H.R. Giger

There’s no point in going into detail about just how great Alien was, and still is in the eyes of horror and sci-fi fans alike. With it’s stylistic direction, the feeling of loneliness in space, and the fear of the “perfect” being stalking it’s prey; it’s still pretty damn scary in it’s own right. But of course, among Alien‘s perfect and dynamic cast [Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, and Ian Holm – just to name a few] giving life to the script, it was none other than the late artist H.R. Giger, and his animal-humanoid monsters: the Xenomorph who gave Alien that edge: their design and their dripping world that the species calls home really struck a chord with audiences in the early 1980s.

After it’s release, Alien was a huge international success and would spawn three official sequels, a prequel [Prometheus], a sequel to the prequel [the upcoming Alien: Covenant], a ton of video game spinoffs, a comic book series, and even some double franchise features [see Alien Vs. Predator] It’s influence is literally everywhere and its reputation as one of the greatest dark fantasy movies ever made is well-earned and deserved! Of course, with great success comes rip-offs: exploiting what was selling well in Hollywood, and making their own “versions”; hoping to make some extra money off the unsuspecting movie-goer who accidentally walked into the wrong theater. Oh yes, there was many of these shameless Alien rip-offs running free in the ’80s, they were tasteless, strange, and most of all: cheesy.

Naturally, being a huge fan of the original Alien film[s], I took my cue from these copycats [some of which are on Netflix!] and have complied my top 05 Alien rip-off films, complete with their plot! Can you tell why these were considered Alien rip-offs? : ENJOY!

CONTAMINATION:

“A former astronaut helps a government agent track the source of mysterious alien pod spores, filled with flesh-dissolving acid, to a South American coffee plantation controlled by alien pod clones.”

Fun Fact: this movie was sold as “Alien: Contamination” in the USA as a way to try and sell as part of the Ridley films!

MUTANT:

“In the distant future, a federation marshal arrives at a research lab on a remote planet where a genetic experiment has gotten lose and begins feeding on the dwindling scientific group.”

You can’t tell me that the “mutant” in the poster isn’t a Xenomorph..

CREATURE:

“A crew of scientists arrives on a far, cold planet to examine archaic artifacts of unknown origin. They discover that their German enemies already have a ship there. When they seek their help after a failed landing, they only find the Germans’ bodies, obviously slaughtered by one of the creatures. Now the alien is after them.”

Sound familiar? I swear I’ve seen this one before, maybe on late night television..

GALAXY OF TERROR:

“A spacecraft travels to a distant planet to rescue the crew of another spaceship that crashed, but their own craft, damaged in the landing, needs repair. While one by one, rescue team members are killed in weird situations materialized from their own fears by an ancient alien pyramid.”

The movie’s poster even mentions Alien! Also, Robert Englund is in this film!

THE DEADLY SPAWN:

“Two campers in the New Jersey woods have their outdoor fun interrupted by the arrival of a meteorite crashing nearby. They go to investigate the crater, but are suddenly attacked and devoured by alien parasites who have hitched a ride to Earth.”

The aliens in The Deadly Spawn look like the Xenomorph‘s cousin or something..

As you can see from the list above, there has been many rip-off Alien films, and they still continue to be released to this day! While the above films aren’t necessarily “good”, I wouldn’t put them in the “bad” category either; they’re just obscure. The Directors of these films were trying to cash in on what was relevant at the time, and for that; I understand. It’s kind of like those “The Haunting Of..” films you see at HMV. There’s a ton of those, but people like haunting films; so they keep coming out with more. Same plot, different person being possessed. You have to give the above movies credit, they’ve definitely become “cult classic” cinema! [Some are even approved by Roger Corman!]

Now I turn to you, do You like the Alien franchise? Are You excited for Alien: Covenant? Let me know in a comment below, and if you enjoyed this list; go and follow me over on my Facebook page! [we’re at over 150+ likes – let’s get to 200!] By clicking that “like” button, you’ll see every post from warrenisweird the very moment it’s been “gone live” online; and I also share links to articles and pictures/videos that will not be featured here on the blog. So go follow over there too!

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