What actually happens
A warning beacon, as a treat
The commercial tug Nostromo is flying home with seven crew asleep in stasis, plus Jones the cat. The captain is Dallas, Kane is his second in command, Ripley is the warrant officer, Lambert navigates, Ash is the science officer, and Parker and Brett are engineers. The ship's computer, Mother, picks up a transmission from a nearby moon and wakes everyone. Company policy requires them to check out signals that suggest intelligent life, so they park their cargo in orbit and land, damaging the ship in the process. Dallas, Kane and Lambert find a derelict alien vessel with a giant fossilized alien body inside, a hole in its torso. Meanwhile, Mother partly decodes the transmission, and Ripley realizes it is a warning beacon and not a call for help.
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The last meal before stasis
Kane goes into a chamber full of large eggs, touches one, and an arthropod-like creature springs out and attaches itself to his face through his helmet. Ripley wants to keep him in quarantine, but Ash lets them aboard anyway. Ash tries to remove the creature but stops when he finds out its acidic blood could eat through the hull. It eventually lets go and dies by itself. Kane wakes up and seems fine. Then comes the scene people dread most, during a meal before the crew goes back into stasis. Kane chokes and convulses, and a small alien bursts out of his chest and runs off into the ship.
Flamethrowers in the ducts
The crew sends Kane's body into space and tries to hunt the alien with tracking devices. Brett follows Jones into a compartment and is killed by the now fully grown creature. Dallas plans to force it out through an airlock and asks Mother for backup options, but the computer won't answer. He enters the air ducts with a flamethrower and is ambushed and killed. Lambert panics and suggests taking the shuttle, but Ripley, now in charge, says it can't carry four people. She reads a secret company order saying Ash must bring the alien back whatever happens to the crew. Ash attacks her, and Parker stops him. Ash turns out to be an android who admires the alien, and Parker burns what's left of him.
Five minutes and a very small shuttle
Ripley agrees to Lambert's plan and starts the self-destruct. The alien kills Parker and Lambert while they gather supplies, then blocks Ripley's path to the shuttle. She gets past, tries to cancel the countdown, and cannot get back in time. With five minutes left, she runs to the shuttle, takes Jones and launches just before the Nostromo explodes. Then she finds the alien hiding in a narrow compartment aboard. She suits up, arms herself with a grappling hook gun and straps into a chair. She vents gas to drive it out, opens the door, and shoots it. The door catches the line, so she fires the engines to snap it and send the alien into space. She records a log entry and goes into stasis with Jones.
The ending, explained
Ripley is the only crew member to survive. The alien kills Brett, Dallas, Parker and Lambert, and Kane dies earlier when it bursts from his chest. Ash is revealed as an android and burned by Parker. Ripley starts the self-destruct, escapes the Nostromo with Jones just before it explodes, and finds the alien aboard the shuttle. She opens the shuttle door to cause a depressurization blast, shoots the creature with a grappling hook gun, and fires the engines to cut the line so it drifts away into space. She records her log entry, then puts Jones and herself into stasis for the trip home.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog in this one.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Alien scary?
Yes, Alien is a 7 out of 10 with high dread. It is a slow, claustrophobic stalker with several sudden attacks, a chest-bursting scene, and a creature that moves through the ship's air ducts.
How does Alien end?
Ripley is the last survivor. She triggers the Nostromo's self-destruct, escapes on the shuttle with Jones the cat, and sends the alien into space by opening the door and cutting its line.
Does the dog die in Alien?
There is no dog in Alien, so no dog dies. The only pet is Jones the cat, who survives.
Is there a post-credits scene in Alien?
No. Alien has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Ash in Alien?
Ash is the Nostromo's science officer, and he turns out to be an android. A secret company directive requires him to bring the alien back, whatever happens to the crew.
