Sean Petersen

Alien: Covenant and Why it’s Going to Slay

The teaser poster for the latest Alien movie just came out…and it’s absolutely incredible. Scarily simple, the poster is mostly pitch black, save for the release date, the terrifying visage of a xenomorph peering out, and a single word: Run. Ohhhh yes. As a total Alien fanatic, this is such a welcome relief. My strange fascination with the horrifying xenomorph cannot be described, really, but it exists all the same. And the arrival of Alien: Covenant brings a welcome change to the franchise. Ridley Scott is back in the helm, and hopefully he’ll leave us with less questions than answers this time (Prometheus, we’re looking at you). So what’s the big deal, you may ask? Why is this important?

It started in 1979 with the arrival of one of the most iconic movie monsters in history. From the get-go, Alien was a huge success, both in the box office and with critics. Since then, its reputation as one of the best horror movies has only grown. It often ranks in the Top 10 of any Top 100 horror movie list out there and is one of the highest ranking horror movies on Rotten Tomatoes. The chestburster scene is widely considered one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. The incredible commercial success of its sequel, Aliens, only increased its fame. While Aliens was not a horror movie by definition, James Cameron still incorporates some fantastic scenes of intimidating action and eerie tension. The expansion of the xenomorph species, with the arrival of the immense Queen, created an equally lush and creepy universe.

And then it all went to crap. Alien 3 tried its best, perhaps, but it was a complete letdown from the intense power of the previous two. It lacked the terror, suspense, or thrills. Even worse was the decision to go CGI in terms of the alien. Just like Jurassic Park, Alien and Aliens are still so incredible because of the avoidance of CGI. Just good old fashioned animatronics and seven-foot men in suits. Alien 3 just looks cheesy. Alien: Resurrection was an attempt to reboot the series, but it too failed miserably. While the aliens in previous movies were unsettling yet graceful, the introduction of the Newborn just straight up creeped audiences out (myself included). The plot was silly, the details lazy, and the action half-assed. With the failure of the fourth installment, Alien seemed finally ready to die out.

But then, a miracle (or, lack of)! The crossover of Alien vs. Predator seemed to bring promise to both franchises. What better movie idea than the two most dangerous alien species in the galaxy duking it out? But alas, the great idea fell flat. Flat acting, rather poor lighting, and a really anticlimactic final battle tarred down AVP to the point of no return. However, it spawned a slew of comics, merchandise, video games, and more. The sequel, AVP: Requiem, didn’t happen. It just didn’t. Just like The Last Airbender. The “prequel”, Prometheus, seemed to be a promising addition to the franchise. Set in the same universe as Alien but yet unrelated, they said. The movie was very well done and was received great reviews. However, the last few minutes of the movie ruined everything, when a very xenomorph-like creature erupted from the chest of the movie’s alien antagonist. But not related at all, no.

So here we are at Covenant. How will it save itself? Well, Ridley Scott is not limited by the boundaries of Prometheus. Xenomorphs are promised for the movie, and Scott seems very eager to tie in Prometheus to Alien with this movie. I say, go for it, Ridley! We could use a fresh new addition to this once-mighty series. Without the fear of spoiling anything, the xenomorph can burst (see what I did there?) onto the screen in all its glory! It’s promised to be scary, loaded with alien goodness, and a juicy prequel set-up. So I’ll be waiting at the theatre, popcorn in hand, and Wikipedia plot memorized!