Alien: Covenant Flashback FX Breakdown (MPC)

I saw this before. I wish that scene was longer- there was so much gore and brutal suffering- very satisfying albeit brief. TY for posting.

That scene was so spectacular, short-lived, but spectacular!

However, it let us see exactly how powerful and effective the Black Pathogen is. 

If the LV-223 Engineers had carried out their mission and reached Earth with it, the entire planet could have been cleansed in a matter of a few hours, perhaps less?

More stunning work by MPC.

Thanks Ingeniero

This kind of reminds me a bit like the Final Evolution in the Movie Lucy (2014) well the part where she turns into that Black Substance.

What i mean is it appears the Black Goo in this video seems to intelligently seek out the Targets and then maybe Multiplies inside them before forming together to try and escape and seek out the next target.

Its like the Virus/Pathogen has some Inteligence behind it where the maybe millions of nano particles or elements of this pathogen, will form together to make those like Tentacle Shapes.

While that is interesting, it does seem to over complicate what was at its basis a more Simple Creation Tool.

'What i mean is it appears the Black Goo in this video seems to intelligently seek out the Targets and then maybe Multiplies inside them before forming together to try and escape and seek out the next target. Its like the Virus/Pathogen has some Inteligence behind it where the maybe millions of nano particles or elements of this pathogen, will form together to make those like Tentacle Shapes.' - by BigDave

You see the same scenes in Alien Covenant. The black goo enters the bodies, then parasite clusters exit the bodies...

The process:

Mutagenic pathogen (black goo) --> Host --> Hybridized creatures are produced (trilobites, insect-like motes in pods, parasites) --> Host again --> Xenomorph-like hybridized creatures are produced (deacon, neomorph)

Alien Covenant:

Mutagenic pathogen (black goo) --> host (Planet 4 Engineers) --> hybridized creature (parasites bursting from the dying Engineers) --> host again (not revealed in the movie) --> xenomorph-like hybridized creature (not revealed in the movie)

Alien (1979):

/Mutagenic pathogen --> host(s): segment of the process controlled by the Engineers or David 8/ --> hybridized creature (facehugger in the alien egg) --> host again (Kane) --> xenomorph-like hybridized creature (the 1979 Xenomorph)

Great video, Ingeniero.

I think there is still a lot of ambiguity in regards to the Black Goo, there really is NO concrete evidence that can rule in favor of one theory or the other, indeed the Weyland File and Alien Covenant appear to point us to something, but in doing so contradicts what Prometheus showed.

Jon Spaights Alien Engineers was the Original Concept, the Nano-Scarabs are in essence the Goo....  Sadly they keep changing how it works as they go along and makes for some pretty contradicting elements.

Ones which we can only try and come up with a few explanations... The Bombardment Scene is a good example, the effects seem different to Prometheus, however we could maybe confirm the effect could be similar to what happened to those Engineers on LV-223, which matches the Theory i had years ago... The Bombardment Scene kind of fits with what i interpreted as far as LV-223 Dead Engineers, but i think those Engineers maybe were not infected large scale like the Bombardment Scene, i suspect they was infected with smaller amounts that was Spiked/contaminated in something to get into those Engineers... likely as a result of Sabotage.

I have tried to come up with reasons to explain the Bombardment Scene effects, which lead me to mainly TWO conclusions.

1) The Weapon we see used here is how it was intended, it was Primed and Activated by its Weapon Deployment System and in effect acted like a Dropped Nuclear Weapon.  Disintegration etc at the Point of Impact, and at a greater Radius lesser effects similar to how Radioactive Fall Out can Mutate Organic Genes/Cause Mutation.  

Thus the UN-activated/NON-Deployed Cargo in Prometheus would be like Humans coming across a Atomic Bomb (None Deployed/Exploded) and Exposing themselves to the Radioactive Elements inside.

2) The Bombardment was starting to have a effect on the Environment but the Engineers attempted to launch some kind of Quarantine/Fail-safe Protocol that unleashed some kind of Energy Weapon that would basically FRY or Destroy all Organic Material within a certain Radius, thus turning the Engineers into those Mummified Remains and Preventing the Local Spread of the Pathogen.

There is of-course a few holes to this one.... but then there are holes to a lot of things in Alien Covenant.  Especially when we are given the TRUE explanation of things, which is just lame..... and i mean how the Black Goo Worked and how David got his Hosts for the Experiments..

Totally unimaginative and well lazy, compared to a more realistic theory that i proposed...  THAT Does-Not Contradict anything.

'concrete evidence that can rule in favor of one theory or the other'

Not my theory, that is the most official you find at the moment.

'Jon Spaights Alien Engineers was the Original Concept, the Nano-Scarabs are in essence the Goo...'

Yes, but old concepts and unused ideas can't be taken into consideration if you want to explain the things you see in a movie.

'Sadly they keep changing how it works as they go along and makes for some pretty contradicting elements.'

Totally true, so it is possible that these patterns/rules/explanations will change again for/owing to/in the Alien Covenant sequel.

'but i think those Engineers maybe were not infected large scale like the Bombardment Scene'

We do not know anything about the features and scale of the events happened to the LV-223 Engineers 2000 years ago. It is possible that there was a big explosion in one of the chambers of the pyramid. Or another more serious disaster...

'Does-Not Contradict anything'

Yes, contradictions and ambiguity - probably that was an approach applied by the makers of AC.

That is the reason why this site is not dead.

Certainly... i think it been a case of make it up as they go along,  i think Prometheus was quite clear, and especially when using Alien Engineers as a Rosetta Stone for the Black Goo.

Everyone is entitled to their own theories, my grand theory just seems to add up to what we see in the Movies and Drafts.... but sadly gets a bit contradicted with some comments RS makes and the Extra after Launch stuff like the Advent and Weyland Files.

That i guess we have to accept as Current Explanations even though they are clearly flawed, lazy and well contradicting.  My theories add up with the whole Creation/Gods aspect.

But the after-market Virals, just give us a Race who just create us for fun, then try kill us for fun with a McGuffin Virus that basically is a AI that kills but then can reanimate Engineers and Life.

I would welcome you ATI to give us a brief or detailed version of you interpretation as that would be interesting to read ;)

The Outbreak is always a interesting one because from various drafts the clues to the event change somewhat, we had at one point the Engineers running off to Kill themselves to Prevent the Changes of the Infection, and in a previous one, its implied that some Engineers had suffered Chest Buster Wounds, while others Wounds from the Grown Chest Busters

Prometheus was very ambiguous, due to that Deacon like Screech when the Hologram was activated, which could mean they was running from a Deacon.   I am still drawn to thinking some Sabotage may have been involved, certainly a leak of sorts, be that accidental or on purpose.   I think the Big Question has to be what is the Purpose of the Space Jockey Suits....

The un-shown scenes show us the Engineers did-not need them to breath outside on the Surface (Engineer leaving the Juggernaught to Lifeboat).   If its a Pilot Suit then why do so many need the Suits on, as they dont wear them in Cryo-sleep.  And the Outpost provided a Atmosphere that Humans could Breath, so why did Engineers need those suits.

The only conclusion i think is like a Hazmat Suit, either to prevent infection/exposure to themselves, or to protect the Environment from Contamination via the Engineers, much like such Hazmat suits are worn in some Factories dealing with making Drugs/Cures/Medicines or working on Small Electronic Components like in a Microprocessor Factory 

So the Humans taking their Helmets off may have infected the Cargo in the Big Head Room.   Which is why the Space Jockey Suits were worn, it also make sense that the Room maybe also has a Environment that Stops/Slows down the Infection which is why the Engineers had all been attempting to get to this Room.

So if this is a correct assumption, then we need to start to think of how any infection happened and spread and were all the Engineers infected?

I will have to have a deeper look at the Black Goo and Advent Video and ignore any previous clues that Prometheus and Alien Engineers had shown.    And try and make some sense of it but it appears the Black Goo has now just been labeled as a Substance that can basically do almost anything.  Which i feel was just a lazy McGuffin way of allowing them to show what they want without worry about contradicting anything.

'I would welcome you ATI to give us a brief or detailed version of you interpretation as that would be interesting to read ;)'

Why should I do that, BigDave?

We have two movies, Prometheus and AC, 'full of' contradictions and ambiguous characteristics. Accepting the fact that different possibilites and results exist regarding the background events seems to be the best reaction from us. We have to wait and hope that the next prequel will give us the answers.

'Prometheus was very ambiguous, due to that Deacon like Screech when the Hologram was activated, which could mean they was running from a Deacon.'

Is it confirmed that we hear a Deacon at the activation?

Why don't we hear other noises, shouts, voices, speaking, and so on coming from the hologram record?

"1) The Weapon we see used here is how it was intended, it was Primed and Activated by its Weapon Deployment System and in effect acted like a Dropped Nuclear Weapon.  Disintegration etc at the Point of Impact, and at a greater Radius lesser effects similar to how Radioactive Fall Out can Mutate Organic Genes/Cause Mutation."

I believe that conclusion number 1) BigDave can be easily supported with what we saw in the "primed" urns in formation in Alien: Covenant, below.

The formation and the light seen at the end of each urn above tends towards conclusion 1. As far as the different outcomes from the mutagen...I believe they "tried" to explain that when David was introducing himself to the crew in his dire "necropolis". 

Why didn't David leave Planet 4?

"When the people of this society realized what was happening, they disabled all their ships to prevent any change of the virus spreading beyond this world."

Alien: Covenant novelization, page 190.

Of course, above, David may be lying in this sentence as he was in the ones he spoke before and those that came after but he was still on Planet 4 after traveling there from LV-223 in a juggernaut. So, he may be telling the truth regarding the Engineer ships on Planet 4.

With both the large Engineer craft and David's juggernaut crashed on the valley floor and the mountainside, then something happened to put them there after/during David's bombardment.

Great point Ati regarding the lack of sounds in the hologram....I guess the Engineer screams are muted from inside the Space Jockey/Chair suit.

"Why should I do that, BigDave?"

I think it would be interesting to see other peoples interpretations, its the wonderful thing about the ambiguity, even if you drop us a PM i hope my comment was not taken the wrong way as to insult your opinion that is not the case at all.   I value your input and i do like it when someone comes up with some idea that makes me go "i never thought of that" or "that makes perfect sense"

The Prequels Certainly leave a lot of clues that can be interpreted in different ways, the whole Prequels as far as Drafts, Deleted Scenes and Comments by Production or RS, depending which we use or discard really can change the outcome of what ever theories we can come up with.

Prometheus a Great Example, if we look at the Theatrical, and then look at the Deleted Scenes especially ones we never even had on the DVD Extras (Engineer reading the Books in Vickers Suite)  so these can draw a different conclusion for each of us.

I think the MAIN thing is to consider what only the Movies show, and thus ignore the extras, or drafts...  But maybe consider the extras as in the Virals like the Advent.    This does then kind of conflict a bit with my overall interpretation, i will have to give my TWO Cents and then give another one taking into account the Advent/Alien Covenant.

"Is it confirmed that we hear a Deacon at the activation?"

Its one of those unanswered questions, something that drives some to think it was a Deacon, i however think not.....  due to other clues.

So its a good point about why we don't hear the Engineers.... we do however hear the Engineers in the other Hologram Scene but their conversations are muffled and quite low in volume... but it could be the Recordings taken on the Ship have Sound (Hence Dr Shaws Take me Home"

@Ingeniero

Indeed i had made a view comments way prior to Alien Covenant about the Weapons...  How they appeared to comprise of 4 Elements.

1) Outer Shell (Urn)

2) A inner Slime/Waxy Substance (depends on temperature or other factors)

3) The Glass like Ampules/Vials

4) The Substance inside

We can see these Urns are intact and unaffected until after the Prometheus Crew does something to the environment (however those on the Ship remain unaffected)  we see the ones in the Big Head Room React, and a Black Oil like Liquid leaks from the Tops of the Urns, after they appear to start to Sweat and then appear to bubble/melt (Top of the Urns).

The Frozen Urn that David extracts the Ampoules from, appears to have what looks more like tiny particles like black specs of dust/sand that floats around inside some water/liquid...   Its likely the Urns Reacted that Caused the Slime/Waxy Substances surrounding the Ampoules to break down the Glass Vials and Melt the Top of the Urns to release the Black Goo...   Maybe the mixture of the Slime/Waxy Substance and Substance in the Ampoules/Vials combine to give us a different effect than merely the stuff in the ampoules alone?  

This is however based on Prometheus.... with Alien Covenant we get a different effect... but we cant rule out the Weapons Armament Procedure does something to the Urns to cause them to Explode and this Reaction makes the Black Goo have another different effect.

Its why i ponder was the Spores a Result of some Mold/Fungi growing where Stagnant Water was located, that then became infected with the Black Goo either from leaked Urns on the Ship after crashing, or via residue of the Bombardment.

I think when looking at the Creatures in Alien Covenant, what we have (and not including the Engineer Scene) is that it appears the Bombardment MAY have affected the Planet's Life, it certainly killed a number out-right and its hinted some had become Mutated/Hybrids instead.

We have the Spores/Motes which are a reaction to the Black Goo the ambiguity is if these are from the Bombardment, or potentially leaked Cargo that Spilled into the Stream on the Mountains after the Juggernaught Crashed.

It appears David discovered the Neomorph Spores and saw what they had done, and he likely had infected various Life-forms with the Motes to see what happens.

It would appear he began to use the Black Goo to Mix DNA/Traits of Organisms infected with the Neomorph Spores with Organic Material infected with the Black Goo and by using various combinations of Neomorph Spores and DNA and the Black Goo he attempted to create various Organisms in a quest to then Cross-Hybrid their Traits in the Pursuit of creating his Xenomorphs.

Its highly indicated that Female Engineer Reproductive Organs and Eggs/Fetus were used for various Experiments,  and that he also LIKELY experimented on Weak but Alive Engineers and also he had Re-animated (but i am no fan of this) Engineer Corpses, unless by Re-animating he was able to take Dead Organisms that had not decomposed to far and as they still have Organic Material the Black Goo could manipulate the Organic Material/DNA

It appears he had finally been getting close with a Organism that combined all the traits he wanted, but found this FINAL process was not yielding results using Engineer Fetus/Egg Cells... But Dr Shaw's Human Reproductive Organs provided much more success.

I think for a lot of these Experiments the Black Goo from inside some of the Urns he had collected from the Juggernaught (we can safely assume) was used in a way similar to actually what Prometheus had shown and how the Nano-Scarabs worked in Alien Engineers.

The more TRICKY part is tackling how the Bombardment had effected those Engineers' i can only assume the Urns can be Programed before deployment to allow the results to effect Organic Material in a different way than we saw in Prometheus.

Instead of attacking a Targets Cells/Building Blocks and either causing these Genetic Building Blocks to break down and then each Molecule carries Traits from the Black Goo, or have the Organisms Molecules/Building Blocks become Mutated into a Hybrid.

It could be likely the Bombardment was programed to replicate the Pathogen Virus inside a Host but then also instead of re-writing the hosts DNA/Molecular Building Blocks it just turned every Molecule/Atom into a Crystallized/Ossified material. 

Maybe the Black Goo was programed by David or default (when activated by the Deployment Mechanism) to only have this Crystallized/Ossified affect on Human/Engineer DNA Organisms.