8) Xenomorph Queen – Aliens
Much larger, more intelligent and more powerful than the regular face-huggers and extra-terrestrial monsters that populate the Alien franchise, the Queen is, quite literally, the mother of all Xenomorphs. Like an ant queen, or a queen bee, she resides in the centre of the hive – protected by her legion offspring while producing hundreds more eggs.
From the perspective of any other species that has the misfortune to encounter the Xenomorph Queen or her spawn, these creatures are deadly predators to be feared and destroyed. They do not share space, or co-exist. They multiply and inhabit – adapting their environment to suit their needs and utilizing available living organisms – humans included – as incubators for their young.
From the perspective of the Xenomorph Queen, however, she has a singular objective: to ensure the continuation of her species. When her carefully laid eggs are threatened, the Xenomorph Queen is compelled to protect them. Giving chase as Ripley beats a hasty retreat with the child ‘Newt’, what follows is an epic battle of maternal instinct, with Ripley using a Power Loader to level the playing field in terms of physical size and strength. While Ripley fights for survival and escape for her and the child, the enraged Xenomorph Queen is all about retribution – seeking to avenge the murder of her progeny.
These two opposing mother figures, locked in a battle to the death, create a tragedy of operatic proportions. Their situation is not of their making, but rather that of the nefarious Weyland Corporation and their long-term, underhanded manipulation of events. Though, when juxtaposed with any other species, the Xenomorph Queen is a living nightmare, ultimately her actions boil down to her natural instinct to survive and protect. Just like the rest of us.
7) Dad Meiks – Frailty
Dad Meiks is the “God’s Hand” serial killer hunted by the FBI in Bill Paxton’s 2001 directorial debut, Frailty. A widowed father-of-two, he is also a religious fanatic, insisting that God has tasked him and his sons with the slaying of demons. With an angel supposedly providing names, Meiks acquires his victims, by force or coercion, then knocks them unconscious and decapitates them while training his sons to participate.
The character of Meiks is a fascinating one – brilliantly written by screenwriter Brent Hanley, and perfectly portrayed by Bill Paxton. He is an intimidating, determined man, run through with a dark, unsettling channel of barely contained chaos. Amidst his murderous ramblings, we are left to wonder the extent to which Dad Meiks is actually detached from reality. Does he truly believe he is doing God’s work, or is this simply a convenient delusion constructed to excuse his bloodlust?
The answer to that question hinges upon his refusal to decapitate his own son. The cynical view would be that the pronouncement of the child being a demon to destroy is simply an attempt at manipulation to bring the rebellious son back in line. To coldly convince his son that he is prepared to defy God to save him, and then confine him to a basement and starve him as a better alternative, is to persuade his questioning son that they are on the same side – that the father is actually good at heart, though tasked with an unfortunate job. The sympathetic view would be that Dad Meiks finds himself battling his own demons, caught between his role as protective father, and his role as “God’s Hand”
One view has him as a homicidal maniac, making excuses to satisfy his need to kill, and manipulating his own children to support those excuses. The other has him as a victim of the sickness in his mind, with the danger to the life of his child briefly pricking part of his long-buried rational self. The beauty of this character is that we can never be truly sure – which puts us right in the deeply disturbed shoes of his children.