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SocketwenchWhales and Star Trek. Star Trek and Whales. A review: <a href="https://deninet.com/blog/2025/06/30/wenchwatches-star-trek-4-voyage-home" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://deninet.com/blog/2025/06/30/wenchwatches-star-trek-4-voyage-home</a><a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a>

SocketwenchI honestly think it's simply a contrivance of the film itself, but I like my in-universe explanations, so indulge me.As Ripley runs inside the shuttle the first time, we've given a brief POV of he shuttle's interior as she runs past the conduit. You can actually see with the alien is hiding in that moment if you look carefully. That implies the alien *knew* of the ship's self destruction, and decided to stow away in the one place it's prey would flee to.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchThe shuttle sequence itself also doesn't seem to make as much sense as it could. At this point in the movie, you'd expect the alien to simply kill Ripley outright. Instead, it lingers among the conduit almost as if exhausted. I know that at this point if the film the point is to suspend the ending and give Ripley one more chance to encounter the xenomorph. Even so, why is Our Friend Allen Who Lives in the Ceiling so damn *langid*!?<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchThe detail with Brett takes away from the mystery of the xenomorph. The worst part is how the scene interrupts the pacing entirely of Ripley's desperate run to the shuttle to escape. While I like the scene, it just doesn't fit no matter how hard I try to justify it. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

Socketwench...one more very divisive scene. As Ripley is running toward the shuttle, she encounters the alien's nest. She finds what's left of Brett and an barely conscious Dallas embedded in the walls. Brett appears to be partially transformed into a new egg. The key detail of the scene to preserve is the line that was later made famous by the sequel, Aliens: "Kill me". While the moment of horror Ripley experiences before ending Dallas' life is good, the scene itself feels off.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

Socketwench"Kill me".Did I mention I'm watching the "extended cut"? Of course I'm watching the extended cut. Not because it actually *adds* anything to the film, but because I have to have my brief moments of snobbery in this hobby.Arguably, the extended cut of Alien actually makes the film worse. It really only adds three scenes of note; an extended moment of the the radio transmission listening scene, the argument outside of medbay during Kane's examination, and...<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchSexual violence depicted in film

SocketwenchAnd jokes aside of "listen to the smart women, and none of them would have died," the film also plays into distinctly gendered forms of terror too. Ash's attack on Ripley feels distinctly of this. As he tries to strangle her, the bits of pornography in the background imply sexual violence, without actually conducting any on the character. I don't know if this was intentional in the scriptwriting or not, but it's damn effective.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchHer shock and emotional turmoil in discovering The Company has ordered the crew to be expendable feels like exactly the kind of reaction you'd expect from a tough female character who is given equal standing in ability to her male counterparts. Ripley going back for her cat at the last moment also feels like the sort of thing a masculine hero wouldn't be able to do believably, yet it feels completely normal for Ripley, nor does it feel a mistake.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchInstead of Ripley's reveal as the film's main character being a shock, it almost feels natural when it does. Throughout the first and second act Ripley is shown as a competent and detail-oriented leader. Even the argument with Dallas about breaking quarantine to bring in Kane was emblematic. What's compelling about Ripley, however, is that the character isn't *acting* like a man either. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchThe sequence with Dallas in the air vents feels like a moment in which Dallas would otherwise become the film's hero. The film gives us every indication that this is going to be what happens; he's the captain, the one brave enough to confront the alien for the sake of ship and crew. The brilliant part of this is that the movie is playing this up so as to instill greater shock when he too is taken away by the Xenomorph. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchIn my review of Aliens, I argued that the franchise was "femme-centered" but not "feminist". In Alien, this feeling comes off almost as unintentional. And indeed, it almost was. Originally, they had assumed that Ripley was going to be played by a man. During casting however, they didn't forbid anyone from auditioning for the role, and Weaver became the final choice. This had some key effects in how the film played out for the audience, particular in the second act closer.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchIn a way, this disturbing beauty is intentional. It's the sister feeling to watching a predator take down prey in a nature documentary. The deadly speed and grace of the killer as well as the shock and hope of evasion on the part of the pray. The film is trying to evoke the same sort of feelings here, but with the implication that this time, *we* are the prey. It's something which goes right for the cerebellum, eliciting feeling both ancient and primal. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchAgain and again the film knows *precisely* when to cut away from a scene in order to keep the audience on edge. Perhaps the best example of this is when Brett is taken by the Xenomorph. Not only is Brett taken in less than a handful of seconds, the intercutting with Jonesy's face, and the rain turning red as Parker cries out transforms a moment of mere horror into a moment of disturbing beauty. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchWe see Kane lean into the egg, a squeal as something rushes toward the camera, and then the facehugger on Kane's helmet.We see Ripley's refusal to let in the away team after Kane's encounter with the facehugger. Once Ash opens the hatch and lets them in, we're given barely a second before we cut to medbay where they're removing Kane's partially melted space helmet. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchThe thing that strikes me the most about the writing in Alien is its profound restraint. The pacing of this film isn't just moody, it's a razor's edge away from languid, and the tension of each scene is the only thing keeping it from losing the audience's attention. The film shows only what it needs to before cutting away. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

Socketwench"You Look dead."As a sci-horror film, Alien actually doesn't have a particularly complicated plot. It doesn't really need one either. The primary driver of the film is the body horror, with a side twist that only comes much later in the film. Even so, the film still exhibits excellent writing. The earlier conversation in the galley where Parker says Kane "looks dead" is lampshading what's going to happen later in the film. <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

SocketwenchI'm not saying the Scott is lying. I'm not even saying that he *did* forget, but he *could* have forgotten a 1969, dubbed Italian film he might have seen one night in his youth. It's plausible to imagine, at least. At the most, it's worth going and watching Planet of the Vampires if you can. I found it enhanced my appreciation for both itself and Alien.<a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/wenchwatches" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#wenchwatches</a> <a href="https://masto.hackers.town/tags/alien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#alien</a>

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