10 Hidden Meanings Of Famous Movie Scenes

Without getting too gross about it, Alien is positively dripping with sexual undertones. Look at the shape of the alien’s head, the way John Hurt gets “pregnant” or the various slimy openings in the derelict ship; with HR Giger in charge of art design, these choices are hardly accidental.

There's a little of this included in the scene where Ash - whose dodgy actions have been discovered - tries to kill Ripley. His rather unconventional approach is to roll up a magazine and try to force it down her throat, which was apparently Ridley Scott’s idea. The director sees this action as a sign of Ash’s intense sexual frustration, and the rolling up of the magazine is the robot’s creepy attempt at recreating a sex act.

Given the subtext of Alien is basically about rape this shouldn’t be a huge surprise, though it sure adds an ugly edge to an already intense scene.