Alien 3, 1992.
Directed by David Fincher.
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Glover, and Lance Henriksen.
SYNOPSIS:
An escape pod containing Ripley, Newt and Hicks crash lands on a wind-battered prison planet, with Ripley being the sole survivor. Finding herself trapped on a planet whose entirely male population consists of murderers and rapists, Ripley quickly realises that she wasn’t the only one to survive the pod crash. With another acid-blooded monster stalking the halls, Ripley reluctantly joins forces with her new companions as they attempt to defeat the creature and survive until help arrives.
For the third time this month we return to the Alien franchise and after two stellar universally beloved installments with Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens, we now enter the more divisive side of the series, beginning with David Fincher’s polarising attempt to make his mark on this iconic series with the dark and depressing Alien 3.
This entry in the franchise is often held up as one of the “bad ones” with many people decrying it as outright terrible, including director David Fincher himself who has since disowned the film due to the experience he had while making it, a production beset with an unfinished and constantly changing script and constant efforts of meddling studio executives trying to “improve” the film. However, despite its many shortcomings (and there are many) Alien 3 is actually not a complete disaster of a film. In fact, it’s actually pretty decent.
The film oozes menace with its truly outstanding production design and visual style. Filled with rusted hallways, dripping water and dimly lit corners in which the titular monster can easily hide, Fury 161 is possibly one of the best settings of the franchise, with it being almost as terrifying as the alien itself.
David Fincher is a director who has always had a great visual eye, and watching his work here we can see him beginning to develop the approach that would win him much acclaim later in his career, with the film full of creative lighting and camera work. I personally loved the way the camera moves in the films intense chase filled climax, in which it depicts the aliens point of view, with the sheer speed of the movement’s really selling the ferocity and determination of the creature.
The basic premise itself is not a bad one at all considering the many many MANY iterations that the film went through during its production, (you could write a whole series on the various Alien 3’s that could have been). But it’s the thought of Ripley trapped alone as the only woman a planet of murderers and rapists and a hungry alien that makes for a genuinely scary premise that is ripe with potential. It’s just a shame that the film doesn’t really take much advantage of this potential and it very quickly devolves into essentially mimicking Ridley Scott’s original with the alien picking off prisoners one by one.
The Alien films are not exactly known for being light-hearted but they still have some moments of light character development and banter that often adds a bit of brevity before the horror starts. Alien 3 though, has none of that nonsense, with it easily being the darkest and bleakest of the franchise in terms of tone, visuals, and general atmosphere, which frankly can make it a bit of a chore to watch. Really the whole film is just rather depressing and miserable.
The scene in which Ripley watches an autopsy being performed on Newt from Aliens is a particularly depressing “highlight” not helped by its rather cold and methodical presentation. Although the sound design in the scene certainly deserves praise, especially when they cut through the rips.
While the tone might be a bit of a mixed bag and might not be much to praise, the cast is an entirely different matter with it being full of great (largely British) character actors.
Sigourney Weaver is, of course, back and once more great as Ripley, however, she isn’t quite as strong as she was in previous instalments, with it feeling at times like Weaver’s enthusiasm for the role has somewhat diminished. Regardless though she still does a fine job and she does look pretty awesome with a shaved head.
Charles S. Dutton is also great as the deeply religious prisoner Dillon, a man who becomes an unlikely ally to Ripley in her battle. Dutton is a powerful screen presence in the role, with his commanding voice and his authoritative personality really making you sit up and take note, especially in his blunt honesty when Ripley thanks him for some kind words at a funeral, with him bluntly letting her know “I’m a murderer and rapist of women”.
Outside of Dutton and Weaver, the cast is a who’s who of familiar British faces. From Paul McGann and his Withnail & I co-star Brian Glover (who excels at playing a brilliantly entertaining bastard), Ralph Brown and the late great Pete Postlethwaite to name but a few all making for effective monster food.
My personal favourite though is the always wonderful and rather sinister Charles Dance as the prison doctor Clemens, with his distinctive voice and his simultaneously cold but charming disposition making him an enigmatic foil to Ripley. In all honesty, I think Charles Dance is actually the scariest thing in Alien 3, far more so than the alien itself.
Is Alien 3 as good as its predecessors? Nowhere near. However, it’s far from being the total flaming turd that some people claim it to be. That’ll be Alien vs Predator.
The grimy set design and dark tone create a suitably bleak atmosphere, although the film does overdo it at times rendering it all feeling rather depressing. The film, despite a sag in the middle, moves along a brisk pace that keeps you entertained for the most part, with the fine acting always being good to watch.
Overall, Alien 3 is a very flawed and, compared to its predecessors, disappointing third entry into the Alien series, but it’s at least better than some of what would come after it. I say give this one a watch, it’s not great but it’s not bad either.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
