Review of Alien: Covenant (2017) by Captaincrabface — 18 May 2017

As as huge fan of sci fi novels and cosmic horror, I absolutely loved this film, to the point where I can't stop thinking about it. I thought it was really bold and hugely weird for a "blockbuster".

I really don't uderstand the picking holes that is so de rigueur these days. It was so much better than Prometheus, which I really liked despite it's flaws (big improvement on that - be assured). Beautiful to look at, great if slightly drawn characters (it's a horror film), an absolutely sublime performance by Fassbender, and a terrifying sense of escalating doom.

It features some of the most disturbing scenes in horror history. I won't spoil these, except to mention they involve the implications of what a certain android has been up to for the last 10 years, and what happens.

..after that ending! Exquisitely dark and almost Lovecraftian... it leaves a lot to the imagination and that's what I love it so. It's not a traditional horror film and slows down to become something different, and in my opinion better in the second half.

If you liked Prometheus you're going to love this. It is Prometheus's child, so if you didn't like the style of that (rather than the execution) it may not be for you) The (original) Alien bits were the weakest bits in my opinion.

This was more like a gothic horror in space, and lets face it Ridley only put the Alien in, due to the backlash against "it" not being in last film. He has said repeatedly he thought it was "cooked", and that was a good call.

However, this is turning into something far more interesting. I think, if you want an Alien(s) remake, with the minimalism and realism of the space trucking original rather than impressionistic dark romanticism, you'll be dissapointed.

But I am not that man.