Alien Wars: The bitch is back

John Harley steels himself for a romp around the bowels of a nightclub in the company of a scary man in a latex suit. Don't worry though, it's not as dodgy as it sounds.

When Alien Wars opened in London, the then prime minister Tony Blair showed up desperate for the chance to be frightened out of his wits by a man in a scary latex costume. He reportedly left the interactive event, based on the Alien movies, a terrified, cowed man.

You'd expect a show in which hapless punters flee a mock-up of HR Giger's famous alien to be an American invention. Bizarrely though, it was the brainchild of two Scots: John Gorman and Gary Gillies. It proved so popular that the king of pop, Michael Jackson – in those innocent days before he was accused of being a paedophile – sent his bodyguards in to check if it was something that his lily-white constitution could cope with. They fled halfway through. History doesn't record whether he tried his luck, but we think it's pretty unlikely.

With Alien Wars, the idea is to suspend your disbelief and pretend that you really are a space marine, fleeing the terrifying beast with a mouth on its tongue. It all sounds pretty ridiculous when you're at a pub table, flicking idly through a copy of The Midgie. It's a different matter when you're actually there. A quick sprint around the spooky, subterranean tunnels of the Arches, with an alien hot in pursuit, will make mincemeat of even the toughest traveller.

Alien Wars
The Arches, www.thearches.co.uk, Mon–Sat, 10 am– 10pm, Sun noon–10pm, £9.50 (£8).

More: City Guides, Glasgow (City Guides), Alien Wars, Aliens, The Arches

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