10 Movies That Ingeniously Subverted Expectations
6. Alien
It's with good reason that Ridley Scott's Alien continues to have a profound impact on the sci-fi genre more than 40 years after its original release.
Beyond its gorgeous aesthetics, iconic creature, and excellent cast is a subversive central character dynamic which effectively bait-and-switches audiences in the best way possible.
For the first hour-or-so of Alien, there isn't much of a clearly-defined protagonist, though our expected go-to is that the Nostromo's captain, Dallas (Tom Skerritt), will be the hero of the piece.
But roughly half-way through the movie, Dallas gets unexpectedly killed by the Xenomorph, at which point Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) gradually transitions into the lead role.
Rather than have the grizzled, hyper-masculine Captain be the one to survive, he's effortlessly ganked by the monstrous antagonist.
Ripley, who was played by a little-known actress and would in many other versions of this movie be a mere meat shield, then resourcefully fends the alien interloper off and escapes as the Nostromo's sole survivor.
It really can't be understated just how groundbreaking and unexpected this was for viewers in 1979.