Imagery of darkness
Darkness is the prevailing imagery in this movie. This fact is evident since most of the film takes place during the night as the alien drives around in her van collecting prey, through to the literal representation with the darkness of the vacuum she lures her prey in, and the men literally being swallowed by darkness.
The scenery
The movie is shot in Scotland and doesn’t fail to show the beauty of the Scottish landscape, but also the cruelty of the nature, shown with (what is deemed the most disturbing scene in the movie) the family dying in the water and the baby left behind. It also shows the disorienting fog as the alien has an identity crisis, but also the beauty as she is sight-seeing with the man who showed her kindness.
Everyday life
The movie is interesting with its lack of special effects and the natural imagery of the everyday life. Nothing seems to be enhanced, giving it an atmosphere of everyday life. As the alien is getting to know more about the human world, she begins to observe the everyday life of people, with the movie showing a compilation of shots of seemingly regular people on the streets. This portrayal of everyday life is in direct contrast with the sci-fi story of an alien shown in the movie, but it is also clear that it is intentional, for the focus to be more on the message than the literal content.
The forest
The movie ends with the alien running into the forest and there meeting her end. The forest provides a cruel and disorientating atmosphere, almost as a maze with nowhere for the alien to hide from her cruel fate.
