28 years ago today James Cameron changed the course of history with Aliens, his 1986 sequel to Ridley Scott’s terrifying Alien that not only changed the standard of sequels in Hollywood, but got every writer in town thinking in a new direction.
As we all know today, Scott’s 1979 sci-fi masterpiece was a straight-up horror film, fitted with a brooding pace. Cameron, who also flipped the script with his Terminator sequel, turned the Alien franchise into an action film, better suited for summer blockbuster stardom in the mid-80’s. The success changed the sequel formula, which was simply “do it again, with different characters.” It’s influence on cinema is unparalleled.
In addition to starring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley once more, the sequel also introduced two more strong female characters: Jenette Goldstein as the ass-kickin Pvt. Vasquez, and of course the Queen Alien.
Michael Biehn also broke through as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks, with Bill Paxton as Pvt. Hudson, and Lance Henriksen as the android “Bishop”. The characters were influenced by the Vietnam War, which really helped gel their colorful and unique personalities.
Aliens is my favorite movie of all time being that it ups the ante and builds into such a massive finale that you can easily forget to breathe. And at times, I even prefer the director’s cut, which has an entire bit about Ripley losing her child that makes her plight to save Newt that much more relatable.
So, with the weekend approaching, why not relive 1986 by re-watching Ripley kick some Xenomoprh ass, once again and relish in one of the greatest action horror films ever made.
