The end of FX’s Alien: Earth is sure to inspire mixed feelings for reasons that go beyond your thoughts about the finale. Over eight episodes, Noah Hawley’s series gave us two things that are pretty hard to find: a genuinely scary horror TV show and a new Alien story that is worthy of the finest films in that franchise. Now that it’s all over, you may be asking yourself, “What now?”
Though I wish I could help you with that question on an existential level, the best I can do is recommend a series of shows and movies that at least represent one of the many aspects of Alien: Earth that made the series such a breath of fresh air. Because sure, you could just watch the Alien movies again (or even the classic film that inspired Alien, It! The Terror from Beyond Space), but what’s the worst that could happen if you explore the deeper regions of this genre space?
For More of That Beautiful ‘70s Sci-Fi Design: Rollerball (1975)
There is something so satisfying about the look of ‘70s sci-fi (sometimes referred to as “Cassette Futurism”). It was a time when the optimism of space exploration and the generally groovy fashion of the era clashed wonderfully with the physicality of analog technology and the medical-like settings of research facilities, spaceships, and other exploratory environments. Setting Alien: Earth closer to the timeline of the original film not only allowed Noah Hawley and crew to dodge some of the more questionable elements of the franchise’s sequels, but also gave him and the design team an excuse to embrace that look.
If you just want to bathe in that atmosphere for a little while longer, give 1975’s Rollerball a shot. While the film’s plot centers on a legendary athlete in a dystopian future who struggles to retire even as the game he loves becomes more violent, the real story of the film is its immaculate style. Rollerball is one of cinema’s most profound examinations of the power of watching deeply ‘70s performers lounge in all-shag environments while covered in more oranges and browns than the human eye can technically process. As a bonus, its world, much like Alien: Earth, revolves around a series of corporations that have divided up control of the world, yet somehow only care about increasing their already considerable power. Okay, so it’s not exactly escapist entertainment, but it looks fantastic.
If sports aren’t your thing, consider checking out Logan’s Run (one of the foundational examples of Cassette Futurism) or 2009’s Moon (an incredible film that borrows many visual elements from Alien’s sterile sci-fi design).
For One of the Better Alien-Inspired Films: Life
There’s no denying that Life owes a heavy dose of gratitude to the Alien franchise. It is one of the most… flattering takes on the Alien concept you’re likely to find. Yet, there are times when you really just want something that is basically Alien but has the advantage of being technically new. Life is there for those times.
Imagine, if you will, a hybrid of Alien and Gravity starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, and Rebecca Ferguson that is directed by Daniel Espinosa (the man who brought you Morbius). That’s Life (that’s what all the people say). Truth be told, Life is never quite as outlandish as you may hope it will be based on that set-up. But as the story of what happens when a group of astronauts encounter a hostile alien lifeform while stuck in space, it is a surprisingly solid way to scratch a very specific itch.
For Characters Behaving Questionably in the Middle of a Sci-Fi Horror Scenario: Virus
It’s been noted that some of Alien: Earth’s characters behave somewhat oddly relative to their circumstances. To put it another way, the show often portrays seemingly intelligent and well-trained people making some pretty dumb decisions. And while some viewers find that to be frustrating, the series is often commenting on the questionable decisions people are prone to make while under pressure in poorly managed circumstances. Other times… well, it’s just easier to make a lot of stories work when you’re willing to concede that your characters will sometimes act like idiots.
If you also take pleasure in watching seemingly competent people bumble their way through sci-fi scenarios, consider watching Virus. This film about a tugboat crew that encounters an alien lifeform while salvaging a Russian research vessel is one of the more amusingly obvious attempts to cash in on the Alien franchise’s immense success. Virus never reaches Alien’s considerable creative heights, but it does offer a gloriously trashy take on that concept that feels very true to the style of the most outlandish ‘90s disaster films. If any of that appeals to you, then this may very well become your next guilty pleasure.
For People Stuck at a Facility Just Trying to Figure Things Out: Helix
Though Alien: Earth technically delivers on the idea of a Xenomorph crash landing on Earth, much of the show actually takes place on Prodigy’s Neverland research island. And if you enjoy watching researchers slowly figure out a nightmare from a remote location, then Helix may just become your new obsession.
Helix opens with a group of CDC researchers agreeing to travel to the most remote place in the world to study the effects of a deadly virus. Though they embarked upon the most obvious horror movie set-up with the best of intentions, things predictably go wrong. Much like Alien: Earth, Helix is a genuinely terrifying piece of television that uses an initially intimate scenario as the launching pad for some spectacular worldbuilding. Unlike Alien: Earth, its horrors often come from a place much closer to home.
For People Being Terrorized on a Spaceship by Unspeakable Horrors: Event Horizon
The relative reclamation of Event Horizon in recent years has been a joy to watch. While Paul W. S. Anderson’s sci-fi horror film was perhaps rightfully criticized upon release for its pacing issues, seemingly missing plot points, and general unevenness (some of which can be attributed to the film’s treasure trove of cut footage), there was always an undeniably fascinating something at the heart of this movie.
But Event Horizon works best as the very thing screenwriter Philip Eisner pitched it as: “A haunted house story in space.” Like Alien before it, this story of a spaceship crew that suddenly finds themselves in far over their heads often relies on variations of classic haunted house scares to keep the tension high as it explores loftier ideas. Unlike Alien, Event Horizon didn’t exactly revolutionize the sci-fi horror scene (despite its unforgettable visuals, creepy concepts, and incredible tagline, “Infinite space, infinite terror”). If nothing else, it’s a reminder of the wonderfully unpredictable things that can happen when you let an up-and-coming creator take a very big swing.
For People Being Terrorized on a Regular Ship by Unspeakable Horrors: The Terror
To be clear, The Terror is not a sci-fi show. It is a piece of historical fiction that imagines what might have happened to the real-life crews of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus after their ships crashed during a search for the Northwest Passage. As it turns out, the only thing worse than crashing in the Arctic is absolutely everything that happens after.
The Terror is a sometimes unbearably effective example of nautical horror. It spares no grisly detail in its portrayal of one of the worst possible scenarios. It also teases the possibilities of supernatural occurrences within the framework of seemingly logical occurrences as effectively as any show has ever tried to balance those concepts. It’s the fact that said occurrences include the arrival of a monstrous predator that really earns this show its glowing Alien comparisons.
For Blue Collar Sci-Fi With a Hint of Corporate Conspiracies: Outland
The sudden influx of Alien-like films following the success of Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece all but ensured a few worthwhile movies were going to get lost in the shuffle. Few of those movies deserved a legacy of their own more than Outland.
While Outland shares several notable similarities to Alien that will almost certainly trigger your sense of déjà vu (it was scored by Jerry Goldsmith and designed by several key crew members who also worked on Alien), Outland is very much its own thing. Essentially a soft remake of High Noon, it follows a Federal Marshal who finds himself at odds with the rulers of a mining colony following his investigation into the mysterious deaths of several workers. While many of the movie’s superficial elements invoke Alien in the most satisfying ways, it’s the film’s deeper, fundamentally blue-collar exploration of capitalist exploitation in a sci-fi setting that makes it a truly worthy successor.
For Really Well-Designed Creatures Infecting Everyone: The Thing (1982)
Speaking of post-Alien sci-fi films that went underappreciated in their day…
There is, admittedly, little to say about The Thing that hasn’t been said in the decades that we’ve collectively spent trying to wrap our heads around why this movie was such a flop upon its release. It may be director John Carpenter’s masterpiece, it could be considered one of the best movies of the 1980s, and it may very well be the best sci-fi horror film ever. For our purposes, though, we do need to talk about how well The Thing works as a creature feature.
If you, like many, bemoan the end of Alien: Earth’s first season because it means the end of the Eye Midge’s continuing adventures, then The Thing may just be the parasitic fix you’re looking for. You don’t need to imagine an ocular octopus as you watch a monster without a definitive form terrorize a group of researchers and workers at a remote arctic base, but if it gives you an excuse to put down the framed photo of an eyeball you placed on your bedside and remember what it’s like to laugh and love again, then who are we to stop you?
And if you’ve recently watched The Thing and are looking for an alternative, try the 1988 remake of The Blob. It too is a wonderfully goopy remake of a ’50s film that probably deserved a lot more love in its time.
For Creepy Tech Bros Sending Out Bad Vibes: Devs
Creatively speaking, writer and director Alex Garland is never really “having a normal one.” Yet, the celebrated creator who penned modern tentpole sci-fi films like Ex Machina and Sunshine has rarely gotten quite as weird with it as he does in Devs.
Devs follows a software engineer named Lily Chan who investigates the inner workings of a tech company called Amaya following the death of her boyfriend. Like Alien: Earth, it is not shy about criticizing the so-called “prodigal geniuses” who use tech companies and products as public-facing shields meant to hide their debilitating god complexes. But if you thought that Boy Kavalier went off the deep end, just wait until you see the depths that Amaya’s CEO Forest (as brilliantly portrayed by Nick Offerman) explores.
For More of Noah Hawley Exploring the Creative Boundaries of Beloved Source Material: Legion
While the early seasons of Fargo showcased Noah Hawley’s ability to subvert expectations within the apparent confines of adapted material, nothing could have prepared us for Legion. While set in the X-Men universe, Legion rarely exhibits any interest in telling anything close to a “traditional” superhero story. For that matter, its overall narrative (which is often told from the perspective of its seemingly schizophrenic protagonist) is rarely interested in following the conventions of any form of storytelling.
That quality makes Legion a true “love it or hate it” affair, with both sides having some valid arguments about where the show ends up and how it gets there. But if you’re willing to sit back and enjoy the ride while also remaining activated enough to at least offer a few theories as to what it all means, then you may find Legion to be one of the most uniquely bizarre interpretations of a popular piece of source material that still manages to stay remarkably true to said material.
Besides, no matter how strange things get, you can always fall back on watching Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza turn in some career-best work.
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