Alien’s third outing was handed over to David Fincher after the disappointing stewardship of James Cameron. He’s got to do better, surely? Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) really does have some terrible luck. If you ever find yourself on a spaceship with her, get out immediately. This time she crash lands on an oil refining planetary prison camp, where a young and moody looking Clemens (Charles Dance) finds her washed up on the desolate gloomy beach. Water, breathable air, once again not that spacey. She’s the only survivor, both Hicks and Newt perish, but that’s probably best… Newt has had a face-hugger for company. The small shaven headed prison colony is a religious cult like group, with some genuinely interesting characters. Dillon (Charles S. Dutton) is darkly calm and spiritual, Andrews (Brian Glover) the superintendent, more authoritative. Clemens, the doctor with a past, is the nice one. They live harmoniously, prisoners and staff, until Ripley arrives. Well her and the inevitable Alien. Honestly, terrible luck. The look and feel is much more dystopian. The shaved heads help and Weaver pulls it off well. Shaving her head was seen as a big deal at the time, how times have changed. She’s the only woman on the planet and creates a bit of a stir, but that’s quickly forgotten once the deaths begin. Ripley knows what’s starting again, but is cagey to share until she’s sure. Where Aliens dove straight in with the gung-ho macho rubbish. This is much more patient. It’s not shy on the gore when we get to it, but some proper care has been taken to set the scene. As a rebooted Bishop (Lance Henriksen) is filling Ripley in on what happened to her in hyper-sleep, her suspicions are confirmed. Just as psychotic inmate Golic (Paul McCann), is being blamed for the rising bodycount. On Ripleys first encounter with her nemesis here, it’s clear… something is different. They’ve no weapons to fight the Alien, nothing really works in their world of clanging metal, it’s back to basics with fire and baited traps. For all its simplicity though, the characters keep it ticking. As some die, others pick up the narrative, although Pete Postlethwaite as David is criminally underused. Ripley faces a fight from within, as the inmates face moral dilemmas to test their faith. It still doesn’t match the pure sci-fi horror of Alien, but as an action thriller, to its credit it leans heavier on the latter. The camera work is lovely. The Alien perspective shots, although a bit 90s, are very effective. Weaver once again carries it, but Dutton is great too, as are the supporting cast with only a few exceptions. After Aliens dropped the ball, this feels like a more worthy conclusion and it’s probably where the story should’ve stopped.
7/10
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