41O5iX3rDeL._SL160_I was recently reminded of the original Alien movie and realized it might be a GU story – and in fact, it is!

As with most horror movie versions of the archetype, Ripley is an adult Girl Underground. Her companions are the other crew members of the spaceship (including a cat, since every GU story should have an animal companion), and her adversary is, of course, the alien. Almost all of the action happens within the ship, making this similar to the “house” GU stories. She tries to avoid a classic mistake in letting the officer who was attacked by the alien back onto the ship, but she is betrayed by a companion. The ship’s computer, “Mother,” acts in this case as the distant parent, unable to help them (because it is controlled by their employers with differing interests). In the end, with all her companions dead, Ripley must face the alien alone and defeat it, potentially saving all of humankind.

One interesting side note about Alien as a GU story is that Ripley only gradually surfaces as the protagonist, initially being just one of many crew members and not necessarily the main character at all. But as more people drop, and she takes control of the situation, it becomes her Story.