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The Opening Sequence of Alien III: Just What the Hell Is Going On Here???

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Written by xeno_alpha_0768,037 Reads16 Comments2016-08-06 12:13:57

For a lot of Alien/Aliens fans with Alien 3 they either don't acknowledge it's existence, complain endlessly about how they 'Killed Hicks and Newt' or how they generally hate the film. Alien 3 is a heavily flawed sequel, and with it's confusing and highly continuity errored opening scenes, should not exist. Two recent forum discussions sparked a long winded discussion between myself and a friend who happens to be an Alien 3 hater. But, even though I acknowledge Alien 3 has many flaws and plot holes, from start to finish, I still think the movie is a masterpiece. I love Alien 3 and nothing can or will make me change my mind. My friend can't understand how a fan can acknowledge the films flaws and still be a fan. Believe it or not, I'm not the only one. There are fans all over who, like myself, is obsessed with Alien 3. So, with that said let's take a look at the opening sequence and the errors within it. Not every error, plot hole, continuity error, etc, etc, has been covered in this article. Just some of the more common and most debated issues . Some I've missed out on purpose.

Sulaco Logo: Aliens VS Alien 3
First, you'll notice in the opening is the Sulaco logo difference. The logo of the Sulaco in Aliens is Black, the Sulaco logo in Alien 3 is White. The colour differences of the craft itself also differ even though it's the same model used in both films.

Sulaco From Aliens

Sulaco From Alien 3

Fincher wanted the Sulaco coming towards us from the opposite side of the screen. So, he had the logo repainted in reverse. The original model was only detailed on one side so only the one side could be used. Was it that hard to keep the logo the same even if it was backwards?

Cryo-Tubes:
Yes, this is blatantly obvious and a real nitpick for Aliens and continuity fans. Fincher wanted a more streamlined look like the tubes seen in Alien as Fincher is a Ridley Scott fan. So the cry-tubes were built differently to the ones we see in Aliens. This, however, causes a further error which I will show you later.

They should have kept the cryo-tubes the same, in my opinion. To state the obvious here, besides keeping in continuity with Aliens, the whole EEV sequence and escape procedure would have been completely different.

The Magic Egg:
This is one of those movie magic moments in Alien 3. We know, from Cameron's version of the life cycle, that the eggs come from a Queen. So without her Egg-Sack is she still capable of laying eggs? Apparently, she can. There are many theories about the origins of the egg, one even involves Bishop putting the egg onboard. Personally, I think that's a bit of a daft theory but some people agree with it. Another is the Queen possessed or had the ability, of laying/carrying an 'emergency egg'. Again with nothing explored in the film or early Hill and Giler drafts, or anywhere else, we will never know. I recommend browsing through alien movie forums and read some of the fan theories instead of me listing them all. The other problem, of course, is just where the hell is it supposed to be? And why is it in the position it's in? Again, no one knows for sure.


How do you solve a problem of the magic egg? Well, if we went with the emergency egg theory, then the one place, I'd of shown and placed the egg would be in the back of the drop ship landing strut where the Queen was hiding towards the end of Aliens. This would have at least, in my opinion, been slightly less confusing and given some, if only a bit, of continuity with the second film.

Who Exactly was the Host?
How is this confusing? It is obvious, right? Well, there is some confusion as to who it was. The reason for the confusion isn't just evident on screen but off screen as well. How? Well, we'll get to that shortly, first, let's take a look at the confusion on screen. Newts cryo-tube glass plate is cracked by the facehugger injuring it causing acid to spill into the floor. Thus causing the electrical fire

 

Shortly afterwards we see a bio-scan of the facehugger on someone. With the shots of Newt followed by a bio scan shot this, to me anyways, enhances the feeling that Newt is the facehuggers victim. Few more shots later we see Ripley, facehugger-less, having what appears to look like she's having a seizure. Again, this gives the feeling it's Newt. After the intercut of a bolt exploding, we see another shot of facehugger-less Ripley. This time with her cryo-tube glass plate cracked open.

 

This is the first indication so far that Ripley is the facehugger's victim. However, we know this already from later in the film right? Sure, this is true. Both Ripley and Newt's cryo-tubes slide into the EEV, neither of them has a facehugger attached to them.

 

Production stills of Ripley's cryo-tube cracked open are everywhere. which to me shows that she was the facehuggers choice, besides what we learn from the film. Even so, the opening sequence for many doesn't give that impression. Neither Ripley nor Newt is seen with a facehugger on them. The only evidence is again, besides that we already know Ripley is impregnated later in the film, is the bio-scan of the facehugger. Even as the EEV is launched there's no sign of a facehugger on either of them. Some fans say that the opening sequence isn't shown in real-time and the evacuation process took longer than we saw. No offence, but I don't buy that one I'm afraid. Fire spreads quickly, I've also seen this with my own eyes, and the Sulacos verbal warning says:

Stasis interrupted, fire in cryogenic compartment, repeat, fire in cyrogenic compartment, all personnel report to emergency escape vehicle launch of deep space lifeboat will commence in t-minus 20 seconds.

At the start of the ships warning we see the bio scan shot of the facehugger on one of them, so we know that within 20 seconds the cryo-tubes are to be loaded into the EEV. After the warning, we see a shot of Ripley minus a facehugger. So the impregnation time period is INCREDIBLY short, too short, movie magic for ya folks! Technically, one of them should have had the facehugger attached them as the cryo-tubes were loaded into the EEV. When we see Newt's cryotube after the EEV crash, you can see the crack in her glass plate is narrow and probably isn't big enough for the facehugger to crawl through. So besides the very, very, very quick impregnation period and host confusion, there is also, as stated earlier, some other factors off screen which say it's Newt.

Firstly, here's an excerpt from the December 1990 draft:

 

An unfilmed sequence after the EEV crash, Newt drowns. The Queen embryo emerges from her mouth and climbs inside Ripley. This is not only scripted but is also featured in the Alien 3 movie adaption comic.

 

When you watch the opening sequence, it's not hard to see why people get confused. As shown on screen we know someone is facehugged but we only see the bio-scan of it. It doesn't show the viewer just who except hints of. As you know, it's not until later we learn about Ripley's Queen embryo, so we then know it's her. However, wait, there are two hosts! How is this?

Facehugger Issue:
OK, we know from the opening that a regular facehugger is on board right? Yet Ripley is impregnated and then so is a Dog/OX. How is this possible? The original intention was to have, what is referred as, a super facehugger. This facehugger is larger than a normal facehugger. It has webbed fingers and a skeletal structure resembling the queen. This super facehugger is supposed to have the ability to lay two embryos, one being a queen the other being a normal embryo. We don't see this super facehugger in the Theatrical cut of the film, but we see a short glimpse of it in the Assembly cut. This adds confusion even further and gives the impression, there were two facehuggers on board the Sulaco and EEV.

What is made worse is, in the Theatrical cut of Alien 3, after the EEV crash we later see spike the dog barking inside the wrecked EEV at a facehugger. This, again, is a regular looking facehugger. Was this the same facehugger that got Ripley? Why isn't it dead? Were there two huggers? We know that this facehugger attacks Spike, but because it looks like a regular facehugger some people are left thinking there were two facehuggers. Alternatively, you just have to assume this one can lay two embryos as that's the impression others get from it. Even so, this isn't explored in the film! When Ripley asks Bishop, "Was there 'AN' Alien on board," Bishop says yes, AN, to me, meaning singular. So what gives??? After reading all this you've probably come up with your own theories and explanations. If it was left to me, I'd of kept the super facehugger from the start and shown it in the opening sequence. I'd of also kept the bio-scan of the facehugger but minus the shots of Ripley or Newt's face, leaving it a mystery. Daft, I hear you say, yes your right. I'd also have the EEV drift for 24 hours, (or later as in the Alan Dean Foster novel) being a deep-space lifeboat, before reaching the atmosphere of Fury 161, so we would have had enough time for an embryo impregnation.

No Weapons on the EEV?:
Why wasn't there any weapons on the EEV? I mean it's a military vessel so you'd assume there would be at least a knife, pistol or Pulse Rifle as part of a survival kit. It was Sigourney Weaver, who slowed things down a little during pre-production as she didn't want any guns in Alien 3. So if there were no weapons on the prison planet that meant the EEV wouldn't feature any either. If there were weapons on board the EEV, then the prisoners would have had access to them, if they had looked or even found them, with a weapon, they could have or would have used it on the Alien, or worse.

This isn't a carefully thought out or well-written article I know, but it was just to give you a general idea of the opening sequence plot holes, confusion and technicalities. I still love Alien 3 regardless!

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16 Comments

Facehuggers

MemberNeomorphAug-06-2016 12:25 PM

Alien 3 is a masterpiece. All hands down. 

For the continuity errors, I've made many articles attempting to explain them. Here are a few of my links:

ALIEN3: Hypersleep Walking?

ALIEN: Bringer of Dreams?

ALIEN: Its All a Dream?

Anyway, thank you for the great compilation article! Upvoted!

 

Kongzilla

MemberChestbursterAug-06-2016 2:22 PM

xeno_alpha_07, this topic = my thougts. And I want also add, that in the Alien3 Special Cut (with the bull) a "queen" facehugger was found close to the bull.

Consequently: a species of Alien (classic, runner) doesn't depend on the host (a human or animal). They depend on the facehugger (remember trilobite-facehugger in Prometheus). The "queen" facehugger is other species of xeno. The "queen" facehugger is not make an Alien Queen. The "queen" facehugger make a runner! Maybe this look strange, but this logic based on the movie scenes.

 

P.S. And I suppose, that if the "queen" facehugger attack a human, we still get the runner.

S.M

MemberXenomorphAug-06-2016 3:14 PM

"Alien 3 is a masterpiece. All hands down. "

I hear this a lot. What qualifies it as a masterpiece?

brego

MemberOvomorphAug-06-2016 4:42 PM

I love A3, I look forward (hopefully) to a remastered version tidying up some of the subtle digital imagery problems some day. Having said that I have no problem with it all being a Cryo Nightmare had by Ripley, Hicks and or Newt. Who knows, it could be shared dreams watched over by a team of David's who have intercepted the Sulaco after twenty years of off course travel where the Cryo/Stasis system has been interrupted causing bodily aging whilst sleeping. In my mind it strengthens the true horror of the story arch. The plot holes are then absorbed as memories of tortured souls who are about to play their parts in another Alien story.

Facehuggers

MemberNeomorphAug-06-2016 7:59 PM

@S.M

To me it definitely qualifies as a masterpiece because:

1) It breaks conventional, cliche storytelling by brutally killing off major characters. Thus heightening the risk factor and suspense of the environment.

2) It brings a very unique and atmospheric tone to the film with very beautiful hues (like in Lars Von Trier's Element of Crime.)

3) The film goes off in a much different direction than previous films in the franchise, which gives a very unique momentum to the plot line.

4) The film has good character development and archetypal persons. You can relate and know exactly what kind of people Dr. Clemmens, the Prisoners, and Ripley are; its very emotionally realistic.

5) The film contains many intricate view points. Such as Weyland's ambitions, the prisoner's instinctualness, and Ripley's sacrifices.

6) Elliot Goldenthal's score is incredibly moving and gives a new, radical emotion to science fiction.

7) The melancholy Bishop and Ripley display is like no other film I've seen. Such loss and depth, its beautiful.

These are a few elements that make ALIEN3 is a masterpiece. But as an amateur filmmaker, I'm sure I see films in a slightly different aspect than most moviegoers.

S.M

MemberXenomorphAug-07-2016 12:57 AM

You make some good points about music, production design and cinematography - but the very fact articles like this even exist, to me, automatically disqualify Alien3 from being a masterpiece by any definition.

The killing of Hicks & Newt is certainly bold, but the film never earns their deaths.

Ripley spends the first half of the film behind the audience as guys we can't tell apart, and wouldn't care about if we could, are duly bumped off by the Alien.

Then more guys we can't tell apart and don't care about (apart from one we do) get bumped off in the second half.

The bait and chase is genuinely tense despite the tunnels existing solely for no other purpose than bald guys to run down swearing and being chased by a visual effect worse than anything in Return of the Jedi, which Fincher himself worked on nearly ten years earlier.

The climax just saves it from being a complete mess.

And the Assembly unfortunately doesn't address any of the problems and creates all new ones.

But I love it anyway.

Gee W

MemberFacehuggerAug-07-2016 1:51 AM

I'm with you, Alien 3 is great! I wouldn't call it a masterpiece since there are flaws, but for me personally, films don't have to be masterpieces to absolutely love them.

No straight answers for the issues you raised, but I don't have a problem with the opening confusion. You're not supposed to know who is carrying the alien at this point, but you have to suspect both could be the host. I like that little mystery. Of course, after seeing it for the first time you know that Ripley is the one and it becomes more frustrating, but for me it works.

I always assumed the queen was carrying some eggs with her after she left the nest and dropped them in different places to assure a future for her hive. Two of them hatched on the Sulaco.

I have to admit I never noticed the different paint job on the Sulaco, and for some reason never noticed the different looking cryo tubes, even though that's a pretty noticeable difference. I can live with small differenced like that though.

The most important thing is Ripley's story. She has to struggle to hold on to her humanity in very adverse conditions, and ultimately has to sacrifice herself to retain her humanity.

Xenotaris

MemberPraetorianAug-07-2016 1:51 AM

@SM

I partially agree. I liked Alien 3 but did not love it.

@Leto

Ridley Scott from the Alien Quadrilogy's commentary canonized the aliens take on the traits of their host. So Royal Facehugger would always have the first embryo a queen and the second embryo would be if host is human a typical drone/warrior. The Runner is the product of a four-legged animal while the Drone/warrior is derive from a two legged animal.

In my opinion I think the Runner should of been a dog in both version due to lacking a greater size than the bull since Xenomorphs typically are larger than their hosts but also the runner lacked the bulls traits.

xeno_alpha_07

MemberFacehuggerAug-07-2016 5:16 AM

S.M does have a point when he said articles like this do show Alien 3 by definition isn't a masterpiece.  However, without going into music, production design and cinematography, for me it's also the actors, story (yes story!), the look and feel of the film and the fact that it's not just a human apocalyptic tale but one of redemption too.  There's also that something I can't quite put my finger on and I'm not very good at explaining things these days with my brain shutting off all the time.

MonsterZero

MemberXenomorphAug-07-2016 5:51 AM

Yes, it's a mess! And as much as I love Alien3...I'm now happy Blomkamp is going to split the timeline.

Once Alien5 is out(and hopefully split coherently) I'll watch Alien3 with a different mindset....I'll think the A3 timeline is different than the Aliens 1986 movie. I'll think the movie Aliens(2016) is also different and sets up the beginning of Fincher's Alien3 universe.

Before retcon:

Aliens to Alien3, makes no sense.

After retcon

Cameron's Aliens to Blomkamp's Alien3(5) will.(hopefully lol)

Aliens(2016 yet to be written) to Alien3(1992) will work.

 

S.M

MemberXenomorphAug-07-2016 10:50 PM

This was my own take on the title sequence as part of something I wrote in 2002 and published on AbsoluteAvP.com.  I've not revised it, so it represents my thinking of 14 years ago and might not reflect my thinking as of now.  Apologies for the length, but well - it's long.

********************

Contact #3-1

 

Ripley, E.L – Lieutenant (Commercial); Jorden, R. (aka Newt) - Minor; Hicks, D. – Corporal United States Colonial Marines Corps. 2nd Battalion, 9th Regiment

Location: Cryogenic compartment, USS Sulaco – transit LV-426 – Gateway

Date: August 8 2179

Contact with: Facehugger

 

There’s an awful lot going on during the credit sequence of Alien3 and not all of it especially explicit.

 

The opening goes like this:

  • Titles
  • Slow zoom on sleeping Ripley and Newt in darkened hypersleep chamber.
  • Title
  • Exterior shot of Sulaco tracking right to left.
  • Title
  • Interior shot somewhere on Sulaco (according to a name plate) panning left to reveal an Alien egg attached to some sort of support strut. The egg is upside down and open.
  • Title
  • Four facehugger digitals unfolding into the bottom of frame.
  • Title
  • Facehugger climbing the side of Newt’s cryotube.
  • Title
  • The glass on Newt’s cryotube cracks.
  • Titles
  • Alien acid starts eating into floor. Sparks from sub-flooring.
  • Title
  • Wisps of smoke drift towards some sort of sensor (smoke detector?).
  • Titles
  • Screen with an ECG wave. Top right it says ‘NP-02311’. Bottom left is ‘BK-977076’. ‘Stasis interrupted’ flashes on the screen bottom right accompanied by an automated voice saying “Stasis interrupted. Fire in cryogenic compartment.” Following the first screen is a red flashing emergency light and a neuroscan of someone with the facehugger on them.
  • Title
  • The voice continues “Repeat. Fire in cryogenic compartment. All personnel report to emergency escape vehicle.” We see a closer neuroscan of the hugger on someone’s face, which turns to it’s left then back again.
  • Title
  • Blood spreading across a white piece of material, accompanied by a screeching noise and the voice saying “Launch of deep space lifeboat will commence in t-minus 20 seconds.”
  • Titles
  • Red flashing light; some sort of cylinders with fluid; red flashing light again; Ripley eyes closed head having a spasm; computer screen with graphic profile of someone’s head and brain flashing; accompanied by a warning klaxon.
  • Title
  • Some hexagonal piece of equipment of the walls explodes, followed by Ripley stirring in hypersleep – her crytotube now broken. Mixed with the explosion is the sound of breaking glass.
  • Title
  • A large plume of fire explodes across the roof. No explosion sound, but sound of fire.
  • Titles
  • Ripley’s cryotube drops out of frame, cryotube slides down another tube.
  • Title
  • Tube slides into another darkened chamber; Newt’s tube drops into frame, door slides closed behind it.
  • Titles
  • A large cog on the wall turns, as smoke drifts past.
  • Titles
  • Ripley stirring in hypersleep crossfades into EEV dropping out of the Sulaco, to right of frame then pan right to reveal Fiorina and EEV tumbling towards it. Superimposed title says: “Fiorina “Fury” 161, Outer-Veil Mineral Ore Refinery, Double Y Chromosome – Work Correctional Facility” followed by “Maximum security”

 

So what does it all mean?

 

In a nutshell, the facehugger tried to get into Newt’s cryotube, was wounded by the splintering glass, the acid from which caused the fire, which in turn caused the cryotubes to be loaded into the EEV and evacuated.

 

However, there’s a few other things going in this title sequence that bare further scrutiny. The main one being – where did the egg come from? There’s a few theories about this. Did the Queen rescue it from the hive before the fire got to it? We don’t see her carrying an egg throughout the remainder of Aliens, so where did she hide it? One possible explanation is in between the long spines on her back – we never see her from the rear so we can’t be sure.

 

Or did she lay it during the flight up to the Sulaco? Why the need for the egg sac seen on sub-level 4 if the Queen can just lay an egg without it? Aliens have already shown they are efficient creatures, and thus far they don’t have any visible way of perpetuating the species without a Queen, short of an adult spontaneously morphing into a Queen (also can’t be ruled out), so the Queen laying an ‘emergency egg’ is not without merit.

 

So she either laid it or rescued it. The egg seems to be the same size and looks pretty much the same as the ones we’ve seen previously. It may be bigger or smaller than normal, but without anything in the same shot to compare it against, this remains unproven and unlikely. Now how did it end up in the position we see it on the Sulaco? We know where the egg ISN’T. Because nothing sharing the frame with the egg matches what we’ve previously seen in the previous film, it isn’t in the cryogenics compartment, it isn’t in the mess, and it isn’t in the armoury adjacent to the hangar bay. Most likely possibilities are it’s in a section of the hangar bay that we don’t see in the previous film, or it’s in some part of the dropship we didn’t see in the previous film.

 

However both these theories have holes. If it’s in the hangar bay how did it get there? We see the Queen get out of the landing gear bay, and any shot she isn’t in until she’s dumped out the airlock, either Ripley, Newt or Bishop is watching her – and would’ve noticed her sticking an egg somewhere. If it’s in/ on the dropship, why is there ‘Sulaco’ written on part of the structure near the egg. The number 2 dropship is dubbed ‘Smart Ass’, and one would assume it’s unlikely that it would have ‘Sulaco’ written on it anywhere. Unless of course dropships aren’t interchangable and are assigned to specific mother ships. For instance, the APC had ‘Sulaco’ printed on it’s front, so it’s specifically assigned to that ship. Why not the dropship? This would tend to point at the dropship as the more likely location.

 

Some conspiracy theories blame Bishop, and say he was late picking up Ripley and Newt because he landed, snuck into the AP Station, stole an egg, and made it back out – all in fifteen minutes. Unfortunately this has even more holes. Bishop landed at dock 7 in the AP Station because it was the safest place to land in the disintegrating station. By landing down on ground level, he would be endangering Hicks – a violation of his core programming. The obvious counter for this is he was reprogrammed in a similar fashion to Ash. However, if human life meant nothing to him – and he was willing to endanger himself for the number one priority of obtaining an Alien egg, then why bother going back for Ripley? As soon as he had the egg he would’ve been out of there. Yet he did go back for Ripley, which means he hadn’t been reprogrammed, therefore Bishop did not put the egg on the Sulaco. To further back this up why didn’t a facehugger on a dropship attack Hicks, Ripley or Newt during the flight back, and what chance did Bishop have of putting an egg somewhere on the Sulaco when the Queen ripped him in half within a minute of disembarking? Or did Bishop get an egg from the Derelict? This is even more unlikely. It took nearly ten minutes to get airborne and fly the short distance to the AP Station. Bishop flying out to the Derelict, finding and obtaining an egg, then flying back to the AP Station in less than fifteen minutes is even more implausible than him getting one from the AP Station itself.

 

Another conspiracy theory revolves around Burke getting hold of an egg and getting Ferro and Spunkmeyer to fly it back to the Sulaco during the four hour gap between landing at Hadley’s Hope and the ambush on sub-level 3. Where this egg came from is unknown, as is why it wouldn’t open and attack either dropship pilot. And on top of all this there’s other things that make no sense like – why would Ferro and Spunkmeyer be taking orders from Burke? Maybe Gorman ordered them to? Unlikely, as the absence of Ferro and Spunkmeyer has the potential to endanger the squad – even in a supposedly secure area. Plus why would Burke need an egg when he had two live specimens already in stasis AND why would he try to impregnate Ripley and Newt if he already had an egg on the Sulaco?

 

So conspiracy theories are out based on available info.

 

The most logical location for the egg is it’s in the rear landing gear bay of the dropship, despite what we see at the beginning of the third film, which is inconclusive.

 

So the egg has hatched and the facehugger is trying to get to Newt. This goes against what we’ve previously seen where eggs and huggers responded to movement; passively waiting for a host. Yet this one has opened without movement from any hosts and actively seeks them out. If this is indeed an ‘emergency egg’ one drawback maybe it can’t support a hugger for extended periods, so the creature goes looking for hosts, rather than simply waiting. Only one egg opened on the Derelict, so it’s not known whether the other eggs/ huggers detected Dallas and Lambert, but left them so they could take Kane back.

 

The glass on Newt’s tube cracks, presumably cutting the hugger (off screen), the acid eats into some wiring and starts a fire. The smoke sets off alarms. The numbers on the screen with the ECG don’t tell us whose ECG it is, but from the “Stasis interrupted” warnings, this is most likely Newts. And it is also most likely that the neuroscan of the head and facehugger is also Newt. However, on closer inspection and comparison to the Kane and Jorden huggers, this one seems to be on an adult (in spite of some ghosting on the images which only further adds to the confusion). With Kane’s hugger the rearmost digitals clamp across the ears and the hugger covers up to the middle of the forehead. On a smaller host like Newt, it would cover the entire head. This hugger doesn’t, so it’s on either Hicks or Ripley (we’re assuming that the creature can discern between a human and a severely damaged synthetic). So is it their stasis that’s been interrupted? And why is the hugger on an adult, when Newt’s tube has been compromised?

 

The next shot is the most confusing. A red liquid (almost certainly blood) soaking across some white material, accompanied by screeching reminiscent of the noise a facehugger makes. Neither Ripley nor Newt was wearing white, and Bishop bleeds white fluid. Hicks on the other hand had white bandages on his acid scarring. Is the fire interrupting EVERYONE’s stasis, and is something to do with the fire and hypersleep causing Hicks’ wounds to hemorrhage?

 

Next up we have more signs of emergency, Ripley throwing her head back like she is convulsing, and a computer graphic of a skull with a flashing brain. It’s becoming obvious the fire is starting to distress the sleepers.

 

Then some piece of equipment on the wall explodes. No hints are given what this is, but as we hear the sound of breaking glass, it seems it’s in the cryogenics compartment and it has smashed part of Ripley’s hypersleep pod. Though it may also be some bolts that need to be blown prior to the launch of the EEV, it doesn’t seem safe that such a large explosion would be inside the ship, and there’s nothing else to really explain Ripley’s cryotube breaking.

 

Fire sweeps across the ceiling; things are getting out of hand, and the tubes are automatically loaded into the EEV. Newt’s slides into place next to Hicks, with one empty slot to Newt’s left for Ripley. Newt does NOT have a facehugger on her. We cannot see if Hicks does or not. A cog turns – in all probability a hatch on the EEV sealing. The EEV drops out of the Sulaco and tumbles towards Fiorina. A shot of Ripley sees her stirring in hypersleep, but she has no hugger attached to her.

 

If we make the reasonable assumption the time from the hugger breaking Newts tube, spilling acid, the fire starting and the EEV’s being evacuated occurs in realtime, then Hicks is the only viable host based on the above evidence. The Sulaco’s computer says that the lifeboats will be launched in 20 seconds, and this occurs at 2 minutes and 18 seconds into the film (ref. VCD). If we take out the title cards, just 18 seconds of footage on the Sulaco elapse, further supporting what we’re seeing is in fact occurring in real time – or very close to it. And could the hugger have been responsible for Hicks’ bleeding?

 

We must take into account though this hugger has already displayed signs of being slightly different, so a quick impregnation isn’t entirely out of the question, no matter how improbable it may sound.

 

And another take on this whole sequence is it could be from one or multiple characters perspectives and as these characters are all sleeping, the events can take on a disjointed and dreamlike quality.

admbongson

MemberOvomorphAug-08-2016 4:05 AM

There's a workaround for the time-period necessary for parasite injection...In nature it's almost always very quick. The ovipositor of the tarantula hawk comes to mind, but in Alien the facehugger is keeping Kane alive as it has destroyed the integrity of Kane's suit by burning its way through his faceplate...Kane can't survive breathing a "primordial" atmosphere, so Ash (probably not wrongly) suggests the facehugger is feeding him oxygen. It had to feed him something, as he would have died otherwise. The alien facehugger could have waited (for whatever reason) to plant its payload in Ash until they were both in environments suited to Ash's needs. And once there WERE in the medbay, the coast was clear/conditions were met for the parasite to be implanted, so it was, then pow-boom you have an 8 foot tall alien running around pretty quickly. Makes sense.

Jor-El

MemberOvomorphAug-08-2016 8:09 PM

Years later after seeing this film and hating it with a passion, I gave it a second chance and watched the Direcors cut.

I have to say I enjoyed it. Yes it is still flawed but for some reason it has grown on me. Weird huh?

BigDave

MemberDeaconAug-09-2016 6:17 AM

Aside from flaws (some big) and continuity atheistic i found Alien 3 to be a decent movie, its not bad just suffered a mess with regards to cutting and editing and a few other flaws....

Pretty much like Prometheus did... but i find Prometheus flaws to be much less of a problem and a better movie...

S.M

MemberXenomorphAug-14-2016 8:08 PM

Don't beat around the bush there.

brego

MemberOvomorphAug-23-2016 8:24 PM

Wow... You won't make many friends here with that mouth easywolf.....

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