In space, no one can hear you scream (or speak French, which is tragic because it’s so difficult to learn), but at the Texas Theatre, you can howl as loud your lungs will let you.
Where I’m going with this: TT is doing a double feature tonight of Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic/cult hit/everything Alien, but right before, they’re showing the new documentary on H.R. Giger, the brilliant and haunting genius who created the creature in Alien, a cinematic monster that would go on to terrorize audiences for decades and is about to once more in a new sequel (which takes place after Aliens) directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9) with Sigourney Weaver returning as ultra badass, Ripley.
Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World is the name of the documentary. It’s a pretty fascinating film. It goes into the weird, wonderful, and troubled mind of Giger and you’ll learn what you came for: how he came up with the creature (also known as Alien but for the sake of this article, we’re going to stick with creature/monster to avoid confusion with the title of the film. I believe in my heart you’re smart enough to decipher that creature and monster = Alien.)
Giger also created the Derelic and the Space Jockey for Alien, but if you’re not into Alien-lore, you’re going to have to follow my lead and Google those. Or, be patient and ignore my lead and learn about them in the documentary.
Moreover, there’s a lot more he’s accomplished you will learn not mentioned in the film, (like: he designed a “radically different’ batmobile for Joel Schumacher’s disasterpiece Batman & Robin but it was rejected, which adds another strike for poor Schumacher.) but first watch him tell you his story, and then go home and read what wasn’t covered. His mind and dreams were plagued with a lifetime of nightmare imagery and because of that, we have one of the greatest cinematic monsters in history (which won him and his team an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects).
Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World starts at 7 p.m. and Alien follows immediately after. Get tickets over on TexasTheatre.com for $10 per movie.