Borrowing Blockbusters: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Aliens Knock Offs

The final part of my series looking at imitations of the Alien franchise focuses in on James Cameron's sequel.
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www.aliens-expanded.com/?aff=42
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00:00 Intro & Openers
05:18 Italy
11:06 Sequels: The Return
22:34 The Mother Movie
30:00 Space Marines
35:30 Oh the Horror!
40:22 Oh the Animated Horror!
43:40 The Rest of the Franchise
46:31 Outro

[@Llyander]

Fishburne's perfectly delivered "We're leaving" is one of the greatest lines ever spoken in a movie.

[@cornjobb]

it's certainly a line spoken in a film.

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

_"This place is a tomb"_

[@pickmeasinner]

Seems a fairly low bar!

[@PaulAngileri]

That line was great. Almost broke the 4th wall reading the audience’s mind about his situation.

[@DeathBYDesign666]

Not that you're wrong but it is so easy a line to deliver if you think about it. I think just about everyone has had that moment where they just had to escape the current situation pronto. It's not hard to imagine, that's all I'm saying.

[@flywheelshyster6549]

Truly one of the best series on all of KZbin. Always grows my list of b movie classics to watch!

[@tomhoward4905]

Excellent channel, so glad I found it

[@t0xcn253]

That's not all it grows.... haha sorry

[@MungoThorne]

Same, found so many cool movies off this channel.

[@kylerswamp1075]

For real!

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

It's like a highlight of all the movies you'd see on RedLetterMedia's Best Of The Worst series

[@michaelgodin938]

As others are saying, these videos are incredible and I can't imagine the amount of effort that goes into making them. The history, insight, vast knowledge and humour mesh together so perfectly to make the best channel for this subject matter - or any subject matter. So many videos will only skim the surface or make easy jokes when looking at these B-movies, but the fact that you are so passionate, attentive and able to identify the qualities of these movies makes these videos the de facto reference.

[@TheBadMovieBible]

That's a lovely comment, and much appreciated. Thanks.

[@huntinglightning3507]

​@TheBadMovieBible I always find it fascinating to learn about cinema and you provide insight into more history than any documentary or course in school. By the way, can you do a video about "Home Alone" Knock-offs for your next video? Your knowledge is invaluable. Keep up the good work.

[@williamselley4519]

These videos are absolutely brilliant, there’s nothing else quite like this on KZbin.

[@robwalsh9843]

Fun fact: The infamous sewer monster movie C.H.U.D. has a scene strikingly similar to the hive scene in Aliens where a group a swat officers armed with flamethrowers enter the sewers while being monitored on camera. C.H.U.D. came out before Aliens and I wonder if Cameron saw it.

[@MisterMelange]

Well if you're gonna go that route, "The Vidicator" also was released by 20th Century Fox in 1986, with special effects by Stan Winston, and also has a team of soldiers entering into the sewers to hunt a monster.

[@jasonking3182]

I think 1954 Them! Is probably the original of army men with flamethrowers vs monster eggs

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

I have immense respect for the way the guy who made the Xtro series regards those films. He's a legitimately talented film maker but he's not precious about his work at all. I envy his completely blasé attitude to his own art.

[@Cam-pe3nd]

My favorite retrospective series on KZbin. The right mix of interesting theme, obscurity, plot summary and personal observation.

[@zoekm]

How this channel isn't blowing up, I will never understand.

[@johns8369]

I never tire of watching the David Attenborough of Bad Movies. Thank you good sir!

[@KGH3000]

"I wonder why parodies and endorsements of fascism tend to look the same." Absolute gold

[@drdarkeny]

Because why use Fascism if not for the cool uniforms and weapons...? 🤣

[@3baxcb]

@@drdarkeny The one thing that I think stood out in Starship Troopers is how all the militant and testosterone-fueled invasion of the bug home planet Klendathu gets repulsed almost as soon as it begins. I do agree with the video regarding the director's intent and that if the parody was picked up, it might have been better received at the time of the release.

[@treborkroy5280]

​@@3baxcb"testosterone filled" it was men and women literally right there for you to see, women. And fascism isn't fashion. If the director wanted the movie to satire fascism he should have put fascism in the film instead of simply putting uniforms that were worn by fascists and propaganda remakes that look no different than a commercial for any American product. The movie simply isn't fascistic outside the veneer of imagery associated with known fascists. That's it.

[@Gmthekiller]

You're like Encyclopaedia of b movies and no film industry is spared from your investigative prowess. Always a pleasure and privilege to watch your videos❤

[@dysomnia]

Cameron Mitchell cutaways need to be the new default standard for censoring anything anywhere.

[@mckinleyostvig7135]

Your writing is so unbelievably good for these videos. I'm only a minute in and it's so good already.

[@GANGBUSTERSCOMEDY]

The channel always delivers. Every video is made with such love and is so dense with information and recommendations and wonderfully bone dry humour. Consistently outstanding!

[@Emulous79]

Great job editing all this footage together. Must have taken ages.

[@TheBeird]

Great video. Nice shout outs to Event Horizon and Deep Rising, especially to Treat Williams. Great actor. Last thing I saw him in was We Own This City. Small role but impactful.

[@U.F.O_0908]

This anthology has fueled many a search for obscure gems. Your efforts are MUCH appreciated! In my opinion, this is the best researched and most entertaining series that goes way beyond the rabbit hole.

[@DrWhom]

it comes back out of a rabbit hole... in China!

[@Gmthekiller]

Even if I don't seek these movies, at least I know the iceberg of b movies goes way beyond my imagination

[@dangittens41]

This has fast become one of my favourite channels, thanks for this.

[@Gmthekiller]

The level of research in this channel is unparalleled.

[@jasonking3182]

I always thought 1954 Them! was a huge influence on Aliens. You had army men fighting giant bugs in there nest with flamethrowers. You also had a proto Newt in the orphan girl who survived the monster attack and gives the movie its name.

[@tavarespalooza1323]

There's even the wrecked room with dinner still on the table, like the coffee and donuts left behind in Aliens. Clearly a big influence.

[@treborkroy5280]

Aliens was Cameron just putting what he read in starship troopers onto the screen.

[@Autopsy6]

I suspect that Erik Estrada's exasperation at Jan-Michael Vincent reading lines from the newspaper wasn't all acting!

[@Hellseeker1]

Dead Space is basically Aliens and The Thing had a baby. Love it!

[@MrJohndoakes]

6:36 The fun thing about "Shocking Dark"/"Terminator 2" is that Bruno Mattei broke with Italian tradition and actually had a sound crew on set, so it wasn't shot wild track and dubbed later.

[@MrJohndoakes]

Claudio Fragasso did the same thing when shooting "Troll 2" because his cast was mostly American and he didn't want to drag them back to dubbing booths in Italy.

[@3baxcb]

A special feature on the recent Blu-ray release goes into a bit of detail about the shooting locations.

[@BretHiggins]

Deep Rising definitely deserves more love and attention, it's such a fun movie and it knows exactly what it is. Shame we didn't get to see Spiders 2 in the list, but if it had been included it'd probably be the only film in the list!

[@3baxcb]

The video clip used made it obvious that there wasn't going to be a big standoff like in Aliens but more like the standard monster movie where fleeing in terror is the better option.

[@DGAMINGDE]

Massive thanks for all the work you put in your videos. They are both funny and interesting. I enjoy the mix of showing some of the most nonsensical takes on knock offs, but also giving context and also showing movies from all over the world not just America on Europe. Shows how all humans are the same in enjoying trying to get cheap bucks by copying popular movies. Also the lenght on the vids is truly incredible, must be at least a week of work into every new vid. Massive thanks for your work and you are completely undarrated.

[@TT-md7mm]

Meant to post comment on an earlier video from this series to just say, Wow! I absolutely love your work and attention to detail in this series. Beyond excited with these frequent uploads you've been doing. Great work man!

[@Byrvurra]

"I didn't edit this" should be this channel's catchphrase. These are always a treat to watch, thanks for the effort you put into them.

[@S_raB]

"Ends on a nuclear apocalypse. Can't find where he stole it from, so I assume he really staged it." That delivery! Lmao!!! Miss those old days of practical effects & genuine irony.

[@Cybjon]

One of the also-rans in 'Creepozoids' was Kim McKamy, who absolutely refused to do nudity. She'd then go on to be better known as Ashlyn Gere, one of the biggest porn stars of the 80s. She was one of the few unapologetic adult performers who would be able to maintain a mainstream career by simultaneously being a regular on 'Space: Above and Beyond' whilst still appearing in naughty movies.

[@jamesdominguez7685]

Deep Rising is unironically one of my all-time favourite films. It's extremely clever while doing an excellent job of pretending to be extremely stupid, and it's one of my my-quoted films. I can't see anyone eating peanuts without asking, "What's that? A peanut?" [pause] "DAMN IT." If it's a knock-off/homage to anything, it's a mix of Cold War era giant mutant monster movies and Ray Harryhausen humans-vs-stop-motion-creatures classics. As I recall, Sommers actually called out Harryhausen as an inspiration, as have most of the other huge genre filmmakers of the 80s-00s like Peter Jackson and James Cameron.

[@scottfw1193]

Never go full Newt 😊. Excellent episode

[@stephen70edwards]

Your videos keep getting better and better as their subjects get worse

[@chronoplague]

27:11 was not expecting a Clarissa Explains It All clip in here!

[@lopaka76]

How you have not had a mental breakdown from watching so many bad movies, is amazing.

[@Pdotta1]

I never forget that Treat Williams and Famke Janssen end up stranded on an island of monsters and we NEVER got to see that sequel. 😢

[@coreycohencomedy]

Just came here to say I love your work. Please keep them coming!

[@i.m.evilhomer5084]

Not even a minute into the video & I'm already laughing! 😂 I love this YT channel!

[@Gmthekiller]

Kinda feel bad that he hasn't gotten more subscribers. That's why I hate the likes of stuckman and Jeremy jahns. They take all the glory away from true movie lovers.

[@timmorehouse1237]

Appreciate the clips of Cameron Mitchell.

[@Savignylol]

That's it, I'm giving you my entire Patreon budget from now on.

[@inisipisTV]

R.I.P. Treat Williams. I remember him in "The Eagle has Landed" were he has to battle German N4zi Marines led by Micheal Caine off to kill Churchill.

[@MrJohndoakes]

The Germans are Luftwaffe paratroopers disguised as Free Polish paratroopers with German paratroop officer Michael Caine as their "British" officer because he can speak English with a British accent. It made more sense in the novel.

[@tigerheart3824]

A fantastic trilogy, thank you Rob. Also thanks for the Treat Williams tribute at the end 💖

[@djnax0r]

Let's not forget Ticks, the Citizen Kane of genetically modified bugs attack troubled teens movies. Also features Carlton Banks in a "tough guy" role, 90s cinema at its finest

[@lucassmith1886]

Can't believe you don't have at a minimum 100-200k subs. The content in itself is top shelf in my totally objective opinion. But also the level of editing, the scripts, and the level of research and knowledge needed for this stuff is A+++. Keep on keeping on, and once one or two of your vids make the rounds on the interwebs, I would put money on you at least cracking 100k in under a year from kow

[@flapjack6495]

this honestly feels like something id see on tv like amc or something either way more people should be wating this, its so great

[@tarsis6123]

You deserve more subs. Not just from the quality of the work, not just from the massive work load it encompasses, but also for the incredible will it must take to watch all that tripe, then go through it again for clips. Bravo.

[@probablynotmyname8521]

That opening gag makes me giggle every time.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

Spectral is a guilty pleasure of mine, yes it’s completely unremarkable but there’s just something about it I like, I rewatch it way more often than I probably should.

[@paracyntrix]

I actually enjoyed Spectral. Similar to The Darkest Hour.

[@alphawoolf5981]

Another brilliant episode!. Your channel is instrumental in building my list of "films" to acquire. I love me some bad movies!

[@bob23301]

Come on YT, this is a vastly quality channel, so start pushing it.

[@blackcatjimmy]

Love your work. Keep it up 👍

[@TheBadMovieBible]

Very kind, thank you for the support.

[@lordsofkobol7385]

Zombiesaurus is a very Aliens derived no budget fever dream I stumbled on in a charity shop very recently.

[@Disinterested-jg6pw]

This channel is the best thing about youtube

[@doomover9257]

another great video! recently purchased Bad Movie Bible due to my love of this channel, highly recommended to fellow fans. In depth info with interviews and ratings for each film, also Rob's excellent dry humor on every page. keep up the great work!

[@paracyntrix]

42:45 "…and especially THE BATTLE SCENES. THIS IS THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE MOVIE, AND IT AMOUNTS TO SONIC TORTURE. EVERY TIME IT STOPS, you pray it'll cut to people with faces that don't have machine guns. Well, they do. AND EVERYBODY IN THIS MOVIE HAS A MACHINE GUN, BUT THEY'RE NOT AL… they're not always firing them." Hilarious, man! 😂 I really did laugh out loud on that one!😂 Love it! The research, the production quality, the clips, the director/writer/production details, the cut-aways, and most of all, the jokes! Everything's awesome! Keep going! Want to see a lot more videos like this.❤

[@chadwik4000]

I just re-watched aliens yesterday! What great timing! I love this channel

[@marienbad2]

Another brilliant video for this series. I love the dry humour as much as the actual editing and research!

[@BreakfastAtNoon]

"See how the camera and the actor both move" bro, it's way to early for me to spit coffee out.

[@stevenwillard8436]

Your videos are truly some of the best stuff on KZbin. Never stop.

[@silvermoose2631]

These videos are seriously excellent. Would love to see one for Blade Runner eventually 🙂

[@pontiusporcius8430]

Sword and sorcery for me

[@djchrismac]

Brilliant and very entertaining, plus another "I didn't edit this!" too - it's becoming your catch phrase! 😄

[@freetard1759]

Once again.. Beautifully done.. Wittily edited and bravely undertaken... Keep up the great work

[@loommoon2301]

I absolutely Love your work! You're interlectual frustration that is reflected in your relaxed sarcasm is of the highest caliber. May I suggest an "enter the dragon - knock off" for a potential future video

[@raskaskoneisto]

Such a deep dive. Massive respect! Thank you.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

That Xtro Exposed footage feels like the Behind-The-Scenes interviews from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. "He couldn't actually interact with, y'know, another actor. I've never seen that before, and I've never seen that since."

[@jhors7777]

Love your entertaining and well researched channel, thank-you:)

[@TheCaptainSlappy]

And yes...Laurence Fishburne in Event Horizon is the only smart space captain that ever existed. Other than Captain Dallas, but he screwed up and wanted to leave afterwards, not before. We saw how that turned out. "...sit tight, or run. It makes no difference, you're mine." -MaMa (Dredd)

[@mikeosredkar8804]

I'm sorry it took so long for me to find your channel, but I am absolutely obsessed now that I have found it. I love amazingly bad movies, and whenever I hear "Italian" it takes me back to my first solo exploration into the madness. My first big one was "Zombi3" the half-Fulci bad zombie movie. I was so proud to find it on my own.

[@deejaytubbster8983]

I searched for decades for the title of the brazen Italian rip off (Shocking Dark), which I have seen in TV those days and really laughed my ass off! Thanks so much!

[@nathanhodges7823]

This channel is full of pure awesomeness. Its just incredible how life force must have been expended making such gems.

[@OldDirtyPhil]

love ur longer vids and channel over all keep up the great work!

[@Pdotta1]

“Eomer DREDD Butcher” to you and everyone else, buddy 😂😊

[@lobachevscki]

I love this series and this channel so much.

[@bmitw100]

Bless you! You may be the first You Tuber to give Shocking Dark a fair shake.

[@Caredroia]

Thanks Rob for another insightful/funny retrospective. Your Channel, like Stitched Together and Voxis Productions, deserves more plaudits and viewers!

[@kamath234]

I so much look forward to your series, thanks, please keep it coming :)

[@Moochtv]

Yey I've been looking forward to this video trilogy capper! Great work as per usual!

[@Lumibear.]

Fantastic stuff, I was entertained throughout, thank you!

[@LoganHunter82]

The Rift is one of my guilty pleasure movies

[@ivorybow]

Oh my gosh where has this channel been all my life? I just got the best watchlist. I am an inveterate bad movie lover, as long as they come by their badness honestly. I am going right to my movie channels now to find these tarnished gems.

[@jamescappio7434]

The final scene of DEEP RISING *truly* sets it apart.

[@KraigFang]

Just stumbled across this vid/channel and it rocks! So keep rocking 🤟😝

[@Headbehindthebubble]

'...bothering a North London family' - Thats gold!

[@Alexalicious]

More movies for my collection~! Thank you for all these series, they're fantastic~!

[@coolhrv]

Great work! I also recall FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN having some ALIENS vibes.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

Came here hoping someone else called it out... It wasn't subtle, and it had nothing to do with the source material despite being adapted by the developer themselves.

[@owensjl65]

Superbly researched and edited series. Very very entertaining

[@kingfield99]

This has made my day, thanks so much!

[@rowsdowerpower]

Thanks again! This has been a great source for suggestions. I got a shopping list for my next trip to vinegar syndromes archive!

[@thestomp1647]

Another great video. Glad you’ve watched all these terrible movies so I don’t have to.

[@laurenk1766]

I love the cheesiness of Deep Rising! One of my rainy day favorites.

[@JasonHowdenNZ]

THANK YOU!! Best series on youtube.

[@Nicolas.Vincent]

This is the end? Say it ain't so! 😭 Couldn't you just watch thousands more and make a part 4? 🤷‍♂️

[@IntoTheGigerverse]

I just recently found this channel and am loving your retrospectives thus far! Question: you by any chance wouldn't be the same person who used to be The Phantom Reviewer, would you? Your voice and delivery style (stiff upper lip in the face of any and all cinematic weirdness) are a lot like his, and the premise of Borrowing Blockbusters is pretty similar to his channel's whole schtick, which was trying to review every adaptation of Phantom of the Opera.

[@green49285]

Been waiting for this one. LETS GOOOO!

[@nicknewman7848]

Thank you Robert.. much love x

[@csmadisun]

Another fantastic watch. Take a long deserved break - you've more than earned it.

[@ignominioussot5699]

Just thought I'd reiterate what I posted on your Total Force video as your probably more likely to see it ... Mate, I've been binge watching your channel from recent to past. Great! Someone that reviews B-Movies and puts the record straight. Keep up the good work! Liked and subscribed!

[@fletchkeilman2205]

My day....week....month...hell, YEAR even....is now complete. Thank you, BMB

[@stirgy4312]

Excellent and entertaining once again. I'm leavin'. 👍

[@disconnected22]

Thanks, Rob. Good stuff

[@shawnarthur1516]

A new video is always a happy time!

[@gorevoid691]

Also love how it’s called Zombies: THE BEGINNING even though it’s a sequel to another differently titled movie

[@carlgibson285]

Yes! I've been looking forward to this!