We’re almost to Alien: Romulus, folks. Today we’re going to look at the top 10 best kills of the Alien Franchise. Read and try not to get too squeamish, as there have been some phenomenal Alien kills throughout the years.
Runner-ups
Purvis – Alien: Resurrection (1997)
If pure sci-fi camp is your entertainment of choice, look no further than Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s wacky, if not outride absurd, Alien: Resurrection. Despite solid performances from Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder, the fourth movie lacks the artistic flourishes of the previous three entries and trades brains for goofy, B-movie shenanigans. The insanity reaches its apex when a man named Purvis uses a Chestburster to off a bad guy, a ridiculous moment that tosses Resurrection into Sci-Fi movie territory.
Burke – Aliens (1986)
In terms of satisfying deaths, Carter Burke’s demise in James Cameron’s Aliens takes the cake. Especially after the lying, manipulative weasel leaves a couple of Facehuggers inside Ripley and Newt’s room, hoping to deliver Xenomorph embryos back to the company in exchange for money. We don’t actually see Burke die. In fact, a deleted scene gives the man a much different (though no less satisfying) fate. Considering that he alone was responsible for the events of Aliens, he deserves everything he receives.
Top 10 Alien Kills
10) Engineer – Prometheus (2012)
Flawed but ultimately fascinating, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus takes a much different approach to the Alien saga, exploring heady concepts revolving around the creation of man, religion, and the dangers of artificial intelligence. Even so, Scott ensures viewers get a few glimpses of brutal Xenomorph action, none more harrowing than the Engineer’s demise at the squishy hands of a massive starfish. Despite its immense strength, the Engineer cannot pull himself from its attacker and eventually succumbs to its fate. Weird.
9) Ledward – Alien: Covenant (2017)
Like Prometheus, Alien: Covenant tackles big concepts that never entirely come together. Ridley Scott focuses much of his picture on David’s ongoing evolution into a tyrannical machine with a God complex, but tacks on a few brief Xeno encounters to satisfy thrill seekers. Early on, a man named Ledward is infected with alien spores that produce a creature inside his person, specifically his back. The results are, well, not pleasant.
8) Clemens – Alien 3 (1992)
For all its flaws, Alien 3 deserves kudos for some of its more radical, outright ballsy choices. Director David Fincher kills poor Newt and Hicks during the title sequence and replaces Cameron’s gung-ho epic with a nihilistic tale about sacrifice. Uniquely, those early deaths merely tease what’s to come. At one point, Ripley befriends and even sleeps with the good Doctor Clemens, whose grisly demise is shocking and tragic.
7) Vasquez and Gorman – Aliens (1986)
Aliens doesn’t bask in death like Alien and future sequels. People die quickly during combat or become lost in the chaos. Poor Hudson gets yanked into the floor before anyone has time to toss him a grenade. Late in the picture, during an intense escape, Vasquez suffers an injury, forcing Lt. Gorman to return to her side. Rather than incur a grisly attack, Gorman produces a grenade and wipes out quite a few Xenos in the process. He’s also responsible for Newt’s abduction, but let’s not quibble over details.
6) Brett – Alien (1979)
Brett’s terrifying demise marks our first encounter with a full-sized Xenomorph. After a lengthy sequence that tracks Brett through the empty chambers inside the Nostromo, the Xeno finally appears in all its glory, quietly landing behind its victim, baring its sharp jaws, and violently yanking him through a hole in the ceiling. Various versions of this scene are available online. I still prefer the original cut. It’s creepy as hell.
5) Ripley – Alien 3 (1990)
I’ll never accept Alien 3 as canon, but I will credit the picture for giving Ripley an emotional sendoff. Granted, I would’ve rather seen her ride off into the sunset with Hicks and Newt. Still, watching her leap into molten lava Terminator 2 style to prevent the company from acquiring a Queen feels like a fitting way for her character to bow out.
4) Bishop – Aliens (1986)
Ok, this one’s kind of a cheat since Bishop doesn’t technically die — he is a synthetic after all. Still, considering the Queen literally rips him in half to the point of inoperability, I think we can let this one pass. Besides, the sequence is absolutely incredible, setting up a sensational final act that perfectly caps off Cameron’s masterpiece.
3) Parker and Lambert – Alien (1979)
We’re all Alien from here on out, folks. The long-running franchise delivers an unholy amount of death and destruction, none quite as effective as those seen in Scott’s horror classic. The scene that always got me was Parker and Lambert’s death, a moment that relies more on imagination than gore and culminates in the latter’s horrifying screams heard over the intercom as Ripley makes her way to the escape pod. Chilling.
2) Dallas – Alien (1979)
Another classic eerie scene sees Dallas enter the ventilation shafts to pursue the Xenomorph. Lambert tracks his movements while composer Jerry Goldsmith ratchets up the dread with his somber score. The situation turns dire once the Xeno pops up and somehow gets the drop on Dallas before he can destroy it. Even after all these years, this horrifying piece of cinema still induces the willies.
1) Kane – Alien (1979)
Finally, nothing in the franchise tops Kane’s brutal death. Iconic in and of itself, the fact that it occurs around a dinner table full of food makes it all the more disgusting. Scott’s use of practical effects, notably the gore, is incredibly effective, while the terrified reactions of the surrounding characters, particularly Lambert, really get under your skin. It all started here, kids. Alien rocks, and this is the best of all the iconic Alien kills.
