What is the significance of human skull in aliens?

[NERV]

I know that they never go into it in the movies but i have seen it in statues and models that underneath the smooth shiny head it looks like a human skull, is there any significance to that? like are humans and the aliens supposed to be related?

[Isamu Atreides 86]

hmm. i don't know, but i do know that the Xenomorphs are supposed to be silicon based organisms and humans are carbon. plus, under the head, there is an extra set of jaws. the only way humans and aliens are related is in the abomination that is Alien Resurrection (they showed this on AMC today...i am still upset), where aliens are cloned somehow from a deceased ellen ripley. also, it is known that aliens take some characteristics from the species they come out of, such as the dog alien in alien 3.

[NERV]

guess its probly just the human host attributes

[David Hingtgen]

IIRC, the original Alien suit (first movie) used an *actual* skull behind the dome-thingy, not just a mold/cast. Freaky.

As for why--I've always thought for shock value/coolness. Makes you think. (Anyone have a good shot of the alien skull from Predator 2?--might reveal a lot more)

[KingNor]

There isn't much too it, it's just H.R. Gigers style. He's got a definately warped way of looking at things.

Anything it has to do with the content of the story was simply tacked on by the crew, Giger was given more or less free reign to make the alien so i dont' think there is alot there content wise.

Check out the book Gigers Alien for a complete run down on the creative process.

[Phyrox]

The only Alien representations to include the human skull design are those based on Giger's work for the original movie.

The slightly "redesigned" Aliens for the second movie did away with this, and the other movies (if you insist that they really do exist) have followed suit.

The alien-skull in Predator 2 doesn't have a human-skull element because it is based on the aliens of the sequels.

The reason? I imagine it is the same reason why the original alien's head is a replica of a penis, or that that the eggs are "supposed" to resemble vaginas...Giger is twisted. Twisted and nasty.

Edited August 25, 2003 by Phyrox

[yellowlightman]

The reason? I imagine it is the same reason why the original alien's head is a replica of a penis, or that that the eggs are "supposed" to resemble vaginas...Giger is twisted. Twisted and nasty.

And that's why the Alien kicks the ass of all other Star Trek, Star Wars, "humans with extra ____" type aliens. B)

[GobotFool]

The only Alien representations to include the human skull design are those based on Giger's work for the original movie.

The slightly "redesigned" Aliens for the second movie did away with this, and the other movies (if you insist that they really do exist) have followed suit.

The alien-skull in Predator 2 doesn't have a human-skull element because it is based on the aliens of the sequels.

The reason? I imagine it is the same reason why the original alien's head is a replica of a penis, or that that the eggs are "supposed" to resemble vaginas...Giger is twisted. Twisted and nasty.

yeap, and think of all the slim it leaks from its mouth.

[drifand]

Yeah, I wouldn't call Giger "sick" but he's definitely fascinated by sex and death (both at the same time). I recall checking out his art volumes while still a design student and was impressed by his daring depiction of controversial images. But nowadays... he hasn't done anything really new.

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, I wouldn't call Giger "sick" but he's definitely fascinated by sex and death (both at the same time).

Well, what DO you have to do to be qualified as sick in your book?

[drifand]

Yeah, I wouldn't call Giger "sick" but he's definitely fascinated by sex and death (both at the same time).

Well, what DO you have to do to be qualified as sick in your book?

He's harmless, right? Who did he kill doing those paintings?

[bsu legato]

You know....since Aliens, the alien costume has looked worse and worse with every movie. I can only imagine how awful the costumes will look in AvP. However, I had read that the custumes were being produced by some former Stan Winston employees, so maybe there's hope after all.

[drifand]

You know....since Aliens, the alien costume has looked worse and worse with every movie. I can only imagine how awful the costumes will look in AvP. However, I had read that the custumes were being produced by some former Stan Winston employees, so maybe there's hope after all.

But with the number of Xenomorphs required in a AvP confrontation, it would seem a majority would be CGI renderings. Better not be another 100-Agent-Smiths...

[bsu legato]

But with the number of Xenomorphs required in a AvP confrontation, it would seem a majority would be CGI renderings.

Very true. I guess my main beef is the way the later costumes are designed. When they made the original suit, Gieger was very specific about giving it his trademark biomechanical look. The audience has no idea what all the details on the costume are, but they definitely look like something. The ALIENS suits, while simplified for ease of movement of the performers, follow that same design with the exception of the creature's head, which is essentially the first film's head without the transparent dome.

But Alien 3 and 4 discarded that look, or just dumbed it down considerably. The aliens don't have anything remotely resembling the detail of the first two films, but instead look like a goopy mass of hamburger. It's like the costumers were working from nothing but blurry stills from the first two movies when they designed the costumes for 3 and 4.

[drifand]

Well, Alien3 is banned from my personal vid list, but I'll drop in the ol' resurrection DVD to try and see what you mean about the costumes. With every film, it becomes harder and harder to scare the audience... but I did enjoy the way the 3 captive aliens "conferred" with each other before sacrificing one to make the break out.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Speaking to Bsu Legato's point, the alien costumes where quite different in all four movies. The first movie, the skull was almost like a jellyfish with a transparent dome on it. Then in aliens, the heads became this sort of lumpy coral-esque mass of ducts and seams. Then in alien3 you have the "dog alien" which basically combined the first two alien designs together with more dogish proportions. In alien resurrection they continued to alter the design even more as these "new" aliens where genetially extrapolated from ripley and they possessed different genetic code so to speak.

If they do make an AvP movie the aliens should look like they did in the movie aliens, as that seems to be the original genetic strand of humanoid alien. Giger's alien was sort of the prototype which the "soldier alien" of aliens came from. The ones from the last two movies are genetic deviants, hence why they had to "look different".

[KingNor]

part of the problem is the progression of the movies

the first movie was a pure horror movie, and revolutionized the genera.

the second was a top class action flick, again, revolutionizing its genera.

the third movie, wich went back to horror, missed the opprotunity to go to the third genera and revolutionize it. that genera was:

Courtroom Drama!

and the fourth movie... well... aliens had yet to touch the spring time romance flick, though with all of ripleys friends dead, it probly would have made more sence to make it a light hearted comedy.

Edited August 25, 2003 by KingNor

[EXO]

I never really liked the idea of the "dog alien". A lot of "bug" lay eggs in other bugs but they never take anything genetically from their host. It would make their evolution too unstable.

The fact that the Aliens didn't have the transparent layer on their head was due to production costs and time being limited. A few from the crew also thought it look "cooler". I could recheck that fact on my Cinefex.

I prefer the transparent dome look myself, but can't stand the human upright stance from the first movie. There's a director's cut coming out, maybe Ridley Scott did some special edition type stuff. I read he also hated the same thing about his own interpretation.

I thought the Aliens swimming on the fourth was pretty cool, but thought The final alien hybrid was lacking in design.

Just like Drifand, I completely disclude the third movie from the rest.

[EXO]

the third movie, wich went back to horror, missed the opprotunity to go to the third genera and revolutionize it. that genera was:

Courtroom Drama!

I OBJECT, YOU'RE HONOR! Defense is repeatedly stabbing the witness with his second set of teeth!!!

[KingNor]

the third movie,  wich went back to horror, missed the opprotunity to go to the third genera and revolutionize it.  that genera was:

Courtroom Drama!

I OBJECT, YOU'RE HONOR! Defense is repeatedly stabbing the witness with his second set of teeth!!!

she could have taken "the company" to court.

its odd, with as many courtroom drama movies that come out, and some are pretty dern good 'few good men' comes to mind, there has never been a science fiction based one.

and ripley certainly had a case.

[Abombz!!]

Speaking to Bsu Legato's point, the alien costumes where quite different in all four movies. The first movie, the skull was almost like a jellyfish with a transparent dome on it. Then in aliens, the heads became this sort of lumpy coral-esque mass of ducts and seams. Then in alien3 you have the "dog alien" which basically combined the first two alien designs together with more dogish proportions. In alien resurrection they continued to alter the design even more as these "new" aliens where genetially extrapolated from ripley and they possessed different genetic code so to speak.

If they do make an AvP movie the aliens should look like they did in the movie aliens, as that seems to be the original genetic strand of humanoid alien. Giger's alien was sort of the prototype which the "soldier alien" of aliens came from. The ones from the last two movies are genetic deviants, hence why they had to "look different".

Actually... thats because they are different kinds of aliens. The alien in Alien 3 was born from a dog, Aliens absorb some of the gene traits from is host, there fore it was a dog. The Alien in Alien was different simply because the point of the movie was to show the Alien the least possible. Watch the directors commentary and you will see what I'm talking about. For all we know, it could have been the Alien in Aliens, but simply hidden in the shadows.

In Aliens, there are 2 kind of Aliens, the fleshy kind (fat, more humanly porportionate), which were men dressed in costumes, and the bony type.... see only a few times, which were pupets.

As for Alien:Ressurection.... bah... they are genetic freaks.

BTW.... AvP sounds like a real piece of garbage, plot wise. <_<

[EXO]

BTW.... AvP sounds like a real piece of garbage, plot wise.

I think I already saw that movie...

but for some reason it had Batman in it...

[Abombz!!]

BTW.... AvP sounds like a real piece of garbage, plot wise.

I think I already saw that movie...

but for some reason it had Batman in it...

Now that would a disturbing thought. <_<

But it would be satisfying to see Batman ripped to shreds by a few Xenomorphs.

[bsu legato]

The alien in Alien 3 wasn't always a dog/alien hybrid. Originally they filmed a whole sequence with a "superfacehugger," an animatronic oxen and a chestburster, but when they went on to film scenes with a live ox they found it wouldn't do anything but stand there! Hence, the scenes were hurridly reshot with a trained pooch and the rest is history.

You know, so much stuff was cut from A3 that I'm curious how it would have originally turned out. Considering that David Fincher went on to film much better movies, it's possible that some of his talent was left on the editing room floor. There was a actually a sequence where they caught the alien, and later that crazy guy (who seems to serve no real purpose in the final version of the film) goes and frees it again. We're supposedly getting a "workprint" of A3 in that huge 9-disc box set that's on it's way. I doubt these scenes will make A3 a great film, but it might make a crappy film...less crappy?

[EXO]

BTW.... AvP sounds like a real piece of garbage, plot wise.

I think I already saw that movie...

but for some reason it had Batman in it...

Now that would a disturbing thought.

But it would be satisfying to see Batman ripped to shreds by a few Xenomorphs.

Abombz!! you haven't seen that fanflick Endgame?

[Skippy438]

Actually, Batman has already beaten the Xenomorphs ...

[Abombz!!]

The alien in Alien 3 wasn't always a dog/alien hybrid. Originally they filmed a whole sequence with a "superfacehugger," an animatronic oxen and a chestburster, but when they went on to film scenes with a live ox they found it wouldn't do anything but stand there! Hence, the scenes were hurridly reshot with a trained pooch and the rest is history.

You know, so much stuff was cut from A3 that I'm curious how it would have originally turned out. Considering that David Fincher went on to film much better movies, it's possible that some of his talent was left on the editing room floor. There was a actually a sequence where they caught the alien, and later that crazy guy (who seems to serve no real purpose in the final version of the film) goes and frees it again. We're supposedly getting a "workprint" of A3 in that huge 9-disc box set that's on it's way. I doubt these scenes will make A3 a great film, but it might make a crappy film...less crappy?

I'm aware of that. But what I meant is that Aliens always reflect certain traits from its host.... such as the dog for the Alien 3 and the pretorien which is an Alien Predator hybrid.

No... I haven't seen Endgame, Exo.

[JsARCLIGHT]

That's one of the things I love about the alien franchise... the whole "alien mimics the host" thing.

Think if aliens made it down to earth, you'd have Giraffe aliens, kitten aliens, dolphin aliens, gibbon aliens, rattlesnake aliens and my personal favorite the elusive and deadly penguin alien.

[Abombz!!]

By the way... the script for AvP says that the movie will be on earth, north pole to be exact, and will feature non military characters fighting Xenomorphs in a compound there, when Predators decide to drop by and raise hell.

Not the kind of premise I would hope for a movie like that. <_<

[EXO]

I would love to see a ALF vs. Aliens flick, hehe. JsArclight's worst nightmare. Hey that could be JsArclight IV:Endgame. When Puppets Attack!!!

Here's the link Abombz!!

Hear Batman groan like a bitch!

[JsARCLIGHT]

I would enjoy seeing an alien pierce ALF's foam skull with it's mandibles and suck out his brains... actually the alien would only get to eat some dork's hand... oh well.

And then the topless hippo from meet the feebles crashes in with the machine gun and blows them all away!

[Abombz!!]

I would love to see a ALF vs. Aliens flick, hehe. JsArclight's worst nightmare. Hey that could be JsArclight IV:Endgame. When Puppets Attack!!!

Here's the link Abombz!!

Hear Batman groan like a bitch!

Bah! My internet isn't fast enough to dl it in less then a day.

Damn third world cable connection!!

[tom64ss]

By the way... the script for AvP says that the movie will be on earth, north pole to be exact, and will feature non military characters fighting Xenomorphs in a compound there, when Predators decide to drop by and raise hell.

Not the kind of premise I would hope for a movie like that.

That sounds really stupid considering in all previous movies, both species prefer warm climates.

[Abombz!!]

By the way... the script for AvP says that the movie will be on earth, north pole to be exact, and will feature non military characters fighting Xenomorphs in a compound there, when Predators decide to drop by and raise hell.

Not the kind of premise I would hope for a movie like that.

That sounds really stupid considering in all previous movies, both species prefer warm climates.

Tell that to FOX!!

[Amped]

I was always under the impression that the Alien took on certain characteristics of the host organism... hence the upright, bipedal appearance in the first 2 & the 'skull' in the first one (really, the basic head shap is close in the second, its just the dome isn't tranluescent... probably on account of budget concerns, not genetics ) ... the more dog-like, quadraped appearance in the 3rd... and the grotesque humanoid abomination of the 4 film.

Altho, as for 'abominations'... that's exactly what I consider the 3rd & 4th films to be! I rationalize them the same way I do the Star Wars prequels... using good ol' fanboy denial: they never happened! LALALALALALALA, I can't hear youuuuuuu....