The Christopher Nolan movie he compared to ‘Alien’: “You understand why they’re afraid”
Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan’s iconic first entry into the Batman universe, changed the landscape of superhero movies forever. With his darker, grittier approach to the classic DC superhero, Nolan transformed him from a campy, straight-up-and-down superhero into a nuanced, mysterious, and ruthless antihero. This approach was so effective that all successive comic book adaptations and superhero movies have tended towards this darker style. In fact, some see the franchise as a turning point in cinema.
And while the Nolan trilogy has been likened to crime dramas and psychological thrillers due to its complex characters, moral ambiguity and gritty details, the director himself sees it slightly differently. For him, Batman Begins is more classic sci-fi horror than drama. Speaking to Empire, the filmmaker said, “I always liken Batman to the first Alien, where you just glimpse it. So he’s frightening, threatening and elusive. You understand why they’re afraid of him.”
While Christian Bale’s terrifying and awesome portrayal of The Caped Crusader might not immediately bring to mind the Xenomorph alien from Ridley Scott’s 1980s classic, upon deeper reflection, it’s easy to see the similarities. The horror and suspense of Alien isn’t really due to the ferocity or appearance of the Xenomorph, terrifying though it is, but to the subtle claustrophobia of the horror classic. The whole movie takes place on one small spaceship and we only ever catch snatches of the relentless monster, which at times seems to disappear into the mechanisms of the ship and appear out of nowhere in the darkness.
All of this might sound eerily similar to fans of Nolan’s Batman. Trained by Ras Al Ghul and the League of Shadows, Bruce Wayne has mastered the dark, knowing how to disappear into it and become one with it. This turns the familiar superhero into something terrifying rathe than cuddly and heroic. The strength of Nolan’s Batman isn’t in his ability to save damsels and innocents, but in how much he is able to put proverbial the fear of god into criminals, gangsters and enemies.
And it’s exactly these criminals who Nolan wants to align the audience with, “The concept was always to present him from the criminal’s point of view… You understand why they’re afraid of him.” And, undoubtedly, you are a little bit scared too. Take Batman’s first real appearance when he apprehends Falcone’s men: cronies disappear at random, lightbulbs explode, we get a glimpse of his animalistic costume, and he’s gone, his wings swoop, a shadow burgeons. Nolan introduces his hero to the same beats of a villain or ghoul. In the same way that Scott introduces us to his Alien.
Then later in the movie, we get a full-frontal look at Batman when he uses Crane’s poison against him, and his transformation is even more horrifying than Scarecrow’s. His whole face disappears into the mask, and his eyes and mouth turn black and ooze – drawing another comparison to the acid-drooling Xenomorph.
If you look for the signs, it’s easy to see the influence of the sci-fi classic on Nolan’s characterisation of his Batman, even if it’s not the first thing to spring to mind.
