The Alien movies are responsible for some of the most famous, or perhaps infamous, frightening moments ever put on film. From the iconic "chest burster" scene to the viewer's first glimpse at a fully grown Xenomorph, the films are filled with scares that have been chilling and thrilling viewers for decades. When creating the FX series Alien: Earth, Noah Hawley paid tribute to Ridley Scott's originals by featuring slowly building horror, teasing glimpses of monsters that promise many scares ahead, and a tense search-and-rescue sequence on a near-exact copy of the original USCSS Nostromo . Alien: Earth may take place on-planet rather than in the depths of space, but it still has plenty of frights in store.
The Best War Games spoke with Hawley, who served as the series creator/executive producer and wrote and directed several episodes, along with the cast of Alien: Earth, about how the series honors the Alien films' horror roots. Hawley highlighted how the series begins with a mundane-seeming introduction of the cast before ramping up the frights; meanwhile, cast members including Alex Lawther (Hermit) and Babou Ceesay (Morrow) reminisced about frightening moments on set.
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Alien: Earth Makes Use Of Alien's Slow-Building Horror Strategy
"One of the fascinating things about Ridley's movie is that it doesn't feel like a horror movie for the first 30 minutes," said Hawley. He compared how some movies, such as The Shining, establish their identity as a horror film from their opening shots, to how Alien lulls the audience into a sense of complacency by feeling like "this mundane workplace drama about these grumpy characters who aren't being paid enough." Viewers are introduced to the cast and their daily lives aboard the Nostromo before they get so much as a single glimpse at the titular creatures.
Hawley made use of the same slow-build strategy in Alien: Earth, which also begins with a relatively ordinary scene of characters aboard a spaceship chatting and joking around, although viewers don't have to wait quite as long to see a Xenomorph alien. He explained why the opening of Alien: Earth mirrors Ridley Scott's original:
"Into that mundanity comes this slow-building sense of dread and horror. So there's a reason that we start with a very similar feeling and homage to the opening of that movie, which is to show the audience that we understand what Alien is. We understand the authenticity that's required for you to go "We're in good hands."
Alien: Earth's Cast Fully Embraced The Horror
Alex Lawther, who plays the military medic Hermit, is introduced as exploring the wreckage of a crashed Weyland-Yutani corporation ship alongside his squad. Lawther described the scene as a frightening one, not just to watch but also to film, as the effects and set design brought tension and realism to the discovery that something definitely not human was aboard that ship:
"The explosions, and the other people dressed up with wounds on them, the lights exploding and the flames coming up. There was a real thickness to the air that we were shooting in. It's always handy, I think, as an actor, because there is only so much collective imagination can do."
Babou Ceesay, who plays the Weyland-Yutani security officer Morrow, had the difficult task of portraying a character who stayed calm and unaffected when faced with a rampaging Xenomorph. Ceesay's performance definitely brought to mind Ripley's final stand in the original Alien film. Describing Morrow's role as someone who persists in the face of horror, Ceesay said, "Morrow has a much bigger kind of purpose and responsibility driving him. So he knows that the moment he panics, he's done."
Alien: Earth is a science fiction-heavy series focused on technological enhancements, cyborgs like Morrow, and human-robot hybrids like Wendy (Sydney Chandler), but it remembers that Alien is a horror franchise at heart, and provides plenty of creeping terror and a few jump scares to evoke fear in audiences once again.
Alien: Earth
- Release Date
- August 12, 2025
- Network
- FX, Hulu
- Directors
- Dana Gonzales, Ugla Hauksdóttir, Noah Hawley
Cast
-
Sydney ChandlerWendy -
Alex LawtherHermit
WHERE TO WATCH
Alien: Earth follows a young woman and a group of tactical soldiers who confront humanity’s greatest threat after a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth. Released in 2025, the film explores their shocking discovery and the ensuing struggle for survival.
