Alien: The Film That Inspired Event Horizon

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]In space, no one can hear you scream.

[00:00:03]This quote found on the poster and in the marketing of Alien perfectly sets the stage for what is to come in Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece. This film paved the way for an entirely new subgenre of horror, that being space horror. Space is the perfect setting for a horror movie with the vast openness of space holding the possibility of unknowable horrors. While other films had previously explored the concept of a horror movie set in space, no film popularized it in the same way that Alien did.

[00:00:30]When looking at Alien through the lens of cosmic horror, it is clear that the film contains many of the tropes common in the genre. For over half the movie, the primary threat of the film, the xenomorph, lurks in the shadows and waits for the right time to strike.

[00:00:44]Though some characters see the creature right before they are killed, the survivors that are left remain unaware of what they are truly dealing with. and Ridley Scott utilizes this fear of the unknown to build tension as the story progresses. However, the primary aspect of the movie that cements it in the genre of cosmic horror is the Xenomorph's challenge of humanity's primacy in the universe. Described in the film as a perfect organism unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality, this creature is meant to take humanity's place as the apex predator.

[00:01:15]This theme perfectly captures the spirit of Lovecraftian creatures created to show that there is something more powerful out there than humans and that we are powerless compared to them. Now, let's take a look at another film. Event Horizon was released almost 20 years later and answers the question of what if Alien was even more cosmic horror.

[00:01:34]When comparing these two films, I started to see similarities between the story beats and it is clear to see the inspiration Event Horizon took from Alien. Both films open with the crew of a ship awakening from a long sleep to explore some unknown hostile environment. One of the members encounters something of unknown origin and is subdued for a significant time.

[00:01:53]Upon awakening, they succumb to a sinister fate shortly after. As the crews are slowly picked off one by one, it is revealed that each crew contains one member that has ulterior motives and has been working to tip the scale against our protagonists. The films end with the ships being destroyed and our threat being vanquished. for now at least. Even the designs of the ships resemble each other with the Nostromo from Alien and the Event Horizon both being dark ships that contain eerie and almost sinister architecture. The Nostromo is filled with dark corners and chains providing excellent cover for our monster. The Event Horizon contains hallways of spinning blades and seems to have been designed with a sinister purpose. While sharing many similarities, these two films differ in some important ways. Event Horizon dives even deeper into the cosmic horror than Alien does. The film explores themes of madness and forbidden knowledge, two themes that are present in many cosmic horror works. Many stories, such as The King in Yellow and the Nightmare Box, contain items that, when explored, alter the mind of the user. We see something similar here. Upon exposure to the world that the gravity drive hides, our characters descend into madness and become a danger to themselves and their fellow crew mates. This choice differentiates its threat from the xenomorph and creates an entity that lies beyond our senses, more akin to Lovecraftian beings. So, while these films are very similar, it is much easier to see the ties to Lovecraft that Event Horizon has.

[00:03:14]Event Horizon wouldn't be what it is without Alien, but it still found a way to create its own identity. It was fascinating getting to rewatch Alien at the end of the semester and realizing how much it inspired the very first film of this class. So, while Alien may not be the most cosmic horror film I've watched this semester, it set the stage for what space horror can be. And the cosmic horror films we love wouldn't be the same without it.