10 Most Satisfying Horror Movie Reveals

After Ripley defeated the Xenomorph in Alien, she went into hypersleep, believing her days of kicking extra-terrestrial butt were over. But when she awoke during the events of Aliens, she discovered there's an entire planet of acid-spitting beasties she needs to destroy.

After rescuing orphan Newt from the Alien Queen, Ripley detonates a nuclear bomb, wiping out the parasitic colony. Landing on a nearby spaceship, Ripley, Newt, Bishop, and Hicks breathe a collective sigh of relief. 

Suddenly, Bishop is ripped in two by the Queen, which snuck onboard Ripley's vessel. Before the pissed-off queenie has a chance to finish our heroine off, she dashes into the other room and shuts the door. With Hicks heavily injured, Bishop out of commission, and Newt too young to fight, the Queen's victory seems inevitable.

However, from there, the sealed door opens as Ripley returns inside a colossal power loader. Trundling towards the towering fiend, Ripley defiantly yells, "Get away from her, you bitch!"

This big reveal truly is a thing of beauty. Firstly, it demonstrates that the earlier scene of the power loader, which seemed unnecessary at the time, was setting up this showdown. And although it initially looked like Ripley was abandoning her crew, she was looking for a way to save them. 

Most importantly, seeing Ripley clad in a robotic exoskeleton is the first time it looks like our heroes have a fighting chance against the dreaded Queen. For this reason, it's hard to think of a single moment in sci-fi horror that's more hopeful and epic than this iconic shot.