The theme of the consequences of a collision between a person and the unknown is always popular both in cinema and in art in general - from the cult opus of Howard Lovecraft to the novels of Steve Perry. But often the unknown takes on concrete forms, sometimes very cute like Spielberg’s, but mostly monstrous and deadly.
Character of the cult film
Back in 1979, the young director Ridley Scott, for whom the legendary Alien was only the second full-length work in a big movie, created a picture that forever defined the face of the sci-fi horror. Films about Alien are still regularly released. And other movie stories often borrow elements of Scott’s masterpiece, which is not surprising, since Alien is the rarest case when all the components are perfect: a gifted ambitious director, competent script, unsurpassed castes and phenomenal work of artists. Over time, the cinema universe of strangers grew, acquired its own hierarchy of individuals, among which the praetorian alien occupies not the last place.
Prince
The individual, called the Praetorian, clearly attracts attention, since it is several times more powerful, stronger and larger in size as a drone alien or a soldier alien. In terms of its parameters, it is second only to the Queen Queen, therefore it is often called the Prince. In general, he looks so terrifying that Jung and Freud hugged and would sob with happiness.
The Praetorian alien has an impressive bone crest, almost like the Queen. A powerful horn makes the monster invulnerable to any type of small arms. The growth of an individual ranges from three to four meters. He possesses by no means primitive intelligence, is capable of setting ambushes and traps for the enemy, and commanding the rest of the xenomorphs. For all these advantages, he is positioned in the classification as an elite beehive soldier. The Praetorian has a frightening beauty that combines the disgusting and attractive overnight. It is believed that they, if absolutely necessary, can develop into a full Queen.
Transformations
When the population reaches the maximum hive size, the Queen from among her subjects selects several candidates who will become her personal bodyguards. After selection, individuals receive a royal "permission" for further transformation. Since the process is accompanied by a strong release of pheromones, monsters must urgently leave the hive. Otherwise, they will be torn to pieces by their relatives, who are madly annoyed by the products of the external secretion of the Praetorian alien at the mutation stage. During the process of changing the cover, the chosen ones live outside the population, independently extracting food and carefully avoiding meeting with their own kind.
Return to family
Most individuals do not withstand modification and die, but these victims are justified - this is how the weak are eliminated, and the best remain. At the final stage of molting, the Praetorian stranger returns to the hive and sets about fulfilling his new duties. Now he is inseparable from the Queen, her personal bodyguard. Caring only about ensuring the safety of the Uterus, the monster does not take an active part in the main life of the xenomorph colony. They rarely leave the hive, only in the event of an immediate threat.
Praetorians can evolve not only from soldiers and drones, but also from Aliens. This fact is confirmed by the individual in the film Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, which has a crown.
The disadvantages of elite soldiers include their inability to climb vertical surfaces, which is explained by the presence of impressive dimensions, a bone crest and a large body mass.
This kind of xenomorph is more common than in cinema in the extended Alien universe, including books, comics, computer games, and lines of toys.