Got the DVD for Christmas (at last), and while the team were in the ants' nest after the cyanide gassing, it really reminded me of the marines in the hive of `Aliens'. The confined spooky-strange environment, the reference to `saliva' holding the tunnels together (resinous secretions in the later movie), the beasties coming out of the walls, and the use of flame-throwers to repel them. The later aliens even gave off a similar squealing noise when burned.
It's been noticed before. The main similarities are :
-A traumatized little girl is the sole survivor of a settlement wiped out by monsters.
-Monsters form a colony headed by a queen.
-Flamethrower used to destroy monster eggs.
-Battle between soldiers and monsters inside tunnels.
-During final act hero descends into monsters' nest to rescue child/children.
Yes, I just hadn't realised how closely the plots ran until I watched them back to back. Of course, both also feature a take-charge heroine, and an `if-they-ever-get-loose-we-are-doomed' scenario. There's also the chirruping, which doubles as the beeping from the electronic motion-censor. And they mostly come at night..mostly.
At least, as a `remake', Aliens was an excellent job.
The more I see of older Sci Fi, the less I respect James Camerons "ideas", mix Them with The Thing from Another World and you pretty much have Aliens : )
Does the old boy in the sanatarium not say "I see 'em at night mostly" too? or something like that?
Why quote other people when I like the sound of my own voice?