Is Alien a horror film? That is the question Twitter was debating as the Ridley Scott-directed film started trending on the social media platform.The question was first posed on Twitter by Elle Hunt, a freelance journalist who writes primarily for The Guardian. She created a Twitter poll, writing, "Settle an argument: is Alien a horror film? Give reasons why pls." At the time of writing, over 90% of the 100,000 and counting voters believed that Alien should be considered a horror movie. After one user argued that the structure of Alien is similar to the classic slasher horror film Halloween with the only major difference being the setting of space, Hunt responded, "My argument: horror cannot be set in space."
Hunt’s claim sent Twitter into a frenzy, with many users weighing in on the debate. "Alien" and the film's protagonist "Ripley" both became trending topics on the platform following Hunt's post. "Alien literally CHANGED the horror genre and provided probably the most iconic female protagonist in Ellen Ripley," Twitter user @HailMother argued. "Put some respect on them." Famous filmmaker Kevin Smith tweeted, "ALIEN is a horror film. ALIENS is an action movie. ALIEN 3 is an art film. ALIEN RESURRECTION is the @YogaHosers of their franchise," poking fun at his 2016 film. The official Letterboxd Twitter account jokingly asked, "Is Alien a cat movie?" along with a gif of Ripley holding her pet cat Jonesy.
However, many users jumped to Hunt's defense. Expanding on her argument, Twitter user Terence Bartlett argued, "Horror needs to be grounded in an earthly setting, to give you a sense that it could happen to you. Using Sci Fi as a vehicle for the story, it loses that connection. It's just a scary futuristic film." Several users thought that the film was better categorized as a science fiction or thriller film.
No matter the genre, the classic film returned to the public’s consciousness recently when one of the film's stars, Yaphet Kotto, passed away in March 2021 at the age of 81. Kotto played Parker, one of Nostromo's crew members, in Alien and reprised his role for the 2014 video game Alien Resurrection. In addition, Kotto appeared in The Running Man, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare and the James Bond film Live and Let Die. His Alien co-star Sigourney Weaver eulogized him in a statement, which said that working with him was "a nonstop master class."
Source: Twitter