Social media can often be a cesspit of bile and vitriol, but it also opens the door to much more constructive conversations, arguments and debates that anyone in the world with an internet connection can get involved in. On that note, the latest Twitter conversation regards the status of Ridley Scott’s classic Alien, and whether or not it’s a horror movie.
It all started when journalist Elle Hunt tweeted that she didn’t consider the 1979 sci-fi as part of the horror genre, because it took place in outer space. While that’s a very peculiar take to have when plenty of great scary films have been set beyond the stars, it ignited some passionate responses from longtime Xenomorph enthusiasts and cinephiles in general, as you can see from the reactions below.
Settle an argument: is Alien a horror film? Give reasons why pls
— Elle Hunt (@elle_hunt) April 6, 2021
Horror as a genre is defined by the emotions it evokes. ALIEN evokes those emotions. It’s all there—rising dread, very personal stakes, jump scares, the safe place made suddenly unsafe. That it’s set in space doesn’t change any of that—horror is not defined by setting.
— Kingfisher & Wombat (@UrsulaV) April 6, 2021
It can be both sci-fi and horror. Film doesn't have to fit neatly into a single genre
— diurnal moth fan (@Jess_D_Ripper) April 6, 2021
I’ve always thought Horror required a supernatural element; Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Elm Street. If not, it’s Suspense.
— Christmas Cultist (@MontyYuanti) April 6, 2021
It's a Fricking Slasher Movie set on a spaceship, so yes.
— Law Dog: All I want for Xmas is RPGs. (@LawDogStrikes) April 6, 2021
It’s horror. You can strip all of the sci-fi elements and replace them with more mundane ones and it would retain everything that makes it a horror film. If you strip the horror elements you lose the film entirely. The film centers on the horror.
— James Fernandez (@gothicpicasso) April 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/BatsInLavender/status/1379525578995404802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1379525578995404802%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmovies%2Fnews%2Fis-alien-a-horror-movie-internet-debate%2F
Yes. It's a 'haunted house' movie
— Nick Rowntree (@NickRowntree7) April 6, 2021
ALIEN is a horror film.
ALIENS is an action movie.
ALIEN 3 is an art film.
ALIEN RESURRECTION is the @YogaHosers of their franchise. https://t.co/zrZTQYHgFS— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) April 6, 2021
No because it’s science fiction as set in space.
— Captain Troy (@blackdoona) April 6, 2021
https://twitter.com/11shroomz/status/1379514600404758533
Alien is very much a horror movie, and one of the greatest ever made, no less. The bare bones of the concept transplant the haunted house formula onto the Nostromo, with the addition of an instantly iconic extraterrestrial antagonist. It’s also the only one of the eight features to involve the Xenomorphs that fits the description.
James Cameron’s Aliens is definitely a balls to the wall actioner, Alien 3 and Resurrection are a bit more existential and thought-provoking by design, the Alien vs. Predator crossovers are banal blockbusters and Scott’s return to the series with Prometheus and Covenant were big budget sci-fi epics that tried to blend heady themes with intense thrills, and suffered mixed results in attempting to do so.
You can’t make a generalization like saying horror can’t take place in space without leading to dissections of almost every imaginable genre under the sun, but fans clearly have Alien‘s back in this particular debate.
