Editorials
Imagining Aliens through the Lenses of Horror and Reality
Aliens have been the subject of millions of imaginations over the years. Lately, the topic has begun to become a reality as the United States Pentagon released information on a lengthy UFO/UAP investigation, and NASA has recently opted to look into UFOs.
While aerial objects of unknown origin don’t necessarily mean extraterrestrials, a small poll on Twitter found that 43.5% of voters believe aliens to be the leading cause behind UFO sightings. Similarly, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2021 found that 51% of voters believed that “UFOs reported by people in the military” are more than likely the result of non-human, intelligent beings.
While it’s unclear whether this is the case, what would it mean for humanity if it was? The answer to this question has been traversed through some of the greatest minds in horror, such as Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Stephen King, M. Night Shyamalan, Ridley Scott, and more.
While, thankfully, none of their imaginings have yet come to fruition, through the lens of their creations, we can imagine what we’d be up against in the face of an alien threat.
Everything from these masters of horror’s depictions of the arrival, appearance, communication, goals, and weaknesses of aliens is examined and compared to how it all stacks up against what experts, eyewitnesses, and logic tells us.
How did they get here?
When the idea of aliens visiting Earth is mentioned, the thought of UFOs is not far behind.
Whether we picture the flying saucers popularized in films of the 1950s, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, a large mothership such as the one from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or something else altogether, the thought of spacecraft and alien invaders go hand in hand.
However, other horror films have strayed from this norm, delivering alien life through crashed meteorites or meteor showers, such as in Creepshow, Invaders from Mars, Color Out of Space, and The Seed.
No matter the method, aliens descending from the skies above is the most common depiction.
What UFO reports say:
The descriptions of different unidentified aerial phenomena have varied greatly over generations. World War II pilots saw different colored orbs of light that moved at impossible speeds and angles, so much so that they nicknamed them Foo Fighters.
Metallic saucers/spheres, pyramid-shaped objects, and irregularly shaped aircraft are all UFOs depicted in recently disseminated UFO footage captured by various forces of the United States military. While the sizes, shapes, and lights vary greatly, one overlying factor is the speed at which they travel and their impossible maneuvers. It’s worth mentioning that this, of course, does not make these objects alien in origin. A UFO is simply that, an unidentified object.
What do aliens look like?
To contend with the varied portrayals of intelligent alien life in horror, this list is broken down into three sections with subsections where necessary. This is by no means a complete list for as varied as life is on Earth; it is triply so in the imaginations of what the universe (or multiverse) could hold.
Creatures
Whether it’s the “run around on all fours” sort presented by Invaders from Mars (1986) and Cloverfield, or the slug-like variety depicted in Dreamcatcher and Slither, there have been a host of alien creatures in scary movies. Slugs are not the only slimeballs of alien depictions as The Blob and the true form of the creature from The Invasion of the Body Snatchers will attest.
But of course, the most notorious alien creature of them all, the Xenomorph from Alien, proves that bipedal monsters make for terrifying adversaries. While these aliens walk on two legs as humans do, they have multiple distinguishing features that make them decidedly different from humanity. The film A Quiet Place also displayed this sort of extraterrestrial as it has no eyes, advanced auditory systems, and long arms and legs that are unsettlingly disproportionate to its body.
Essence
While not as widely used as some of the other depictions on this list, an alien essence is a horrifying concept. Shudder Original Color Our of Space executes this idea in a way that bends reality. The Tommyknockers alsosaw an alien essence, though this one possesses everyone in its proximity.
Humanoid
These aliens look like humans but not quite. Fire in the Sky, Prometheus, and Predator are all examples of this. However, they are not the only representation of humanoid lifeforms.
The Greys
The grey aliens, depicted with large heads, black eyes, and grey skin, are the most prominent of all alien depictions. There’s a good reason for that, which will be explained momentarily. If you cannot picture one, look no further than the films Dark Skies, Dreamcatcher, Signs, or V/H/S/2. Or, as The Fourth Kind would chillingly remind us, picture the face of a white owl.
Clowns
That’s right, “Close Encounters of the Clown Kind” is a real thing. Well, not exactly, but Killer Klowns from Outerspace is, and although it’s a horror-comedy, viewers cannot deny the film’s creepiness. Moreover, the most recognizable horror clown of all time is oft forgotten that he is also a shapeshifting alien. Lest we forget, Pennywise was in Derry, Maine, because he crash-landed there.
Us
Whether it’s by parasitic infection, shapeshifting abilities, or impressive disguises, the scariest presentation of aliens comes in the form of them already existing among us. Many movies have executed this idea in various ways. Still, the most memorable examples of this idea occurred in the films: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, Species, and lest we forget those with “formaldehyde face” once you’ve got the glasses on, They Live.
What alleged UFO abductees say
Horror films frequently use the “grey” variety of alien life from the testimony of famous UFO abductees Betty and Barney Hill in 1961. Their widely publicized claims about being abducted by creatures with grey skin and large eyes made a large impact on what society pictures when they imagine an alien.
How do aliens communicate?
Close Encounters of the Third Kind saw aliens communicate with humans through music tones and Signs saw the use of crop circles.
Other media such as Dreamcatcher, American Horror Story: Asylum, and American Horror Story: Death Valleyutilizes a “human ambassador” to serve as a bridge of communication, a human whose aid is typically acquired through telepathy and other forms of mental jiu-jitsu.
On the topic of telepathic connection, horror sees many extraterrestrials that communicate with each other through a hive mind, such as in The Faculty or Slither.
Of all forms of communication featured, though, the most chilling is the lack of it. There was no discussion possible with the aliens presented in Alien, Predator, Signs, or A Quiet Place. Those aliens aren’t interested in communicating with us.
What the experts say:
Since intelligent alien life would likely have very little in common with us Earthlings (would they even have mouths?), there would be a significant communication barrier between them and us. Scientists believe that math is the universal language, and that would be our best chance of sharing ideas.
However, historically we have used imagery to try to convey different ideas to intelligent life, should it exist. One recent example is the proposal NASA published, detailing a plan to send drawings of naked humans to space. Another example is the Voyager Golden Record that was sent to space in 1977, containing images and sounds of Earth.
What do aliens want from us?
Potential Spoilers
The depicted goals of an invading alien race are numerous. Some seek to inhabit the Earth (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), and others strive to make our planet more like their own (Color Out of Space). Then, there was Predator, who only did it for the thrill of the kill. Meanwhile, the aliens in Dark Skies want to come into your house and stack your dishes and canned goods up at impossible angles to mess with you.
Then, others are portrayed as just stopping by to steal people away. In the words of The Fourth Kind: “An encounter in the first kind, that’s when you see a UFO. The second kind is when you see evidence of it: crop circles, radiation. The third kind is when you make contact. But the fourth kind, there’s nothing more frightening than the fourth. You see, that one is when they abduct you.”
Some films look at the extraterrestrial motivation for abduction from the perspective of why humanity would do it: experimentation. While these films can make for the most horrific of alien encounters (here’s looking at you, Fire in the Sky), they are, unfortunately, the truest to life.
Not because alien experimentation is necessarily happening, but because that’s what humans do. We tag sharks, grow ears on mice, and test products on animals in ways akin to torture, all for our benefit. Should we expect aliens to be any different?
Whether it’s world domination, human enslavement, experimentation, destruction, or abduction, many horror films tirelessly try to give reasoning behind what is happening. Though if aliens ever did choose to invade, we may not survive long enough to know the reason why.
What are the aliens’ weaknesses?
Spoiler Alert
One factor that has allowed humans in horror movies to win against an invading alien race is discovering a particular weakness. Signs and A Quiet Place 2 both show the aliens’ aversion to water. A Quiet Place also demonstrated the aliens’ strength to be their weakness as loud sounds disable them. A homemade drug that served as a diuretic was the weapon of choice in The Faculty. Since most extraterrestrial imaginings tend to be mortal beings, the use of any number of commonplace weapons against them has also proven effective.
The reality of the matter is discussed by Dr. Steven Greer in Unacknowledged. He indicates that if intelligent aliens were able to visit Earth, that in itself would prove technological advances far beyond our own. Because of this, if aliens wished to harm us, any weakness an alien might have would be irrelevant because we’d still be no match for them.
One of my favorite pieces of UFO lore serves as a testimony to this idea. While I will not assert that aliens or UFOs piloted by aliens have ever been to Earth, the following story is true and paints a creepy picture of our defenses failing in the face of an aerial threat.
The Battle of Los Angeles
Two months after Pearl Harbor was attacked, on February 25, 1942, at around two a.m., a blackout was ordered in Los Angeles. Something was in the sky, and anti-aircraft weapons began firing hundreds of rounds of artillery at it. At least five people died in the ensuing chaos: three perished in motor vehicle collisions, and two died from heart attacks. Despite 1,440 rounds of ammunition fired, the object was reportedly not brought down. While the official cause of this event remains unknown, the running theory is believed to be a weather balloon combined with post-Pearl Harbor anxieties.
For now, in the absence of proof, intelligent alien life interacting with Earth does not exist outside of conjecture and the movies. However, if the films are any indicator, we may very well be better off alone.
For more coverage on space invaders, be sure to check out Shudder’s newly-added Alien Encounters Collection and Jordan Peele’s extraterrestrial horror film Nope, releasing theatrically on July 22nd.
If there are any classic alien-horror movies that you wish I’d included or any fun factoids worthy of a tinfoil hat that you’d like to divulge, feel free to share in the comments below!
People hate It: Chapter Two. Unlike many horror sequels or poorly reviewed releases that gain popularity in time, the film has seemingly gained more notoriety. Maybe it’s the occasionally goofy CGI, the heavy comedy, or just how overstuffed it is, but everyone is really down and out on it. Still, though, I will defend this movie like a member of the Losers Club defending their Ka-Tet (deep-cut King reference for you constant readers).
But why, though? Objectively, the movie can feel overstuffed. The CGI is a little goofy. Well, despite all this, I believe It: Chapter Two captures the pure essence of the book. It captures the heart, the terror, and metaphors about small town America excellently…even better than the first one.
It: Chapter Two Is the Ultimate Stephen King Movie
Listen…I am a simple man. If you have this much pure Stephen King energy in a movie, I am going to love it. Why King fans did not grasp onto this movie, I do not know, because it is probably the most “Stephen King” Stephen King movie ever.
We have the small, Maine town and characters from the book, yes, but also a fantastic cameo from the big man himself. Seriously, this movie is like Avengers: Endgame for constant readers (even though Castle Rock is technically more of a crossover). The movie has the heart, small-town summer feeling, and aesthetics for a King film to the max. Whether that is a positive or negative depends on the viewer, but constant readers can relish in how set the movie is on capturing King’s Americana.
It: Chapter Two Understands the Stephen King Novel
Yes, the movie is sillier than the first installment. It’s technically less proficient and cleaner than its predecessor. Still, this movie just generally captures both the message and energy of the book. Don’t get me wrong, It (2017) is excellent in that it feels like a haunted house walkthrough. There are lots of different entities Pennywise dresses up as to attack. It’s colorful, fun…but it takes a lot of liberties. This is fine, but It: Chapter 2 painstakingly portrays the deeper undercurrents and plot beats of the novel.
The Horror Beneath It: Chapter Two
It has always been a story about the darkness behind America’s suburban facade. Behind all of the killer clown and creature feature/cosmic fun, it is about how America’s past will always linger, and is always darker than any fictional entity. It: Chapter 2 does not shy away from its portrayal of bigotry, or its bigger messages about racism and America’s past. The first one has elements of it, but really, Chapter 2 feels like it peels back the kid’s-on-bikes stuff to get to the nitty-gritty of the story.
Additionally, the movie gets the casting down perfectly. Not saying It did not have some of the best child performances ever, but finding not only worthy adult counterparts, but book-accurate players would have to be an arduous task. Huge shout-out to the casting team for absolutely nailing this.
Bill Skarsgård Makes Pennywise Even Scarier
The whole cast blows this movie out of the water, but Pennywise in this one steals the show. Skarsgard is rarely anything less than excellent, but he gets his true horror laurel here. He plays the role as sinister as possible, landing some humor but never letting it weigh down the fear factor.
He is a force to be reckoned with. When making something like a killer clown movie in contemporary times, you have to be really careful not to make it just straight-up silly. Art the Clown is, of course, pure nightmare-fuel, but when approaching the horror big top, it can unintentionally end up feeling like a mismarketed Goosebumps episode.
This, though, is not a case like that. Pennywise is nightmarish in this. His voice is more sinister, and he reads as a predatory cosmic entity, and not just another slasher villain. Fun and frightening, Pennywise pulls no punches in bringing the horror in Chapter 2.
It’s not unreasonable to think most American horror fans can probably name only one Mexican horror filmmaker: Guillermo del Toro. Given how many fantastic films he’s made and how successful so many of them have been, it’s easy to see how he became a household name, but he’s far from the only Mexican filmmaker with a taste for the macabre. Rubén Galindo Jr. may be a major telenovela producer now, but in the 1980s he wrote and directed independent genre films in Mexico that likely influenced the kind of filmmaker del Toro would become. Galindo Jr. isn’t some obscure figure in Mexican entertainment, but he’s also not as widely known as he should be in horror circles, despite having many of his genre films available from Vinegar Syndrome.
In celebration of Latin Heritage Month, I wanted to shed a light on Galindo Jr.’s films not just because they are a lot of fun, but also because of how underseen they still are. Galindo Jr.’s early films mark a complete departure from the work he does now, so much so that you’d think it’s different people, but his early career genre films were important and part of a familial legacy of both the Galindos and the Cardonas (the royal families of Mexican genre films).
The Galindo Family Legacy in Mexican Horror
Rubén Galindo Jr., as his name suggests, is the son of Mexican filmmaker Rubén Galindo Aguilar. He first entered the film industry as an actor, but joined his family’s production studio to take on a myriad of roles like set designer, accountant, purchasing manager, and more. His directorial debut in 1969 was for a comedy, Un Amante Anda Suelto, and was the first of 47 films he would direct. While his focus wasn’t explicitly horror, he did direct a couple of films starring Luchador and actor Santo, as well as many Mexican westerns before focusing more on distribution in the 1980s. Coincidentally, around the time his young son, Galindo Jr., would begin his own filmmaking career.
Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Journey Into Mexican Genre Cinema
Galindo Jr. began his filmmaking career by leaving his hometown of Mexico City to attend UCLA, only to return to CDMX in 1983 after graduating with a degree in Film and Television Arts & Sciences. His first film, Cementerio Del Terror, was a huge hit despite being a modest production, and it was the first of many independent horror films Galindo Jr. would take on. While his legacy won’t be built upon the work he did in genre, it certainly started there and evolved beyond the underground and into the mainstream over time.
Cementerio Del Terror (1985): Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Horror Debut
Galindo Jr.’s first film is by far one of his most uneven, but in the same vein, also one of the most entertaining. It starts like so many great horror flicks do: on Halloween, as a group of kids decides to steal a body from the morgue, only to disrupt the ghoulish ghost of a serial killer. While graverobbing isn’t exactly the kind of thing many do for fun, this particular endeavor is in service of a satanic ritual that will go awry, thus leading to all kinds of bloodshed and demonic appearances. There’s a sub-plot involving some premonitions of the killer returning from the dead that go ignored, reasonably so, and where things land is your standard house/cemetery of horrors where the kids are met with all kinds of devious and dastardly demons.
The Horror Influences Behind Cementerio del Terror
With a reported budget of 45-65 million pesos (roughly $275,000-$540,000 US dollars), filming started in 1984, and Galindo Jr. was able to wrangle in well-known Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz to star in the production. The film was a huge success for Galindo Jr., even if it wasn’t well-received by critics at the time. Galindo Jr.’s influences are apparent in terms of both content and style, as he clearly draws inspiration from John Carpenter’s Halloween and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. There’s also a heavy helping of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, even if the ghouls at play here aren’t the zombified kind. It’s truly a smorgasbord kind of horror film that never fully commits to one idea, but knows how to weave them together well enough to be entertaining.
The practical effects may seem ropey by today’s standards, but context and time would dictate that these are quite good considering the circumstances and how much of a trailblazer Galindo Jr. was for making this kind of film at this time in Mexico.
Time has been far kinder to this film than critics were, as it averages a 3.0 on Letterboxd and is the recipient of a now sold-out edition from Vinegar Syndrome. In terms of ranking, this is probably B-Tier for Galindo Jr., which is impressive for a debut feature regardless!
Dimensiones Ocultas (Don’t Panic) and Its Influence
Perhaps the best-known of Galindo Jr.’s early genre films, Don’t Panic is without a doubt his best horror effort, and his most derivative. If Cementerio del Terror was riffing on two horror classics, Dimensiones Ocultas riffs on another. This time, it’s Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Following very similar story beats, we follow Michael, who, on his 17th birthday, uses a Ouija board with his friends and accidentally unleashes a demon. This demon isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill possession type; no, this demon haunts you in your dreams! Michael sees these murders before they happen and tries to warn his friends, to no avail.
Why Don’t Panic Remains a Mexican Horror Cult Favorite
There’s a lot to love about Dimensiones Ocultas, and it’s not hard to see why it has become Galindo Jr.’s most notable genre film. From the strange kid-print adult-sized pajamas that Michael wears to the incoherent plotting, it’s not a film that’s going to appeal to those who prefer tight technical filmmaking and single-threaded plot lines. The characters are hard to take seriously, in part because so many of the voices are dubbed, and if this all sounds like reasons not to like this film, you’re sorely mistaken.
The Elm Street influence is endearing in how sloppily it is transcribed here, but it’s also distinct enough to not feel like a complete rip-off. The demon, Virgil, doesn’t really look like Freddy, but if you squint your eyes after a few drinks, you’d probably not be able to tell the difference. The death scenes are creative and at the same time comedic, so it’s not a film that is easy to take seriously, which is a good thing.
While there are no budgetary numbers that are verifiable, Dimensiones Ocultas shows more ambition in terms of effects and ideas than Cementerio, while not really showing much evolution in terms of screenwriting. Galindo Jr. does have better command of the pacing here, and this too has received the amazing Vinegar Syndrome treatment like Cementerio, but is also sadly out of print. A-Tier Galindo Jr.
Ladrones de Tumbas (1989) A Unique Mexican Slasher
Shortly after Dimensiones Ocultas, Galindo Jr. was back at it, directing his third horror feature, Ladrones de Tumbas. Learning a bit from both of his former features, Ladrones feels far more consistent both in terms of plotting and execution. It does tread familiar ground that harkens back to Cementerio, as a group of teenage treasure hunters unknowingly awaken a malevolent entity hell-bent (literally) on bringing forth the spawn of Satan. The spirit systematically takes out the teens one by one in clever, slasher-centric ways, and while it does feel familiar, it’s never repeating the same stuff seen in earlier Galindo Jr. joints. The effects feel far more accomplished, and the story is much easier to follow, all things considered.
The Forgotten History of Mexican Horror Filmmakers
There’s even less information about this film’s production out there, which is more of a reminder that there is still a woeful lack of study around Mexican horror filmmakers that has penetrated the mainstream. Even in preparing for this article, it’s quite difficult to find trusted sources- hell, any sources besides Wikipedia and IMDb. What we do know happens after Ladrones is that Galindo Jr. would begin his distinction from horror and start making his way West to more dramatic and widely accepted fare. There is one more film that Galindo Jr. would helm for horror, possibly two if you consider Resucitaré Para Matarlos in 1991, before making his big pivot. And you guessed it: the Vinegar Syndrome release of Ladrones is very much out of print. S-Tier Galindo Jr.
Mutantes Del Año 2000 (1992) Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Sci-Fi Horror Experiment
Mutantes del Año 2000 is easily the worst of Galindo Jr.’s genre efforts, and it’s largely because it’s kind of a silly premise. It’s a story about a teacher going through an ugly divorce during a time in the future where pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks, and an ex-husband who has been dumping nuclear waste behind the house, mutating the local rodent population. When a giant mutated rat enters the home, the teacher must fight it to stay alive while she’s warding off both the rat and her ex, who wants to keep his nuclear secret. It’s absurd, and it almost feels like Galindo Jr.’s first foray into the more dramatic side of storytelling.
Not only is this one a bit of a slog to get through, but it also loses some of the fun and charm that Galindo Jr.’s previous films exhibited. While the story is a bit more concise and clear, a positive, the delivery leaves a lot to be desired, even if the world-building is somewhat interesting. It’s hard to know, at least without further research or speaking to Galindo Jr. directly, what caused him to fall out of love with genre, but his lack of conviction is apparent here. You can’t fault someone for wanting a change, but I would be remiss not to wonder what it would’ve been like if Galindo Jr. kept refining his abilities for the sake of scares.
Why Rubén Galindo Jr.’s Mexican Horror Films Deserve More Attention
One of the most challenging parts of writing this kind of article is not having enough sources to tell a fully holistic story. Part of this is due to time, as one can only watch so many special features in such a time, but also that there simply aren’t as many primary sources for Mexican horror history and the filmmakers that contributed to it. The fact that so many can’t name more than one Mexican filmmaker says a lot about the lack of information out there, and so if you’re a filmmaker seeking a new topic for a genre documentary, consider Mexican horror. Not only is it fertile ground, but it’s also got a lineage of talent that is still alive to talk about what it was like, something we are reminded of weekly as announcements of deceased horror stars come across our news feeds.
Rubén Galindo Jr. is just one of many who have made their mark on horror in Mexico, and selfishly, I would love to know more about this than what is available. Running a website and working full-time doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else, but it’s important to both remember and celebrate the legacies of those who came before as trailblazers who are just as worthy of our praise as those who become household names.
For more of Matt Orozco’s work, along with many other great horror articles, head on over to Macabre Daily!
