About this episode

JF and Phil discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror blockbuster Alien, exploring its themes and original weirdness.

In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi/horror blockbuster Alien. Together, they wipe off the patina of familiarity that beclouds the film, restoring it to its original weirdness. What is the organism that terrorizes the Nostromo? What's its relation to technology, evolution, industry? How does it differ from the monsters of older horror classics? How does one interpret without explaining away? Music in this episode: "Hypnagogic," from Pierre-Yves Martel's Weird Studies Vol. 3. Events Shannon Taggart's Lily Dale Symposium (July 23-25, 2026Transcendence in the Age of AI, a Weirdosphere chat with Michael Garfield and JF Martel, hosted by Joel Gunz - June 25, 2026 Kickstarter campaign for Artist as Astronaut: The Otherworldly Art of Ionel Talpazan from Strange Attractor Press. The campaign closes June 27! References Ionel Talpazan, Romanian experiencer and artist Ridley Scott (dir.), Alien Peter Bebergal, All Our Famous Monsters (forthcoming) Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter H. R. Giger, Swiss artist Simon-Max, French entertainer Eric Wargo, Passion of the Space Jockey Weird Studies, Episode 213 on “Eric” Mel Brooks…

People in this episode

Hosts: JF Martel, Phil

Topics covered

• Ridley Scott
• Alien
• sci-fi
• horror
• technology
• evolution
• industry

Keywords

• Ridley Scott
• Alien
• sci-fi
• horror
• technology
• evolution
• industry
• monsters
• interpretation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Strange Attractor Press

Books & works: Alien, All Our Famous Monsters, Hostage to the Devil, Weird Studies Vol. 3, Passion of the Space Jockey, Spaceballs, Beowulf, Weird Studies, Episode 213 on “Eric”

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