Ghost SolitareJuly 30, 2012Before you bash and berate Alien remember that without it there would be no Prometheus. There would be no franchise with it's subsequent glimpses into an alternate universe that has absolutely no bearing on reality. These films are like a walk in a house of mirrors. Your perception is at times closer to recogniseable shapes and other times deformed beyond comprehension. They represent totally different styles. The dark lush elegance of Alien reset the bar in the industry for a melding of horror and science fiction. It's characters were fleshed out believable blokes that you could see yourself working beside, depending on and perhaps relating to. Prometheus instilled me with a near criminal dislike of a couple of the characters. You'd not have need a spider zombie to take them out, I would have done it back at the ship. No black goo infection needed. Fifield would have been dead period, Charlie better watch his back too. Saying that Alien doesn't scare you, it's not surprising. We outgrow a lot of the things we like as children, and eventually it dawns on you that movies are fiction, nothing you see is real and they lose their power to draw you in without a superior musical score, dialogue, set design and cohesion. Alien doesn't frighten me, it fascinates me. Has done so since the first time I saw it as a child. The alien was like some kind of cyberenhanced feline that toyed with the crew of the Nostromo like mice. It watched them, poked and prodded them. The space jockey literally was jaw dropping, it was nightmarish, and at the same time if you "GOT" it rather sad. Alone isolated, and ultimately overcome by it's environment despite obviously knowing the risks. The engineers, the potential was there for so much more than just a brute that starts bashing the crew of the Prometheus upon having his stasis interrupted. I might have liked to hear just how long that stasis was programmed to continue. SOMETHING, ANYTHING, rather than let me just press buttons until something happens. Ultimately the symbolism in both film is entirely subjective as it relies upon the perception of it's audience. The engineer is overcome by a product of it's technology infused with the genetic spirit of humanity. Prometheus oddly enough becomes a giant symbol for the danger of assumption, and presumption on the part of humanity. So while they are different, Alien stands alone, it didn't need any sequels to fill in details about the universe that Ripley lived in. I didn't wonder what her life was like when she made it back home, I was just relieved that someone had survived the encounter. You saw from sequels that the expectation as well as vision was distorted by each directors need to put his DNA into it. The military and gung ho attitudes that drenched Aliens, the return to a desolate claustrophobic darkness of A3. However you realised that you could never be truely frightened again because it was merely revisting a familiar territory. RS was quoted as saying he wanted to scare the living SH&T out of you with Prometheus. Nothing about the film did that, it's hard to create magic twice, I'm a diehard fan of the original Alien, I made the mistake of expecting something as epic when I saw Prometheus. Though visually Prom was amazing, I'd expect nothing less from a 21st century big budget project. In closing, Alien doesn't need a reboot, it would gain nothing from a reimagining, the performances, cinematography and finished product were as close to perfection as possible considering when it was produced and the technology available. It's remarkable and people are still talking about it.
