25 Things You Didn't Know About Alien

2. The Alien Only Has 4 Minutes Of Screen Time

Alien 1
20th Century Fox

One of Alien's great strengths was how it effectively limited the alien's screen time whilst managing to remain tense and terrifying. The monster is rarely seen and is never shown in full or with clear lighting - frequently obscured, lurking in the shadows or shown in extreme close-up. The fact that it only seems to appear moments before a kill solidifies its status as a stealthy hunter.

With this known, totting up the alien's on-screen presence is still surprising. Over the film's 117 minute runtime, the creature appears for a grand total of only four minutes, and doesn't make an appearance until around the 1-hour mark.

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A self-taught video editor with nearly 25 years of experience, Joe worked in freelance videography for many years before joining WhatCulture in 2018. During that time, he has expanded his work to include both writing and presenting, and has been at the forefront of several new channel launches including WhatCulture Horror and WhatCulture Star Wars, largely defining their visual identity through the design and curation of their bespoke assets. As a dedicated WhatCulture Gaming staff member, he has spearheaded numerous new content strategies and formats, and has taken the lead on various charitable projects that have raised large sums of money for charities close to his heart. Bluesky and Instagram: @jjpinwheel