Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
#1
Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I recently watched Cowboys & Aliens and the aliens were terrible looking. Big hulking beasts, yet at the same time could command a spaceship... won't get into the movie but the design was uninspired and lame. As were the aliens in Cloverfield and Super 8. District 9 was a little better but still not that great.
What's the deal?
What's the deal?
#2
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
Mmm, the whole "insectoid thing with body parts that open up on each other with random teeth inside" is pretty overdone, isn't it? Alien/predator great movies but a lot to answer for!
#4
DVD Talk Hero
#5
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I much prefered the look of the aliens in Cowboys and Aliens.
#7
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I believe it's the same concept artist that works on the Abrams projects (Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8) so that would account for the similarities there. Not sure who worked on Cowboys v Aliens. Personally I like the style, to me it's interesting and worked for those projects. But going forward, I think something different would be better, rather than repeating the same design too much.
#10
Banned by request
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I definitely blame whoever Abrams is using. Cloverfield, Super 8, and Star Trek all had these terrible, ill-formed aliens where you couldn't make out what part of it you were meant to be looking at.
#12
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
The best alien design...
...and the cheapest, too!
...and the cheapest, too!
Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 12-30-11 at 08:20 PM.
#13
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Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I dug Cloverfield's design as seen in the film, once you pulled it away and looked at the model it didn't look so great. But in those far away shots with rockets and tanks it looked pretty epic. As much as I like the design of Predators and Aliens, they can be shitty if filmed poorly (like in the Aliens vs. Predator movies). Design is only one part of the puzzle.
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#16
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Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
This is what I was going to say. I read an interview with that guy once where he talked about how he tries to make all of his creatures "unique", and all I could think was "are you fucking kidding me?". Super 8 needed an alien design that would blow everyone out of the water. Instead, we got the smaller cousin of Cloverfield.
#20
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Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
Oh, wait...you're talking movie aliens. Here you go:
For every really cool alien, there's things like this. Some have more imagination than others, I guess.
For every really cool alien, there's things like this. Some have more imagination than others, I guess.
#21
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
For the low budget I think it looks pretty well. It's when these movies spend upwards of $150 million I expect to be blown away.
For the record, my favorites are the Xenomorph in Alien and E.T. The original Star Wars aliens are also some of my favorites.
For the record, my favorites are the Xenomorph in Alien and E.T. The original Star Wars aliens are also some of my favorites.
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
I agree with the statement regarding Stan Winston being dead. Also, H.R. Giger is not consulted anywhere near the amount he should be for creature design.
#24
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Why do alien creature designs suck so much lately?
See I would argue that Giger is consulted - or rather, ripped off -- too much! While his original designs were fantastic, too many movies these days take the template used in Alien and just offer half-assed copies of it.
#25
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