Cinematic portrayals of extraterrestrial arrivals are nothing new, but it does seem that recently there’s been a hot streak of interest in making new pics that bring outer space organisms down to Terra Firma. This fresh impetus can probably be put down to the success of District 9. Neill Blomkamp’s movie showed that interesting things could be done with the alien invasion narrative without astronomical budgets or star names. Moviemakers sought to spice up the genre by respectively attacking Los Angeles in Skyline (aliens vs. plastic Hollywood party people) and Battle: Los Angeles (aliens vs. US Marines). Extraterrestrial arrival in the Mexican wilderness formed the contextual backdrop to Gareth Edwards’ sublime journey film, Monsters, and Paul performed similar genre blending, riffing on tropes to create an alien encounter crossed with an American road trip taken by a pair of British sci-fi nerds. Conceptually, it’s a more interesting proposition than the standard ‘UFOs come down and blast major landmarks before Earth fights back’ plot. Later on this summer we’ll see the extraterrestrial invasion smashed into the Western genre with Jon Favreau’s barmy but brillliant-sounding Cowboy & Aliens (Yes! Aliens vs. cowboys!). Currently in cinemas, though, and even more inspired an idea is Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block, which sets the cosmic arrival on a London estate and pits space invaders against young hoodies (Yes! Aliens vs. chavs!) While wondering what new takes on the tradition could come in the future, I’m also scanning the marketplace and seeing a lot of franchises looking to find impetus in origins stories. Maybe, instead of trudging through the foundations of a mythos, throwing a few aliens on screen and channelling the tradition of old monster movies might be more lucrative for studios and more enjoyable for audiences. I can see plenty of opportunities for awesome ‘clash of the titans’ showdown spectacles that keep the space invader streak hot, while revitalising legends that have run their course or need a fresh reboot. Aliens vs. Terminator The perfect project to mark Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to ‘acting’, Arnie is back as the iconic cyborg, simultaneously touching on his Predator work as he goes to grapple with ugly offworld mothers. The machines versus malevolent shapeshifting polyps from another galaxy: who will emerge as victor and earn the right to obliterate the human race and travel back in time to terrorise Linda Hamilton? Aliens vs. Godzilla Japan’s Gojira has fought extraterrestrial monsters many a time, but Hollywood Godzilla has never had that opportunity. With a reboot in the works and Gareth Edwards attached as director, there’s fresh promise for an innovative Americanised take that captures the true kaiju spirit. A remake of Godzilla Vs. Hedora (a.k.a. the Smog Monster from beyond the stratosphere), set in San Francisco, could be a series starter truly worthy of the King of Monsters. Aliens vs. 007 Aliens vs. Spartans The follow-up to 300 (titled ‘300 2’, ‘300 the 2nd’ or ‘300 Again’, whichever is voted least confusing) sees ancient Greece visited by erudite extraterrestrials with a keen interest in military history. This enthusiasm manifests itself in role-playing games and very thorough battle re-enactments, and the cultural cosmic tourists thus set about reanimating the deceased King Leonidas and his Spartan heroes. It’s the Battle of Thermopylae revisited, except this time the Persians are from another planet. Movies about weddings or, at least, the overblown build up to weddings are very popular. To draw in the demographic who dig chick flick confetti comedies (Mamma Mia!, Wedding Crashers, The Wedding Singer, Made Of Honour, the list goes on) the alien invasion needs to go on a hen weekend and slither down the aisle. By marrying sci-fi with the shenanigans of The Hangover 2 and Bridesmaids and pitting hostile extraterrestrials against a manor house full of drunk wedding reception guests, you have a guaranteed box office hit. Aliens vs. Taxi Driver Aliens vs. Werner Herzog It’s a cruel, indifferent Universe and it’s flinging hostile creatures at planet Earth. Luckily, everyone’s favourite German auteur is on hand with a camera to chronicle the alien invasion and actively attack it with his dry wit and eye for bringing absurd conflicts with nature to screen. The result is Aguirre, The Wrath Of God with conquistador entities from Proxima Centauri trying to claim a chaotic planet while enduring the taunts of Herzog. Klaus Kinski couldn’t kill him. The aliens haven’t got a chance. James’ previous column can be found here. You can reach James on his Twitter feed here, see his film cartoons here and more sketches here.
