Though Alien 3 starts off from where Aliens ended, it is quite obvious right from the first frame that David Fincher, who helmed this film – his feature film debut, wanted to take the project in a different direction altogether, instead of blindly imitating the previous two films of the franchise or trying to feed on their successes. That certainly rubbed a lot of fans in the wrong places, and understandably so, because the Fincher version is dark, depressing and moody, and thus turned out to be a revisionist Alien film, if I’m allowed to say so. Set in a dank, dreary and dingy all-male prison in a god-forsaken planet where Ellen Ripley has crash landed, and filled with convicts with violent pasts who have now taken to religion, the film opted for a gloomy tone instead of visceral thrills. And in a bizarre sense of irony, the vicious alien here is a four-legged canine creature. In a plot twist, Ripley has ended up having alien blood in her body, thus making her impervious to the lethal hunter – that, and her wits (because there aren’t any weapons in the prison) are what she uses to get even with her new-formed kin. The movie is slow, nihilistic and emotionally cold, and could have done with a tighter plot; nonetheless, it also forms an impressive indication of things to come from the talented former music video director.
Director: David Fincher
Genre: Science-Fiction/Thriller/Action/Horror/Prison Thriller/Creature Film
Language: English
Country: US
2 comments:
I love the fact that each Alien movie has its own distinct approach and unique auteur (hell, even the oft-neglected Alien Ressurections, which is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet). This is definitely the most underrated.
Yeah, that's right. Each of the first 3 Alien films had its own distinct touch (in terms of tone, aesthetic choices, styles, etc.). I'm yet to watch Resurrection though.
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