Movies
HORROR 101: The Origins of the Xenomorph
Welcome back to Horror Press’s Horror 101, a series of articles where we explain horror movie legends and their lore. For beginners, the confused, or just those who need a refresher, these articles are for you. Today we delve into an antagonist described as “the perfect organism” with a “structural perfection [that’s] matched only by its hostility”, the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise. An alien species that’s oft imitated but never surpassed by its many pop culture counterparts, H.R. Giger’s iconic design evolved into a creature shrouded in as much mystery as its costume is in KY Jelly.
While the Alien franchise is quite sprawling, we will only look at the mainline Alien films for canonical explanations of all our questions. As much as I’d love to include the stellar Dark Horse comics and the Alien: Isolation game, we’ll have to touch on those another day.
So how did the Xenomorph come to be, and what exactly is it? Let’s find out.
WHAT ARE XENOMORPHS?
Depending on who you ask, they’re either the worst or greatest thing to happen to the galaxy at large. What the android Ash calls “A survivor, unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality”, the Xenomorph is driven only by primal instincts to kill and reproduce at high speeds.
The xenomorph is the byproduct of a bioweapon called “the black liquid, ” or, more commonly by fans, the black goo. Through genetic experimentation, the xenomorph was engineered as a killing machine with peak agility and strength. Most xenomorphs stand around 6’10”, and sport an iconic, shiny black exoskeleton that grants them unbelievable durability.
Among its most distinctive features are a lack of eyes, a second set of inner jaws that can punch through reinforced glass and metal, and a bladed tail. Bright green acidic blood, capable of burning through almost anything, makes it borderline impossible to engage at close quarters without harming yourself.
HOW DO XENOMORPHS REPRODUCE?
Its most frightening and iconic quality, however, is its reproductive cycle.
When a living being approaches a xenomorph egg, a spiderlike “face-hugger” leaps out and attaches to living prey to implant an embryo orally. Within a matter of hours, the embryo develops into a self-sufficient juvenile alien that forcibly (and fatally) claws out through the torso of the victim, earning it the nickname “chest-burster”. It then grows into a fully-fledged drone, or a queen that produces more eggs.
Xenomorphs, by their nature are incredibly adaptive parasites, able to gestate in any living mammal that can sustain its egg. These xenomorphs will also take on the traits of their hosts; The Dragon from Alien 3 was spawned from an ox and was uniquely quadrupedal as a result.
WHO CREATED THE XENOMORPHS?
To get to the bottom of that, we need to explain the black goo and who made it!
WHAT IS THE BLACK GOO, AND WHO MADE IT?
Introduced posthumously in Alien, then later fully in Prometheus, the Engineers were an advanced alien species that seeded life on many planets, including the building blocks of human life on Earth. However, when the Engineers were unhappy with their creations, they would deploy a devastating planetary bioweapon to depopulate entire worlds of species that they deemed “mistakes”. This was the black goo.
Its most notable user is David, a malicious android made by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and modeled after founder Peter Weyland. He is also the predecessor of the androids Ash and Bishop from Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3, and a brother model to the android Walter from Alien: Covenant.
David studied the black goo extensively following his encounter with its creators in Prometheus and the subsequent attack on their homeworld (Planet 4) in Alien: Covenant. As per the short film Alien: Advent, his research claims that the black goo was made up of “advanced nano-particles” which he considered biomechanical artificial intelligence. Like a slime mold in motion, the black goo has some senses and intentionally seeks out organic targets; this is most evident in the bombing scene from Alien: Covenant, where it tears through crowds of Engineer civilians.
The black goo AI would model itself after natural evolutionary development, curate the genes most likely to succeed, then accelerate the process by mutating those traits instead of waiting for hundreds of generations to develop them. The resultant mutations would usually be too intense and liquefy their targets from the inside out.
The operative word is usually.
OKAY, THERE, NOW WHO CREATED THE XENOMORPHS?
David recognized the limitless potential of dynamic DNA that could rapidly mutate on command. He began to engineer the black goo with the insects and plant life that survived his attack on Planet 4.
In Alien: Advent David began using selective breeding to steer small amounts of the black goo into making him a species designed to expand across the galaxy, though most early attempts are failures. By the time of Alien: Covenant, he makes the dream a reality, and the first face-hugger eggs are made, resulting in the creation of a fully-fledged xenomorph (dubbed the Neomorph) via a human host. He later stored other eggs in a ship headed for Earth on behalf of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, but their fate is currently unknown.
However, David was not the only one to succeed in this. In Alien and Aliens, a separate vessel piloted by long-dead Engineers had crashed on the exoplanet LV-426, carrying similar fully formed eggs. One surviving egg spurs the events of the first film, while a dormant hive would cause chaos in the second. This would mean the Engineers also managed to create near-identical xenomorphs independent of David’s actions.
In short: The Engineers and David both used the black goo to make parallel versions of the xenomorphs, but there’s no reason why the xenomorphs couldn’t have sprung up on other worlds through the tampering of other species.
It’s also why I believe the Alien vs. Predator films are canon because the Yautja could have done the same process with their tech.
Let me believe.
I have to believe.
WHY DID DAVID MAKE THE XENOMORPHS?
David’s first encounter with an Engineer in the film Prometheus not only resulted in his head getting ripped off, but also broke his heart too.
Prometheus showed that the Engineer planned on destroying Earth after it was woken up from its slumber. When the failed Prometheus mission dissolved as a result, David became disillusioned. According to Ridley Scott, through having met his maker’s maker, he grew to resent both Engineers and Humans and sought to supplant them as creators. Hence, bombing Planet 4 and the subsequent xenomorph project.
WHY ARE THE XENOMORPHS SO BUGLIKE?
They’re wasps. Like, the bug, not protestants.
Outside of the obvious design inspiration insects serve for these often-hunted bugs, the first successful Xenomorph created by David was derived primarily from the wasps on the untitled Planet 4 that he bombed with the black goo. He called these insects the “shock troops of the genetic assault”, as they developed the features most similar to the face hugger, able to implant new parasitic offspring that would take on traits of the host.
This also explains why the xenomorphs make hives out of every place they dwell in, plastering the walls with organic insulation like a paper wasp would with dead plant material.
HOW DO YOU KILL A XENOMORPH?
Not to insult a fictional android, but David’s perfect galaxy-controlling weapon has a few blind spots.
Xenomorphs may not explicitly be anymore weak to fire than a human would be, but it is undoubtedly the only weapon that they’ll actively avoid contact with. Horror Hall of Famer and protagonist of the first four films, Ellen Ripley, uses a flamethrower against them to great effect. She also incinerates her first alien with the thruster of the Nostromo’s escape shuttle.
And despite how powerful they are on the outside, shots aimed inside the mouth, like Hicks’ messy shotgun blast from Aliens can bypass it. Explosives like the grenades in Alien: Resurrection, or enough gunfire from a pulse rifle can mulch them into green paste. Make sure not to step in said paste. And hey, if all else fails…
My New Year’s resolution is to spend more time watching my favorite app. Luckily, Shudder is not taking it easy on us this holiday season, so I may meet my quota this January. The streamer is bringing in the new year with quite a few bangers. We have classics from icons, a new title from the first family of indie horror, and a couple of lesser-known films that have finally found a home. So, I am obviously living for this month’s programming and think most of you will too. I have picked the five films that I believe deserve our collective attention the most. Get into each of them and start your 2026 off on the right foot.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Carrie (1976)
A sheltered teen finally unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated for the last time. Carrie is the reason I thought proms might be cool when I was a kid. This Brian De Palma adaptation is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations. It is also an important title in the good-for-her subgenre. I cannot help rooting for Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) when I watch her snap at this prom and then head home to accidentally deal with her mom. The only tragedy of this evening is that Carrie had to die, too. I said what I said, and I will be hitting play again while it is on Shudder. This recommendation goes out to the other recovering sheltered girls who would be the problem if they had powers. I see you because I am you.
You can watch Carrie on January 1st.
Marshmallow (2025)
A shy 12-year-old gets sent to summer camp and finds himself in a living nightmare. While Marshmallow did not land for me, I know plenty of people who love it. Which makes this the perfect addition to the Shudder catalogue. I am actually excited to see more folks fall in love with this movie when it hits the streamer. If nothing else, it will help a few folks cross off another 2025 title if they are still playing catch-up with last year’s movies. It also gets cool points from me for not taking the easy route with the mystery it built. I hope you all dig it more than I did, and tell your friends about it. Perhaps you could even encourage them to sign up for the app.
You can watch Marshmallow on January 1st.
Chain Reactions (2024)
Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre cemented his horror legacy over fifty years ago. So, it is long overdue for a documentary where horror royalty can discuss its impact on them and their careers. I have been waiting for a couple of years to hear Karyn Kusama and Takashi Miike talk about Hooper’s work and how he inspired them. So, I am super geeked that Shudder is finally giving me the chance to see this film. The streamer is also helping the nerds out by adding The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 (1986) this month. If you are also an overachieving couch potato, I will see you at the finish line next week.
You can watch Chain Reactions on January 9th.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
An insurance investigator discovers the impact a horror writer’s books have on people. I love chaos, and John Carpenter chaos happens to be one of my favorite kinds of chaos. While we talk about The Thing and Halloween all the time, this maestro has given us plenty of horror to celebrate. In the Mouth of Madness is very much one of those titles vying for a top spot among the best of his filmography. To sweeten the batshit pot, this movie features Sam Neill. You know that he only shows up in our genre if the movie is going to be legendary. You cannot tell me this is not a Shudder priority this month.
You can watch In the Mouth of Madness on January 10th.
Mother of Flies (2025)
A terminally ill young woman and her dad head to the woods to seek out a recluse who claims she can cure her cancer. The Adams Family has been holding court on Shudder for years, so it feels right that Mother of Flies is a Shudder Original. More importantly, this fest favorite has one of the best performances of 2025. Which makes it a great time for people to finally get to see it and get in line to give Toby Poser her flowers. Whatever you think your favorite Poser role is, it is about to change when you see her as Solveig. I am being serious when I say that this movie might be the first family of indie horror at their best.
You can watch Mother of Flies on January 23rd.
New year, but same Shudder. I would not want to go into 2026 any other way, personally. I hope these horrific recommendations bring you the good kind of anxiety. Or at least distract you from the state of the world for a bit.
I’m happy Netflix knew I would be back on my bull shit. Now that we’re in January, and the end-of-year lists are done, I’m trying to cram as many 2025 titles into my eyeballs as I possibly can. I know it sounds backwards, but it’s sadly a yearly tradition now. No matter how many titles you cram into a year, there are always a ton more you missed. Because I am broken, I need to know if I missed anything that should have been on my lists ASAP. Then I can drag myself for not getting my eyeballs on things sooner. Or worse, seeing titles that came out after my deadline and would have definitely been on there. I need to feel resentment for their schedules not letting me be great.
Luckily for me, the streamer has dropped quite a bit of new stuff recently. This includes movies and shows that I put off, or that legitimately premiered a couple of weeks ago. So, now I can spiral in the comfort of my own home as I binge all of these titles like a maniac. If you are also trying to walk into the new year stressed out, then maybe this streaming guide is for you, too.
City of Shadows (2025)
When a burned body is put on display on the facade of an iconic building, two inspectors must work together to solve the crime. I don’t know much about this Spanish thriller, but I know winter is the time for an unsettling mystery. The show is based on the first book of the Milo Malart tetralogy written by Aro Sáinz de la Maza. So, if it’s as good as I hope it is, there is a whole world with this inspector awaiting us in print. I’m ready to take all six of these episodes in one setting if the streaming Gods allow.
Frankenstein (2025)
Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Christoph Waltz are among the names in this newest adaptation of the beloved Gothic horror classic. Guillermo del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is clearly one of the top priorities this month. While I skipped it in festivals because of the runtime, I knew I would have a date with it on Netflix this winter. While it has been on the streamer for a minute, I wasn’t able to dedicate two and a half hours to it. I also had watched my friends’ mixed reviews come in, and couldn’t take another disappointment last year. So, I saved this treat for the holiday. Fingers crossed, it is better than people are saying it is.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)
A new group of friends is tormented by a new stalker in this sequel to Kevin Williamson’s other ’90s slasher. I’m indifferent to the I Know What You Did Last Summer movies. Some are less awful than others, and I think this one was fine, but I know the original source material. Which means I know just how far they stray from what the original author, Lois Duncan, was about. So, I look at these movies and the flimsy premise they repeat differently than a lot of my friends. I think it’s an interesting look at how IP gets handled in Hollywood, but I don’t usually get much out of these. Which is another reason I’m kinder to this Jennifer Kaytin Robinson film than some people. While I won’t be rewatching it this January, I think a lot of people who missed it in theaters are going to have fun with some of these kills now that it’s on Netflix.
Stranger Things: Season 5 (2025)
The long-awaited conclusion to Stranger Things is finally upon us! Will Vecna take out some of this ridiculously large cast on the way out? I hope so. Will we pretend to be surprised when Eddie Munson gets a few seconds of screentime? I refuse to play this game. However, are we all going to tune in to see how this epic ride ends? You betcha! I hate that they’re breaking this final season up into three chunks, but I will be sitting for all of them.
The first four episodes hit in November. The next three landed on Netflix on December 25, and the finale premiered on December 31. I don’t know what to expect, but I know I am so ready to close this chapter of my relationship with Netflix and the Duffer Brothers. If it is even half as good as season four, then I will be a very happy nerd.
Troll 2 (2025)
A new troll awakens, causing Nora, Andreas, and Captain Kris to find new allies to take it down. This Norwegian monster flick almost got by me, so I’m happy Netflix dropped the trailer for this one. I’m using this as an excuse to finally watch the first one. I’m thinking a double feature is in order, so I can spend a whole day with these trolls. This is not my usual type of party, but after Troll Hunter won me over, I figure anything can happen. So, I will not judge you if you’re not feeling this out of left field pick. Just know that I’m running at it with an open mind and hoping to see some carnage as a reward.
These are just the Netflix titles I’m prioritizing. This is in no way a complete overview of all of the new shows and movies they’ve added this winter. We also know that they usually have a ton of international bangers that they refuse to advertise. So, I end up stumbling over Korean titles every January and then trying to tell people we missed some really excellent stuff. So, pick up your remote and turn your phone off. It’s time to Netflix and Chill in the less sexy and more nerdy way.
‘Iron Lung’ Review: Exceptionally Atmospheric Cosmic Horror
No, Cult Cinema Isn’t Dead
‘The Ritual (2017)’ Review: When Grief Gets Gruesome
‘Wait Until Dark’ Review: A Timeless Psychological Horror Thriller
‘Return to Silent Hill’ Review: A Misogynistic Betrayal of Silent Hill 2
‘Lake Mungo’ Review: Still the Greatest Ghost Film of All Time
How ‘Child’s Play’ Helped Shape LGBTQ+ Horror Fans
‘The Cabin in the Woods’ Review: And the State of Horror
‘Night Patrol’ Review: Vampiric Cop Horror Undone by Messy Execution
The 10 Most Satisfying Deaths in Horror Movies
‘The People Under the Stairs’ Review: A Brilliantly Bizarre Horror Classic
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ and The Story of William Afton Explained
Slappy Was the Blueprint: How the Dummy from Goosebumps Became A Horror Icon
Glen and Glenda: Don Mancini’s Reverence for Queerness in ‘Seed of Chucky’ (2004)
‘Truth or Dare’: Who Did it Best?
V/H/S Franchise Ranked, Best to Worst
Everything You Need to Know About Jason Voorhees
The 11 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever, According to an Actual Horror Fan
[REVIEW] ‘Cherry Falls’ (1999) Brittany Murphy Shines in This Cult Classic Slasher
