ALIENS (1986) BREAKDOWN: Every Detail You Missed! | The Deep Dive

ALIENS, the sequel to 1979's Alien, is widely considered one of the greatest films and movie sequels of all time. But what about this story makes its script and story structure so widely praised? Erik Voss dives deep into the hidden secrets of Aliens to reveal details and connections only now discovered. What is it about Ripley's final battle with the Xenomorph Queen that hits so hard with viewers? What directing choices did James Cameron make that resulted in this movie being so thrilling?

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Aliens Opening Scene
04:33 - Ripley PTSD Nightmare
05:30 - Ripley Daughter Deleted Scene
06:43 - Nostromo Crew Easter Eggs
08:51 - Hadley's Hope
10:46 - Weyland-Yutani Plan
12:46 - Sulaco Ship Design
13:40 - Why Aliens Is The Perfect Sequel
15:57 - Aliens Marines
19:12 - Bishop
20:30 - Xenomorph Explained
21:25 - Foreshadowing Details
24:32 - James Cameron Best Shot
24:53 - Hunting the Xenomorph
26:30 - Newt
29:12 - Xenomorph Hive
32:10 - Marine Massacre
36:43 - Game over man!
37:11 - They mostly come at night
38:40 - Alien Queen Explained
40:08 - Sentry Guns
43:20 - Facehuggers
45:48 - Aliens attack
48:04 - Burke Deleted Scene
48:48 - Queen Nest
52:56 - Ripley vs Queen

Welcome to The Deep Dive, a new channel in the New Rockstars Digital Network. Hosted by Erik Voss, The Deep Dive is the destination for more pointed media investigations. From full seasons of Marvel streaming shows to cult classic films, Erik will dig to the roots of the hidden agendas beneath every title.

VIDEO CREDITS:

Written and Produced by Erik Voss
Lead Editor: Devin Cleary
Edited by Devin Cleary, Aaron Carrion, and Tanner DiGirolamo
Post Production Assistance by Joshua Stephen Hurd and Riley Auskelis
Executive Producer: Erik Voss

[DeepDiveNR]

What is your favorite detail from James Cameron's ALIENS?

[Gunbudder]

my friend is a vietnam vet and he told me that Hicks falling asleep on the drop ship was the most realistic thing he had seen in any military movie ever (at that time). he told me Marines would sleep ANYWHERE. sometimes they would sleep while literally standing up or even walking! he told me its something all Marines are essentially forced to learn during training and its a skill that is extremely useful in combat or any kind of deployment

[murderofcrows]

Honestly “Aliens” is a really good name for this sequel because we saw what just 1 alien could do so the idea that that there’s more than one is terrifying

[Jaqenhgar]

Can't believe you didn't mention the reaction of Ferro in the cockpit when the alien shows up. She doesn't scream or panic, she goes right for her weapon like a bad ass marine pilot would

[brolysaiyan]

A couple of years ago I rewatched Aliens with some really high quality headphones and realized that there are a lot of times when you can faintly hear freaky xeno noises and breathing while everyone is doing random shit. It makes you feel like you're never more than grabbing distance away from having a hole in your head.

[jamesszymanski]

I love when Bishop says "watch your fingers ". It's such a lovely detail and reinforces the characters "empathy ".

[fen]

I always took Ripley lighting up the hive as just her being a woman of her 'word'. She showed the queen what she would do if she threatened her. And then the queen threatened her with the egg opening. And Ripley was like "game on".

[zenmaster]

Another cool bit of foreshadowing I just realized while watching this video: When Ripley confronts Burke in the colony she says she's going to make sure they nail him right to the wall for his betrayals, and in the end he is in fact nailed (more like glued, but same idea) to the wall of the hive. She originally meant punishment by humans, but his ultimate fate at the hands of the Aliens is even more fitting.

[jakemeyer]

The "laptop" Hicks used to control the sentry guns and had those ammo readouts was a real device and pretty cutting edge for the time. It was a GRiD Compass, and because of it being a bit of a pop-culture icon since Aliens, a lot of folks have paid homage to it in custom cyberdeck designs. If you're into retro computing, it's a pretty bangin' look, I must admit.

[plebausaurusrex]

The scene where Hicks looks into the ceiling and see's the Xenomorphs is possibly one of the scariest scenes every brought to screen. I think its really slept on when discussing horror. It scared me as a kid and still scares me as an adult, every time I see it.

[nicholashylton]

It's no secret that James Cameron is hard to work with. But no one doubts he puts his heart and soul into every film he makes. Every dime of its budget is on screen.

[GrimReaper]

Very true. I’m a former airborne rigger. One of the first things we learned in airborne school was to be able to sleep just about anywhere and in any position. When we loaded into the plane to jump once the plane ltook off we were all out until they called out the ten minutes call to wake us up and get ready for the jump. That scene even to this day makes me smile and remember what those days were like.

[avalonsfate]

The Ripley-loader/alien queen one on one battle still stands up as one of the best action climactic scenes in modern film.

[michaelesposito]

“They mostly come out at night… mostly” would have been a great tagline for this film.

[Neverfate]

The reason that Burke hive scene is cut even in the Special Edition is Cameron realized too little time has passed since Burke's abduction and Ripley getting into the hive. He still would have had the facehugger on his face by the time Ripley gets to him due to how long the lifecycle of the creature takes.

[nqktkvl]

Erik, I have a different take on when Ripley and Next stumble into the egg nest. At first, two drones approach to attack Ripley, but the Queen waves them off. I feel the Queen did this because she wanted to protect her eggs, i.e. didn't want a fight in the Egg chamber which could potentially damage any eggs. I do not think there was a :treaty" or want for peace. You later stated that the nature of the alien was to conquer, not for peace. Instead, she had a better plan. She knew that Ripley and Next's presence would automatically trigger eggs/facehuggers to come alive, thus negating the necessarity of an all-out battle. Ripley tilting her head when the first egg opened, as if to say "Really, b*tch? You expected for me to fall for the banana in the tailpipe?" LOL It's after she sees the only way out is to shoot her way out.

[rsmac]

I'm a retired US Marine Corps officer, and when people ask what movie I think best depicts Marines...I say Aliens. Not because of the tactics or technical details - but because of the humor (often dark), and power dynamics. Everything from the sophomoric junior officer who needs to learn to listen to his staff NCOs, to the general feeling of being abandoned or disposable, all the way to junior NCOs (good ol' Cpl Hicks) having to make decisions way above his pay grade. It's the best depiction of how Marines try to be culturally, and the harsh reality you are confronted with once you leave the training pipeline and enter "the fleet."

[jeffhidalgo]

Who else feels like rewatching these awesome movies after seeing the deep dives? Great job by the whole New Rockstars staff!

[estevegomezpena]

I recently rewatched it (to get ready for the deep dive, wink wink), and the DVD had an interview with Cameron that revealed something I found very interesting: it seems that the studio wasn't too sure about the concept of "multiple aliens" for an economic standpoint, because it meant constructing many xenomorph costumes, so James Cameron promised them that he would make the movie using only six xenomorph suits. And I was checking for every shot with xenomorphs in this video: IT'S TRUE! There is no shot in this movie where more than six aliens appear.
So, even though it is an action movie, I still don't consider that Aliens changed genres because it still uses the most important rule in horror: don't show the monster.

[foxlove-njri]

Whenever my brother and I use the word mostly in a conversation we always make it into a reference to Newts line by adding a second mostly in an ominous tone. Nearly 30 years and it still amuses me.