The commercial space tug Nostromo is returning to Earth with a seven-member crew in stasis: captain Dallas, executive officer Kane, warrant officer Ripley, navigator Lambert, science officer Ash, and engineers Parker and Brett. The ship’s computer, Mother, detects a transmission from a nearby planet and awakens the crew. Following company policy to investigate transmissions indicating intelligent life, they land on the planet and Dallas, Kane, and Lambert head out to investigate. They discover that the transmission comes from a derelict alien spaceship, where they find the remains of a large alien with a hole in its torso. Later, Mother deciphers part of the transmission, which Ripley determines to be a warning message.
Kane discovers a chamber containing hundreds of large eggs. When he touches one, a spider-like creature springs out, penetrates his helmet, and attaches itself to his face. Dallas and Lambert carry the unconscious Kane back to the Nostromo. As the acting senior officer, Ripley refuses to let them aboard, citing quarantine regulations, but Ash overrides her. While Parker and Brett work on repairing the Nostromo, Ash attempts to remove the creature from Kane’s face. He stops when he discovers that its highly corrosive acidic blood could harm Kane and potentially damage the ship’s hull. The creature eventually detaches itself and dies. After the crew returns to space, Kane awakens with some memory loss but otherwise seems well. During a final crew meal before returning to stasis, he suddenly chokes and convulses. A small alien creature bursts from his chest, killing him, and escapes into the ship.
After ejecting Kane’s body out of an airlock, the crew attempts to locate the creature using tracking devices and kill it. Brett follows the crew’s pet cat, Jones, into a landing leg compartment, where the now fully grown alien attacks Brett. The crew determines that the alien must be in the air ducts. Dallas enters the ducts with a flamethrower, intending to force the creature into an airlock, but it attacks him. Parker later finds only the flamethrower. Lambert suggests fleeing in the escape shuttle, but Ripley, now in command, explains that it will not support four people and insists on continuing Dallas’s plan to flush out the alien.
While accessing Mother, Ripley discovers that the crew was awoken and directed to the planet because the company secretly ordered Ash to return with the alien for study, and to consider the crew expendable. She confronts Ash, who tries to kill her. Parker intervenes, knocking Ash’s head loose and revealing him to be an android. The survivors reactivate Ash’s head, and he confirms the company’s orders. Ash states that the alien is unkillable and expresses his admiration for it, taunting them about their chances of survival. Ripley shuts him down and Parker incinerates him.
The crew decides to self-destruct the Nostromo and escape in the shuttle. While gathering supplies, Parker and Lambert are killed by the alien. Now alone, Ripley initiates the self-destruct sequence, but the alien blocks her path to the shuttle. She retreats and unsuccessfully attempts to abort the self-destruct. She reaches the shuttle unhindered with Jones, narrowly escaping as the Nostromo explodes.
As Ripley prepares for stasis, she discovers the alien has stowed itself in a narrow compartment. She dons a spacesuit and flushes it out. It approaches Ripley, but before it can kill her, she opens the airlock door. The resulting explosive decompression almost ejects the alien into space, but it hangs onto the door frame. Ripley fires a grappling hook gun to push it out and activates the engines, blasting the alien into space. After recording her final log entry, she places Jones and herself into stasis for the trip back to Earth.
Don’t miss out on the thrilling sci-fi horror experience of Alien³. Watch Free now and immerse yourself in the iconic story of survival against a deadly alien threat.