Directed by Osgood Perkins, NEON’s horror hit Longlegs has proven to have long legs at the box office these last several weeks, and the film just hit another massive milestone.

First reported by Variety today, Longlegs just passed $100 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing indie movie – horror or otherwise – of 2024 so far!

Variety notes, “With a gross of $72 million in the U.S. and Canada and a total $100 million at the global box office, it’s also the top-grossing R-rated horror film of 2024.”

The only other horror movie to pass $100 million at the worldwide box office this year is A Quiet Place: Day One, which is currently sitting at a whopping $260 million worldwide.

Perkins’ Longlegs is also officially the highest grossing indie horror movie of the past ten years at the United States box office, a milestone it actually hit a few weeks back.

The film’s reported production budget was around $10 million, so Longlegs is turning a huge profit for distributor NEON. Domestically, it’s their highest grossing movie of all time.

No word yet on an at-home release for Longlegs. Stay tuned.

[Related] Did You Spot All 15+ Appearances of the Devil in ‘Longlegs’?

In Longlegs, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Nicolas Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another family.”

What’s next from Osgood Perkins? He’s actually got two new horror movies on the way, including Stephen King adaptation The Monkey and NEON’s Keeper starring Tatiana Maslany.

The post ‘Longlegs’ Just Passed $100 Million at the Worldwide Box Office appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Hurricanes are frightening all on on their own without having to involve a predatory animal. Yet Carlos Brooks’ Burning Bright not only features a Category 3 hurricane, a ferocious tiger is thrown in for added effect. Back when this film was first announced, its plot was met with laughter and doubt; the idea was as intriguing as it was ridiculous. Over time though, this suspenseful story of a girl, a boy, and a tiger has become a shining example of how to follow through on a high concept.

Two distinct yet equally uncontrollable forces are on display at the beginning of Burning Bright. As Hurricane Isabel builds a sense of foreboding in the background, a young woman finally confronts her family situation. The collegebound Kelly (Briana Evigan, Sorority Row) is making the difficult decision of leaving behind her autistic brother Tom (Charlie Tahan, Super Dark Times) when life catches her off guard again. Kelly’s plans are dashed after her late mother’s husband Johnny (Garret Dillahunt, Last House on the Left) steals the money intended for Tom’s new care. And for what? A wildlife ranch with the centerpiece being, of course, a former circus tiger deemed more evil than scary by Meat Loaf. The musician’s fulsome cameo feels nearly out of place in this film, but the character is a forceful reminder not to take the tiger lightly, even when the plot comes across as absurd.

There is no organic way to have a tiger present in this story, seeing as these creatures are exotic to most people. They don’t belong in, much less originate in a place like Florida. So there needs to be a bridge of some kind that brings these disparate elements together. And after assuming Johnny’s latest purchase would simply escape his enclosure and enter Kelly’s house, Burning Bright thinks outside the box even further by revealing the tiger was released. This plot development is both so nutty and so fiendish it sounds like something drummed up by EC Comics.

Pictured: Kelly (Briana Evigan) and Tom (Charlie Tahan) confront Johnny.

The film neither has nor needs time to ponder the whys and whats of the characters’ sudden predicament; like Kelly and Tom, Burning Bright is in survival mode. The director is instead too busy finding efficient ways to keep the momentum up and the audience engaged. Those forty-something minutes of a (big) cat and mouse game could have quickly gone south in less capable hands, but Brooks manages to avoid the worst possible outcome in these kinds of conceptual stories. That is, boring the audience by either desensitizing them to the threat or animal, or just being too repetitive. 

Unlike Alexandre Aja’s somewhat similar natural-horror film Crawl — the ’80s snake thriller Fair Game is an even closer match — Burning Bright doesn’t have the luxury of a dynamic venue (among other things). Kelly and Tom are very much sentenced to their home after it was sealed up with them inside. So there is a fair deal of the characters going around in circles here and revisiting the same parts of the house. In turn though, that story tightness becomes more and more intense as well as detectable on screen. The camera gets almost uncomfortably close and fixed on the actors’ faces, in particular when their rawest emotions are coming out in some form or another.

Escaping the tiger would be easier than this film’s symbolism. Perhaps taking a page out of The Descent and other films like it, Burning Bright uses a deadly creature — albeit a non-fantastical one — to contextualize a personal dilemma. What’s missing is nuance, on account of the straightforward approach. There is no mistaking what is being communicated here as Kelly fights for hers and Tom’s life. That level of simple storytelling could maybe minimize the film’s impact, however, the uncomplicated route works well in this case. An allegory being precise is preferable to a poor one.

Pictured: Garret Dillahunt’s character Johnny shows up to learn his scheme didn’t work.

Burning Bright would not be anywhere as effective without its leads. Charlie Tahan tends to be overlooked due to Tom being nonverbal, yet for his age, he turned in an impressive performance that is never ostentatious. Then there is Briana Evigan, a familiar face of 2000s horror, who is owed some credit for her character’s lasting impression. She requested the filmmakers give Kelly a personality touch-up so she would be more likable: “If you didn’t care about [her], why would you care if she survived?” And the work put into the protagonist pays off well. Yes, there is little delay before Burning Bright throws the brother and sister into the tiger pit that is now their home. However, it’s important to remember that Christine Coyle Johnson and Julie Prendiville Roux’s script doesn’t sacrifice character for action once the tiger shows up; the sibling relationship is always being explored. Every scene — especially ones with the tiger — deepens the personal story at the heart of the film, and paves the way for a rewarding and cathartic ending.

This isn’t a subtle film. Far from it. No, Burning Bright lays it on rather thick with traps both literal and metaphorical, which, by virtue of solid direction and performances, culminate into a worthwhile story of resilience. Apropos of thematic complexity, the film is still a far ways off from its namesake — William Blake’s poem The Tyger — but there are poetic moments here and there.

Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

The post ‘Burning Bright’ – Revisiting the Tiger Horror Movie 14 Years Later appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The impassable wilderness beckons. LAIKA Studio, the team behind stop-motion animated hits ParaNorman and Coraline, are back with their sixth stop-motion movie, Wildwood. The studio has released the title reveal for the epic fantasy, and it looks dark.

Wildwood is written by Chris Butler (ParaNorman, Coraline, Missing Link), based on the novel written by Colin Meloy, the lead singer/songwriter for The Decemberists, and illustrated by artist Carson Ellis.

In the film, “Beyond Portland’s city limits lies Wildwood. You’re not supposed to go there. You’re not even supposed to know it exists. But Prue McKeel is about to enter this enchanted wonderland. Her baby brother Mac has been taken by a murder of crows into the forest’s depths, and she – along with her hapless classmate Curtis – is going to get him back. Prue might think she’s too old for fairytales, but she’s just found herself at the center of one. One filled with strange talking animals, roguish bandits, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions.”

The film is described as “a tale of love, loss, sacrifice and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep, if you’re willing to look for it.”

The epic fantasy is directed by Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee director Travis Knight, President & CEO of the award-winning animation studio.

Knight previously told Variety, “With Wildwood, I have the opportunity to tell a madly ambitious story of magic, wonder, and danger set in the place I grew up. My very own Portland will join that pantheon of unforgettable fantasy realms, with a stirring epic that will kindle imaginations, lift spirits, and break hearts. Colin and Carson’s novel is a lyrical work of art,” Knight continued. “The entire Laika family is fully committed to honoring it with a film of breathtaking spectacle and aching beauty. I can’t wait to share it with the world. Although we’re doing this in stop-motion, so, you know, I’ll have to.”

Naturally, there’s an insane amount of talent behind this animated movie, including the cast. The voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant.

Stay tuned for additional details on Wildwood as they arrive.

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Cinelounge Sunset is partnering with Rustic Films to present an outstanding weekend of movies on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood this weekend, August 17 & August 18.

The lineup includes Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead movies Resolution and The Endless, as well as Jim Cummings’ Thunder Road, a shorts block, and more.

Here’s the full lineup…

‘Resolution’

Resolution. Horror/Mystery. Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorhead. Written by Benson. Produced by Benson, Moorhead, and David Clarke Lawson Jr.

From Rustic Films. (Color, 2012, USA, 93 minutes, not rated.) Starring Peter Cilelloa, Vinny Curran, Emily Montague, Kurt David Anderson, Skyler Meacham, Josh Higgins.

Soon-to-be-a-dad Michael makes a last-ditch effort to save his longtime but addicted friend Chris from a foreseeable drug related death. Visiting Chris and handcuffing him to an exposed plumbing pipe, Michael forces his buddy into detox, but while watching over his friend he also discovers that all is not right within the territory Chris has drifted into. Situated on Indian Reservation land, the area seems to attract a number of strange people. Someone or some thing has a longtime interest in recording activities in the area, all captured on a variety of recording devices (CDs, film, phonographs, etc.). Michael comes to understand he’s been pulled into the latest “story” of an unseen entity, one with a grizzly resolution projected for him and his pal unless they can possibly work out their own agreeable alternate ending.

Saturday, August 17 at 4 p.m. Cast and crew will appear in person.

Biosphere. Science fiction/Comedy. Directed by Mel Eslyn. Written by Eslyn and Mark Duplass.

Produced by Eslyn, Maddie Buis, Zachary Drucker, Shuli Harel. From Rustic Films. (Color, 2022, USA, 106 minutes, not rated) Starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass.

In the not-too-distant future, the last two men on earth must adapt and evolve to save humanity.

Saturday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. Mel Eslyn and a special guest will appear in person.

Secret. Mystery. Written and directed by S.N. Swamy. Produced by Rajendra Prasad.

From Rustic Films. (Color, 2024, India, 119 minutes, not rated) Starring Aparma Das, Kalesh Ramanand, Dhyan Sreenivasan, Manikuttan, Jacob Gregory, Andra Mohan.

Secret promises to be a gripping tale that explores the science of omens (Nimitha Shasthram), psychological turmoil, and the strength of friendships.

Saturday, August 17 at 9 p.m. Cast and crew will appear in person.

‘The Endless’

The Endless. Fantasy/Horror. Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. Written by Benson, Produced by Benson, Moorhead, David Lawson Jr., Lael Naim, Thomas R. Burke.

From Rustic Films. (Color, 2017, USA, 111 minutes, not rated. Starring Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez. Tate Ellington, Shane Brody, Lew Temple.

This mind-bending thriller follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn’t as young men, they’re forced to reconsider the cult’s beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.

Sunday, August 18 at 4 p.m. Cast and crew will appear in person.

Thunder Road. Comedy. Written and directed by Jim Cummings. Produced by Natalie Metzger, Zack Parker, Benjamin.

From Rustic Films. (Color, 2018, USA, 92 minutes, not rated) Starring Jim Cummings, Kendall Farr, Nican Robinson, Jocelyn DeBoer, Macon Blair, Chelsea Edmundson. Jim Arnaud.

A police officer in a Texas town, always tries to do the right thing, but he has more often than not done the wrong thing resulting in having a less than perfect life. He often tries to plan his actions whenever he can, but his impetuous nature and hot-temperedness often makes him do something else he didn’t plan, while he also does not have the best gauge of what is socially acceptable or what is standard social convention. In that imperfect life, he didn’t have the best relationship with his dancer/dance teacher mother, as didn’t his two siblings. He and his wife Ros have been separated for a year now on her initiative, which has resulted in him only seeing their now nine year old daughter Crystal on the weekends. And many of his fellow officers only tolerate him, including the police chief, with his married partner, Nate Lewis, looking out for him as much as he can do so. Two events have the potential to unravel Jim’s life even further. First, his mother passes away. He still wants to do right by her even after death, and by association wants even more to do right for Crystal in having that parent-offspring relationship he didn’t have with his mother. And second, Ros not only files for divorce, but in planning on moving out of town with her current boyfriend Chris, petitions for full custody of Crystal.

Sunday, August 18 at 6:30 p.m. Jim Cummings will appear in person.

Also on Sunday, August 18: Aaron and Justin’s Shorts Block, and an Unannounced Side Project.

Grab your tickets to all events now.

Cinelounge® Sunset is located at 6464 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028. Capacity is limited, and tickets and refreshments must be purchased in advance.

The post Cinelounge Sunset & Rustic Films Present ‘Resolution’, ‘The Endless’ & More in Hollywood This Weekend appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for the Alien franchise. 

Of all of horror’s many sagas, few have produced such complex and dynamic female characters as the Alien franchise. From space-trekking astronauts and idealistic scientists to outlaw clones and alien queens, this cinematic galaxy is bursting with inspirational – and sometimes despicable – women fighting for their own survival.

Though Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) remains the series’ most enduring character, each chapter in the century-spanning saga either delivers a new female warrior or expands our understanding of the story’s original survivor.

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott’s Alien sets the tone for a landmark series in cinematic female empowerment. The USCSS Nostromo is not only guided by an AI system known as Mother, two women occupy prominent roles in the disparate crew. When their mission is interrupted by a new directive from executives of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, the disgruntled team lands on Planetoid LV-426 to track down a mysterious distress signal. Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), the ship’s navigator, takes part in an exploratory mission that leaves Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt) mortally wounded with an alien entity attached to his face. When Lambert and Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) attempt to bring him back onto the ship, Ripley insists they observe protocol procedures and order them to stay outside and away from the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, the ship’s nefarious Science Officer Ash (Ian Holm) disregards her orders and opens the door, allowing the alien creature onboard as well. 

Released in 1979, Alien presents a harrowing study of bodily autonomy. Not only do we see a man forcibly impregnated with alien spawn, Kane dies in a gruesome approximation of cesarean birth. But the ship’s only female crew members also suffer uncomfortably sexualized attacks. When Lambert is confronted by the fully grown xenomorph, the creature runs its tail up her legs before killing her offscreen, suggesting a penetrative death. Later, when Ripley confronts Ash about his responsibility in letting the monster onboard, the synthetic attacks her by attempting to stuff a rolled-up porn magazine into her mouth. Though admittedly uncomfortable, Scott sets an even playing field and allows both men and women to experience sexualized violence. Though Lambert does not survive the alien encounter, Ripley does find empowerment and salvation by orchestrating a plan to blow up the contaminated ship and suck the alien creature out into space. 

Aliens (1986)

James Cameron’s sequel Aliens plays with female strength by pitting two fearsome mothers against each other to protect their young. After drifting in space for 57 years, Ripley is rescued and ultimately convinced to return to LV-426 to help find a group of terraformars who have lost contact with the corporation. As the new crew awakens from stasis, one of the marines sent to handle this “bug hunt” wakes herself up by doing pullups from the locker room infrastructure. Private Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein) seems to resent Ripley’s presence onboard and makes a derisive reference to “sleeping beauty” while admiring her own impressive physique. Though she has a strong relationship with a fellow marine called Drake (Mark Rolston), she faces harassment from one of the team’s squeakier wheels. Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) asks if she’s ever been mistaken for a woman, likely commenting on her masculine style, short hair, and affection for large guns. But this confident woman quips back, “No. Have you?” refusing to be shamed for her strength and aggression. Throughout the film, Vasquez proves to be the strongest member of the marine team and sacrifices her own life to take out a swarm of approaching xenomorphs. 

As Ripley predicted, the marine unit arrives to find the colony decimated and the terraform structures overrun with aliens. The only human survivor is a little girl named Newt (Carrie Henn) whom Ripley seems to adopt as her own. Unfortunately, another villainous agent of the Weyland-Yutani corporation has joined the mission. Burke (Paul Reiser) plans to release two facehuggers to impregnate Ripley and Newt then sneak the valuable embryonic species past quarantine while the woman and child lie frozen in cryo-sleep. Whereas Ash was more concerned with scientific discovery, Burke plans to sacrifice mother and child while jeopardizing the continuation of humanity for the chance for a massive personal payday. With the help of several altruistic marines, Ripley is able to subvert this sinister plan and Burke winds up in the claws of the very monster he planned to capture.

While searching for Newt, Ripley stumbles upon a field of alien eggs waiting to hatch and impregnate more humans with their parasitic spawn. While surveying the pods, she notices a majestic xenomorph queen who’s egg sack is busily producing multitudes of these dangerous eggs. Ripley rescues Newt from a nearby cocoon then threatens to torch the eggs if the queen will not let her pass. The two mothers come to a stalemate and agree to let the others’ offspring survive, but Ripley changes her mind the moment she clears this alien minefield. With a giant flamethrower, she torches the eggs, sending the queen into an understandable, murderous rage. This betrayal sets up the franchise’s most iconic moment as Ripley dons a heavy steel loader making herself a physical match to the gigantic alien queen. Both mothers battle to the death in defense of their children with Ripley once again jettisoning the xenomorph into deep space. 

Alien 3 (1992)

Ripley is the only significant female character in David Fincher’s Alien³ and this directly puts her life in danger. After crash landing on Fiorina 161, a men’s penal colony filled with murderers and sex offenders, she learns that Newt and the other two passengers did not survive the collision. Stranded amongst the male prisoners and guards, she has only Clemens (Charles Dance), the colony’s doctor, for protection. Venturing out into the nearby structures, Ripley insists on searching Newt’s body for alien infestation and is cornered by a group of dangerous prisoners. She finds an uneasy ally in Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), a felon turned spiritual leader, who fights the men off though he’s more concerned with the safety and peace of his followers.  

Unfortunately, there is a female being on Fiorina 161 threatening Ripley. Though Newt’s body is clean, examination reveals that Ripley herself has been impregnated while in stasis. She now carries the embryo of the queen, a monster who will lay thousands of eggs, each capable of destroying the entire prison population. With Weyland-Yutani operatives certain to harvest the species for use as a biological weapon, Ripley sacrifices her life to destroy the burgeoning queen. She throws herself into a massive furnace and dies to save the world from her greatest enemy. 

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Set 200 years after the events of the third film, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien Resurrection brings back the popular heroine via the process of cloning. The story opens with doctors working with an infantile version of the adult character then surgically removing an alien embryo from her chest. This lab-grown Ripley possesses much of the former astronaut’s strength and grit, but DNA splicing has given her exceptional strength and the ability to rapidly heal. After three films following this remarkable heroine, it’s fun to watch Weaver dabble in villainy. Not only does she attempt to kill her captors, the clone also empathizes with the alien species and refers to herself as “monster’s mother.” 

A later scene will show the horrors it took to bring this woman to life. While searching the ship, Ripley stumbles upon a room full of scientific nightmares. Noting the eight tattooed on her own arm, she finds seven failed versions who preceded her birth, each a different variation on a human/xenomorph nightmare. Even worse, the seventh clone is still alive. This pathetic humanoid creature has been confined to a hospital bed and begs to be put out of her misery. Ripley obliges, then weeps not only for the luck of her successful creation, but for the earlier clones and their intense suffering. 

When mercenaries clash with the ship’s military crew, Ripley meets a female clone determined to wipe out the aliens once and for all. Call (Winona Ryder) sneaks into Ripley’s stark quarters and attempts to remove the embryo from Ripley’s chest, only to find it has already been harvested. The two women eventually form a close bond and work together to kill the queen before it can reach Earth and begin to reproduce. Despite bonding with the monster she birthed and a subsequent offspring known as the Newborn, Ripley maintains her devotion to humanity. With her acidic blood, she cuts a tiny hole in the ship’s outer wall, causing the screaming Newborn to be sucked out to space, one gruesome piece of viscera at a time. 

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Paul W.S. Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator remains the only film to center a woman of color as the story’s main protagonist. Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) is a nature guide contracted by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) to explore a newly discovered heat source located 2,000 miles below the frozen surface of Bouvetoya, a remote island off the coast of Antarctica. After penetrating this massive ice shield, the team finds a place of ritual sacrifice. Worshiped as gods by ancient human civilizations, Predators have been traveling to Earth once a century for a ceremonial hunt of the world’s most dangerous species: the xenomorph. In order to create wild alien game, they sacrifice several humans, but have orchestrated a failsafe plan to keep the deadly creatures from reaching the earth’s surface. 

As the team becomes host to these terrifying parasites, Alexa and a Predator called Scar (Ian Whyte) create a pact to kill them all. Though Scar does not survive, Alexa manages to destroy the newly hatched aliens as well as the fearsome alien queen. She is rewarded for her bravery with a ceremonial spear from the Predators’ arsenal and a small facial scar symbolizing her own first kill and acceptance into this powerful race of intergalactic hunters. 

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

In a series filled with inspiring female characters, Colin and Greg Strause’s Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem feels noticeably bereft. When Scar’s body spawns a hybrid predator/alien hatchling, the Predalien finds its way to Earth and begins to attack the citizens of Gunnison, Colorado. Though several women fall victim to this deadly invasion, only Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth) emerges with any kind of empowerment. The former soldier has just concluded a tour of duty and now finds herself somewhat estranged from her husband Tim (Sam Trammell) and young daughter Molly (Ariel Gade). The struggling family finds themselves caught in the crosshairs of a battle between the Predalien and his xenomorph siblings and Wolf (Whyte), a lone Predator sent to destroy these murderous beasts. When Tim dies trying to defend their home, Kelly escapes with Molly and joins other survivors to find refuge outside of the crumbling town. 

Fortunately Police Chief Morales (John Ortiz) has made contact with military representatives and plans to gather survivors for an air evacuation in the center of town. But Kelly senses something is amiss and breaks off with a small group to find the town’s medevac helicopter. After battling their way through a hospital overrun with xenomorphs and facehuggers, Kelly, Molly, and a two recently reunited brothers manage to fly away moments before the military drops a tactical bomb on Gunnison, wiping out the surviving citizens along with both races of warring extraterrestrials. It’s not a particularly uplifting conclusion, but Kelly does manage to survive by listening to her instincts and acting in time to save her daughter. 

Prometheus (2012)

Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated return to the Alien franchise, Prometheus, begins with the conception of humanity. A large man who will come to be known as an Engineer (Daniel James), ingests a mysterious black substance near a picturesque waterfall then begins to disintegrate as his DNA sparks cells that will eventually become the human race. Generations after this fascinating moment, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) discover a star map etched into the walls of an ancient cave dwelling and interpret it to be an invitation to commune with these beings. Once they’ve arrived on LV-223, they realize their idealistic speculation couldn’t be further from the truth. This massive race of engineers likely lost control of a biological weapon which destroyed the colony. Once awakened by the ship’s synthetic David (Michael Fassbender), the sole remaining Engineer (Whyte) intends to release the weapon on earth to decimate its human population. 

Due to his extensive programming and learning capabilities, David appears to be a protective force on the exploratory ship. However, the ship’s director, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) sees through his pleasant persona. Daughter of the ultra-wealthy Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), she knows that their true mission to the planet is to grant the elderly CEO eternal life. When David infects Halloway with the strange black fluid, Vickers prohibits him from reboarding the ship. Like Ripley before her, she insists that his unknown condition may put the rest of the crew in mortal danger. 

Unfortunately, it’s too late to prevent contamination. Dr. Shaw has already been impregnated with a strange alien form. Horrified by its rapid growth and unknown origins, she hijacks an automated surgical table and performs a self-cesarean to remove the offending creature from her own abdomen. Despite her heroic efforts, these creatures wreak havoc on the surviving crew in addition to the remaining Engineer who plans to wipe out the human race. Dr. Shaw eventually uses her own aborted spawn, now a fully grown alien being, to defeat the Engineer. With David’s help, she launches a second spacecraft intent on discovering why they insist on targeting humans. 

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Scott’s Alien: Covenant may feature the greatest amount of prominent female characters in the franchise’s history, but they fill roles similar to Lambert and Ripley in the original film. We join the sleeping crew of the USCSS Covenant en route to colonize a remote planet known as Origae-6 as a solar flare threatens the ship’s stability and causes a deadly malfunction in the captain’s cryo-pod. While mourning this loss and adjusting their plans, they receive a vaguely human signal from a nearby planet. Against the advice of chief terraformist Daniels (Katherine Waterston), the newly appointed captain Oram (Billy Crudup) orders an exploratory mission to the newly discovered land in hopes of avoiding a longer trip to their original destination. But a mysterious spore lurks in the seemingly pleasant air and two crewmembers become infected with alien spawn. 

Also hiding in the planet’s lush vegetation is David, the only survivor of the Prometheus mission lost ten years before. Though he initially appears to be a benevolent force, his plans may be more devious than those of Ash from the Nostromo’s doomed flight. Using the body of Dr. Shaw, he has been carefully cultivating the alien species and believes it to be far superior to the humans currently colonizing the galaxy. He plans to use Daniels’ body to harvest a queen, then implant her eggs into the sleeping bodies of the Covenant’s 2,000 colonists. Unlike the original film’s conclusion, Alien: Covenant ends on a dire note as Danni slips into cryo-sleep moments after learning that her body will soon become host to a biological weapon.

This legendary franchise has been at the forefront of sci-fi innovation and special effects design for more than four decades. However, in addition to the terrifying creatures that emerge from each film, the continuing story presents a strong female character who fights to protect not only the safety of those around her, but the sanctity of her own womb. Ridley Scott may have designed the original cast to be gender neutral, but with nuanced explorations of pregnancy, gestation, motherhood, and care, the Alien franchise has become an enduring story of female empowerment and women fighting for their right to bodily autonomy. 

Don’t miss Cailee Spaeny as the franchise’s next heroine in Alien: Romulus. 

(L-R): Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine and David Jonsson as Andy in 20th Century Studios’ ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo by Murray Close. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

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