Editorials
Breaking Down the Space Horror Formula
Prior to release, Daniel Espinosa’s Life was criticized for appearing to be yet another an Alien rip-off. The review out of SXSW confirmed as much with the criticism that it was a technically efficient paint-by-numbers space-set thriller. Though Life seemed to borrow elements from Gravity as well, and several other space thrillers, the core plot setup bears a striking resemblance to the influential 1979 classic that changed the sci-fi genre for good with the introduction of serious space horror. Granted, Alien took many cues from ‘50s B-Horror movies, but drawing inspiration from films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and killer designs by H.R. Giger, Ridley Scott set the pattern for the endless string of space horror films that would follow.
Naturally, the surprise box office success gave way to multiple sequels, prequels, and a variety of merchandise, which caused an influx of immediate copycats hoping to ride the wave of Alien’s success. While the influence of Scott’s seminal space horror can still be felt today, if Life is any indication, the unsurprising peak of copycats hit right after Alien proved to be an international hit; the early ‘80s.
Some would borrow blatant design cues and elements from Giger, as in 1980’s Contamination. Directed by Luigi Cozzi, this Italian production features a former astronaut trying to track down the source of acid filled alien eggs that causes victims in the vicinity to explode. Bonus: the victim explosions landing this one on the Video Nasty list. The alien that’s hatching them is a silly derivative of a Giger-like design. Even the U.S. release tried to lure in Alien audiences by distributing the film under Alien Contamination as a tie-in attempt. Though an argument can be made that the plot is different enough, there’s no denying this Italian film banked on the iconic imagery of its predecessor.
Most rip-offs, though, would hone in on Alien’s plot formula. Take one part isolated space setting, throw in one tight-knit group of doomed characters, and add one or more deadly creatures to pick off said group of characters with no easy way to escape. Optional ingredient: toss in a smart female protagonist of which group should have listened to before things got rough.
The first half of the ‘80s churned out low budget rip-offs that borrowed heavily from this formula, albeit with much sleazier style. Take 1981’s Inseminoid, a flick by British cult horror filmmaker Norman J. Warren that sees his interplanetary archaeologists being picked off one by one when an alien creature assaults and impregnates one of their crew members, forcing her to become homicidal. Yeah, super sleazy. B-movie king Roger Corman, who nearly produced Alien before co-writer Ronald Shusett realized he could sell his script to a much bigger fish, produced two copy cats of his own in 1981’s Galaxy of Terror and 1982’s Forbidden World. The former is so wacky that it’s difficult to discern ties to the source material it’s borrowing from and is most memorable for the sequence that sees one member of the doomed space ship crew meet her death by rape of a large worm creature manifested by her imagination. Oh, and it also features Sid Haig and Robert Englund. Forbidden World much more closely aligns with the Alien formula, while still wearing its trashy heart on its sleeve with cheese and an abundance of nudity.
The latter half of the decade tried a different approach; forgoing the pure trash flick approach in favor of tweaking the original formula by trading in the isolated space setting for an isolated deep sea setting. Though neither Deepstar Six or Leviathan, both released in 1989, fooled anyone. Directed by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th), Deepstar Six saw its cast of characters fighting off an alien menace at the bottom of the ocean instead of deep space. Beyond a wider array of creatures and a lower budget, the core formula remains the same. Leviathan attempts to further mask similarities by trading in the intelligent female protagonist, Ripley, for Peter Weller (a worthy attempt to deviate if you ask me). Giger’s designs were traded in for Stan Winston’s creature effects. In other words, Leviathan is a pretty fun, forgivable ‘80s rip-off, but it’s still a carbon copy of Alien. Even later marketing touted it as such.
From there, many space set horror films would continue to tweak the formula in hopes of setting itself apart from the 1979 classic. What if the evil entity stalking the doomed crew wasn’t an alien, but hell itself? Or what if the creature was a person driven insane by overexposure to deep space, or even the sun? The truth is that the extremely isolating deep space, or deep sea, setting that was mined initially in Alien doesn’t allow for much deviation. There’s an inherent, intense claustrophobia about being trapped on a space ship with deadly forces closing in, but that’s also the problem in subsequent films; there’s not much room left for exploration or growth. Even when filmmakers are actively trying not to emulate Alien, it circles back around anyway. With the space horror formula as claustrophobic as its setting, it begs the question; is it possible to reinvent space-set horror the way Ridley Scott did in 1979?
Comics
‘Spider-Noir’ Comic Changes Explained: How the TV Series Reinvents Marvel’s Darkest Spider-Man
A little while back, I wrote an article chronicling the Hellraiser franchise’s affinity for Film Noir and touched on how that genre has, historically, always been connected to horror.
This connection can be observed in everything from the cannibalistic serial killers of Frank Miller’s Sin City to the disturbing criminal plots fueling neo-noir thrillers like Stuart Gordon’s underrated King of the Ants. That’s why it came as no surprise when I finally sat down to watch all eight episodes of Prime Video’s recently released Spider-Noir series and was confronted with plenty of classic horror tropes.
What did come as a surprise, however, was how showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot approached these horror elements when compared to the 2009 comic book that the show is based on. From the heavily altered rogue’s gallery to an equally terrifying yet completely different origin story for Nicolas Cage’s take on the webslinger, there are plenty of changes here that I feel might be of interest to genre fans.
With that in mind, I’d like to invite readers to take a closer look at all the adjustments that Spider-Noir made to the story in order to bring this incarnation of Spider-Man to life in all of its monochromatic glory (unless you watched the True-Hue color version of the show, in which case you’ll be treated to a surprisingly comic-booky palette that you don’t usually see on television).
The Dark Origins of Marvel’s Spider-Man Noir
Our first order of business should be to examine the origins of the Noir comics themselves. Originally published as part of the Marvel Noir alternate universe that reimagined several characters as hard-boiled crime-fighters, Spider-Man Noir became the most successful book in the entire run. This highly politicized story about Peter Parker coming to terms with the capitalist evils of the Great Depression seemed to have struck a nerve with audiences looking for a darker take on the wall-crawler, which is likely why we’d soon see several sequel stories as well as a video game adaptation of the character in 2010’s underrated Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.
Of course, it wasn’t just Spider-Man’s darker disposition that made this version of the character a hit, as 1930s New York City was depicted as being much more hostile than what we generally see in the standard Marvel Universe. From Peter’s powers coming from an Eldritch Spider God that spawns man-eating arachnids to Vulture being an ex-Freak-Show Gimp with a taste for human flesh, you can definitely understand why this Web-Head isn’t pulling his punches.
Unfortunately, this alternate universe was a little too popular for its own good, with each subsequent sequel/adaptation further diluting the political anger and classic horror influences that fueled the original comic-book run in order to appeal to a wider audience. Spider-Man Noir was nearly unrecognizable once we got to the Spider-Verse crossover that turned the character into a household name, though this would at least lead to an interesting adaptation in 2018.
The Classic Horror Influences Hidden Throughout Spider-Noir
Jack Huston as Sandman in ‘Spider-Noir’
When Phil Lord and Chris Miller finally translated Spider-Man Noir to the big screen, with Nicolas Cage bringing the character to life in an unexpected case of pitch-perfect casting, he was still mostly relegated to comic relief as his nazi-punching antics and over-the-top edginess were played for laughs. However, while this version of the character had little to do with the comics that spawned him, Spider-Noir’s newfound popularity eventually resulted in the announcement of a darker live-action spin-off – a spin-off that I was cautiously optimistic about.
While the showrunners ultimately decided to go in a completely different direction than the 2009 comic, the new team of writers appeared to understand Noir as a genre in ways that even the folks at Marvel Noir couldn’t quite grasp. That’s likely why 2026’s Spider-Noir boasts plenty of horror elements, just not in ways we’ve seen them before.
The series is obviously borrowing tropes and aesthetics from period-accurate monster movies, with Universal’s 1930s output being a particularly big influence. From the re-imagining of Sandman and Tombstone as tragic figures to The Spider even being operated on by a mad scientist with hilariously antiquated techniques, this bizarre collection of super-powered freaks could have easily shown up in a classic creature feature.
The scares aren’t all retro, however, as the showrunners also injected plenty of body-horror into the mix during their attempt at unifying the origin stories for all these larger-than-life characters. Hell, the Spider himself is now revealed to have gained his powers after being bitten by a half-mutated Man-Spider during World War I, and the aforementioned mad scientist keeps a disturbing collection of failed experiments in her basement, proving that not all of her patients were lucky enough to simply gain superpowers after being experimented on.
Nicolas Cage Reinvents Spider-Man Noir for Television
Ben Reilly/Spiderman (Nicolas Cage) in SPIDER-NOIR
Photo: Aaron Epstein/Prime
© Amazon Content Services LLC
I also really appreciate how Cage insists on depicting Ben Reilly as an arachnid trapped inside of a human body, with his uncanny physical performance and classic Hollywood impressions keeping your eyes glued to the screen while also providing some of the show’s funniest moments.
I still think it’s a shame that the character is no longer politically motivated, and I miss the detail about Uncle Ben having been cannibalized by Vulture after his social activism ruffled too many feathers, but at least this time our protagonist actually feels like someone who could have been written by Raymond Chandler if he were a fan of Superheroes.
In fact, the writers nailed the snappy back-and-forth that Noir authors like Dashiel Hammett used to refer to as the “riposte”, and it’s fun to see supervillains being depicted as horrific movie monsters instead of specialized henchmen – with The Spider feeling like just as much of a Freak Show attraction as the rest of them. Purists might be put off by the lack of reverence for the source material, but I think that’s a small price to pay when even the show’s most clichéd moments intentionally harken back to the golden age of Hollywood.
That’s why I’d argue that Amazon’s Spider-Noir isn’t really an adaptation, but rather an equally valid take on the same premise that inspired Marvel back in 2009. And in a world filled with recycled storylines that only serve to advertise future releases, I’d rather have two completely different visions of the same character than a straight-up retelling of the same handful of ideas.
At the end of the day, there’s enough space inside this comic fan’s heart for both man-eating Vultures and a Cronenberg-inspired Man-Spider. And if you’re also a fan of nostalgic creature features with comic book flair, I’d highly recommend this street-level superhero story with a spooky twist.
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