No more CGI.

Kane was fine up until a moment before the Alien burst out of him. He did squeal like a piggy before he went into shock, and twitched a little as the birth continued.

Oram's voice was laboured as he lay on the floor, immobile. And he made some painful grunting noises as the creature erupted. He, too, did a bit of twitching.

I wouldn't like to say which of these was more 'fake',  not having seen such an event happen in real life! People handle shock in different ways. Like, I heard, the old trope of the crowd squealing when a plane goes down is fabrication – passengers generally stay silent or quiet at such times.

But, to the matter in hand, the practical effect in the 1979 movie was good, but poor by today's standards. The Covenant chestburster has some beautiful CGI.

We are 50 years(probably longer)till CGI is perfected....but even 50 years from now,  you'll still need great artists to produce believable characters.  No amount of CGI or practical effects will make up for bad character design.  Always going to need a Giger.

I'd love to see Alien3 with new CGI! Even A L I E N would be cool...I'd redo Ash's head scene and Kane's undershirt where you can clearly see the mechanical contraption he is wearing...clean up that and some other bits.

I would say Scott was genius dealing with the shooting. Cameron's aliens always looked fake and "puppet like", and weren't scary, especially the Queen (blech).

I am a person that cannot stand CGI-

CGI fits the bill - no more, no less.

It's like something needs salting, but you're AGAINST SALT, so you just WON'T TAKE IT!!! :)

i think cgi is fine as long as the audience can't tell that it is cgi.

also it has to be used to enhance. not replace.

for exaple, mad max: fury road was hailed because of its practical effects but there is actually quite a bit of cg in it. is just incorperated into it well.

as for horror. i think that you are right saying that the xenon shouldent be running around in full daylight.

show the xeno less. makes it more effective.

The one place were alien covenant really neaded the cgi that it uses was for the back burster. it would be extremly fake looking it they used animotronics at that speed. the backburster is also something that can remain scary even when in full lighting.

MonsterZero I'd love to see Alien3 with new CGI! Even A L I E N would be cool..

I am not sure about that. I remember being thoroughly disappointed when Lucas "updated" Star Wars and Empire. I don't think one can even find a dvd of the unedited versions. I will never forgive him for that.

I think CGI is great, really. I agree with the sentiment that it needs to be done by the right people and it should be used mostly as additions to practical creatures/sets/effects when possible (because Covenant's creatures could have been better. They are good, but not great). 

Oddly enough though, the only shot I have a problem with in Covenant is when the Xeno goes down that ladder. I can nitpick the CGI slime that drips off of it as well, but that didn't kill me. I always thought that the Resurection CGI is even effective (for it's time) and I enjoy it! Alien 3, while it's a good film, is worse though. I know it wasn't CGI, it was some new technology they did with a puppet and what not, but for me, it takes me out of the movie everytime I see it, which isn't good for an Alien film. It is subjective though. Evidenced by the fact that I like the Covenant CGI Aliens! 

I welcome the CGI, but I do agree going more practical would be cool as well. It's funny with Ridley Scott, Alien seems like an outlier at this point. We know that Alien was spooky because of the limited technology and the Alien had to hide in the shadows. I get the feeling (from watching Covenant) that if he could have, the Alien encounters would have been more animamlistic and out in the open in Alien, as they were in Covenant. I almost feel like I give them TOO much credit for working with what they had back then. I mean, in reality they deserve that credit, but you know. 

CGI is great where it's needed, but there are multiple problems in AC:

First when they land on the planet, Aliens are jumping around like some crazy monkeys. Movements are too fast and random, extremely unrealistic. Then there was a creature that had no eyes, I mean dinosours looked more convinving in 1993 Jurassic park. I get it that nobody does costumes anymore, but special effects in original Alien took time and creativity, like animal organs, thats why they looked so terrifying vs rendered graphics. Oh and where are air detectors? That was so cool to watch this little dots on the screen closing up on its prey, real suspense!!! 

I thought the neomorphs jumping around were very effective. Vicious, fast and unpredictable. That's exactly the kind of behaviour you need from a top predator. The adult form looked convincing to me. If Alien-style motion detectors had been used in this prequel, many many people would have complained, and justly so.

I think the CGI could've been better in A:C.  I'm not against CGI, but it does need to be done correctly.  I do like real costumes too.  A balance of the two is probably the best route to go in present times.  I think the CGI in Alien: Resurrection is just great!  It's been awhile since I've watched the whole thing, but from my memory, it's awesome.  I love the part where the Xeno's are swimming at the people.  That part really scared me.  I remember that part as being some really great CGI.  The Alien franchise has had some great CGI, or maybe they were costumes or props, but I do think that A:C needed some help on the CGI parts.  There were maybe around a handful of those parts needing help in A:C.

@hox

I love the original chestburster scene in Alien.  Sometimes I get on the internet and just watch that clip.  The best part is that the room is dead quite and then... the creature screeches and rushes across the table!!!! Fabulous!!!  

@ MonsterZero

"Even A L I E N would be cool...I'd redo Ash's head scene and Kane's undershirt where you can clearly see the mechanical contraption he is wearing...clean up that and some other bits."

I agree on that.

@Muhamor83

"First when they land on the planet, Aliens are jumping around like some crazy monkeys."

They even sound like monkeys too.  Honestly, I loved the fact that those neomorphs acted so primitive and even sounded like monkeys.  At first viewing, I didn't like it right away, but when I allow it to really soak in and try and think what these neomorphs are thinking, I think the solution we saw in A:C is a good one.  It could've been different, but I think it wouldn't have been better or at least not by much.  Now, when I watch the movie at that, I just soak it up and love it all.  The reel of film from when Ledward is being carried by Karine until the survivors arrive to Davids "sanctuary" is just amazing.  Of course after that, the fear changes and becomes more sneaky-like instead of just all in your face. 

@I Moon Girl, yeah I love the scene too. But the practical effect is just so poor when the chestburster is whisked across the table, I can hardly bring myself to watch that part of it. Where are its legs, for gawds sake.

@hox

Maybe the Engineers version of the impregnated xeno doesn't have legs or maybe David removes the legs in the early stages of the Xeno's growth.

I always figured the Xeno slithered across the table like a snake.  Or maybe it moves like a slug, but just 100000x faster?  The Xeno does drool a lot, so maybe those drool glands start on its lower belly when it first bursts from the chest to allow it to move very easily across a surface, like a slug!  Then, those glands go away.  I'm sure we could figure out some realistic scientific answer to how the baby Xeno moves.  At least I hope so!

I thought the CGI was terrible in Alien covenant.

The scene where the Neo is attacking the lady in the med bay was just awful.

The neomorphs in the field scene I thought was great, though

It was all happening really fast and I Really enjoyed that scene.

AdamPD said "I thought the CGI was terrible in Alien covenant."

I agree that there were a good handful of scenes that needed better CGI quality too.  Still, some people on this forum don't think so.  I don't understand it either.

I like both practical and CGI as long as they are executed properly and look decent. Covenant mostly used practical when dealing with the actors but was replaced/enhanced with CGI after post-production and I thought it looked really good (examples being the back burster, the chest burster, and the Xenomorph on the lander) but the only scene that bothers me is when he's going down the ladder. I know it doesn't look 100% real but neither did the original movies, no offense (examples being the chest burster, the Xeno itself, Ash when decapitated, and any time they used a vehicle in Aliens). I still enjoy it though either way but there's always room for improvement. :-) I also had no problem seeing the Xeno in broad daylight cuz it's a beautiful creature and scary no matter what lol Damn thing will rip your head off!

A lot of the CGI shots were just gorgeous, my favourite being the shot of the storm on the planet, with the covenant overhead.

I loved the scene where Tennessee is talking to Mother and you can see the planet below, with the storm raging on.

Loved the shot of the city below the juggernaut right before it's bombed, it looked so real.

The only CGI issues I thought were poor, as I said, were the med bay scene.

You could see fake/cgi blood flying everywhere, yet you could still see her face in between shots and it was untouched, so where the heck was the blood coming from?

And while not CGI related, why the heck was she waving the knife around at arms length when it's right in front of her face? It just seemed to be really rushed.

AdamPD  why the heck was she waving the knife around at arms length when it's right in front of her face? 

Good point. You would think she would try to gaurd her face. Maybe she just acted the part and they didn't match the CGI creature with her actions?

Even though I prefer practical effects there are maybe times when CGI helps (if there is no other way to do it). Keep it to a minimum (at least as far as the Alien franchise is concerned) because then it makes it easier for a viewer to feel that they are a part of the thing because it feels less artificial.

One example where they used too much is the Star Wars prequels. Compare it to the original movies. The originals still feel more real because they have at least less CGI that practical things it seems to me.

Don’t use it unless it is really needed.

Before I saw the movie in theaters,   the backburster scene was somehow online and after watching it, I became worried the movie was going to be full of POS CGI. The manner in which the guy's body flaccidly backwards on the the table... Sheesh, Xbox games make that stuff look more realistic.  I watched the remake of "It" this weekend and the CGI the clown parts for me. When the villain is a cartoon, it's simply not scary....  (BTW, that was a good movie though not a scary one...)