reasons why this creature is so effective in its form is that almost every part of it is an inversion of the human body. We have endoskeletons, it has an exoskeleton. Our blood is…well our lifeblood…the alien’s is an incredibly corrosive acid. We are mammalian, this bad boy can charitably be described as reptilian or insectile. Humans are basically one soft squishy bag with obvious weak points…this thing doesn’t even need to breathe. This was a huge step away from the “little grey men” or predominantly humanoid aliens of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s.

In parallel to this, something that the Alien’s foes learn all too well over the series is that every single part of the Alien has been meticulously designed to hurt, maim, or kill you. Each hand and foot has razor-sharp claws. It has a prehensile whip-like tail that can slash and impale. It has rows of knife-like teeth – oh and a piston-like inner jaw to get some extra killing done. You got a lucky attack in and wounded it? Congratulations enjoy your acid bath. It’s not difficult to be terrified of something that, being within a 5-foot radius of it, means you are dead 5 times over.

One of the best decisions the Alien team made was around the production design and build of the creature and ship in parallel. Making a conscious choice to keep the creature practical and link the design of the creature to the ship itself giving it an almost chameleonic ability truly adds to the viewers’ terror. Add in some incredible Cinematography from Derek Vanlint never fully exposing the creature is a masterclass in building tension and fear. How many horror films even nowadays fall flat because the horror is looked at under a microscope with halogen bulbs? This is the epitome of less is more, saving an (almost) grand reveal until the denouement of the film. The film is oft lovingly called “Jaws in Space” and for good reasons. Both films had budget and technological limitations but, through creative teams working together well, have achieved cinematic glory.

Finally, everything about the design, its lifecycle, its sounds, its locomotion, and its attacks, can charitably be described as sexually menacing. This was a very deliberate choice in the original Dan O’Bannon screenplay. The creature’s sole purpose is to breed and propagate, despite being seemingly sexless or genderless. This coupled with its phallic design, constantly salivating and lubricating presence, and of course, its inner jaw design and use, undoubtedly cause thousands of – justified – nightmares, and is part of the reason why the Xenomorph continues to be the perfect horror movie creature design.

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