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5 Reasons Why Ellen Ripley Was a Boss-Ass Bitch

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Alien is a cultural landmark for horror and sci-fi. It showed us a version of space travel that was gritty, grimy, and blue-collar. For once, a spaceship wasn’t all shiny, white and chrome. We followed a group who were horribly under-prepared for the threat they encountered. There was no big bad security or military officer there to lead the charge. And we were introduced to the character of Ripley, one of the most badass bitches to grace the silver screen.

To celebrate Ellen Ripley and National Alien Day, let’s review some of the reasons why she was such a boss-ass bitch.

Ripley Won’t Take Your Bullshit

She’s got pride, she’s got power, she’s a badass mother who won’t take no crap off of nobody. Ripley calls everyone on their bullshit and their ego and it’s just the best. She calls out Ash when he overrules her order to keep Kane in quarantine and confronted him about Special Order 937. She calls out Lieutenant Gorman on his bullshit decisions. She doesn’t hesitate to point the finger at Burke when he locked Ripley and Newt in a room with two live facehuggers. She halts Hudson mid-breakdown to remind him that cooler heads must prevail if they hope to survive. The list goes on, because really, Ripley ain’t got time for your shit.

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It’s a great example of how the character isn’t some shrinking violet. She’s not afraid of confrontation and she’ll do whatever it takes – and sass the hell out of whoever it takes – to make sure her voice is heard.

Zero shit taken, and zero fucks given.

She’s Not Some Sexualized Murder Gymnast

Before Ripley was a superpowered Xeno-clone in Alien: Resurrection, she was just a warrant officer, stuck on the wrong mission at the wrong time. She’s not a back-flipping, high-kicking hyper-female killing machine with perfect makeup. She’s brash, strong-willed, and deeply human.

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Ripley was originally written as a male character. Brilliantly, they didn’t try to make the character more feminine once Sigourney Weaver was cast. Ripley is not a damsel in distress, defined by the men around her or her relationship to them. She’s defined by her strategic intelligence, level head, and survival instincts. Ripley defies gender roles and is inarguably one of the most significant female protagonists of film history.

She’s Maternal As Fuck

After learning of the death of her unintentionally estranged daughter, Ripley is devastated. All she wanted was to return home safely for her daughter’s eleventh birthday. When she finds Newt, her first instinct is to care for her. She has a small idea of what Newt has gone through and understands how much that trauma would affect a child. Ripley is committed to protecting her – no matter what.

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Enter one of the best lines of all time; “Get away from her you bitch!”.

Ripley is driven by her desire to protect. I mean, she’s even protective of Jonesy the cat in a time where most (cold-hearted) civilians would say “you’re on your own” and leave the furry friend behind. She shows that you can be a strong female character and still have a softer touch.

She’s Thorough as Hell

Ripley does not fuck about when it comes to killing a damn Xenomorph. In Alien, she shoves it out the airlock, shoots it with a harpoon gun, and blasts it in the engine. A totally necessary triple-tap overkill.

Image result for ellen ripley maternalIn Alien 3, Ripley requests a full autopsy – which she oversees – and burns the bodies of Hicks and Newt just to be certain that they would have no unfortunate surprises. She’s also the only one who insists on following quarantine protocol when Kane comes back to the Nostromo with an unknown alien entity firmly attached to his damn face. Sometimes you need to make the hard, unpopular decisions, and our girl will not hesitate.

She Was Thrust Into the Hero Role and Totally Owns it

Ripley is only third in command of the Nostromo but she attempts to take charge of the situation, trying to calm the other crew members when things start to go to shit. When Lieutenant Gorman ignores her pleas for action, she takes over and rushes in to save the surviving members of the platoon. And even though she has no military background, Corporal Hicks turns to her for advice, appreciating her input and often giving her final say when decisions are made. She may not be a dominant force, but she’s tough, ready, and capable. From Warrant Officer to Our Lady of Survival, Ripley defies expectations and comes out of her PTSD-inducing experience with a fresh attitude and a license to kill.

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Ultimately, in her humanity, Ripley performs one final heroic act. When she learns that there’s a Xenomorph Queen growing inside her, she sacrifices herself for the sake of mankind, killing the Queen and stopping the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s surely sinister plans.

There are many reasons to love Ripley. What are yours? Share with us in the comments!

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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