Despite its ups and downs, I’ve always respected the Alien franchise for daring to try something new with every new entry. From Vietnam allegories to reimagining Chariots of the Gods as a Lovecraftian origin story for the Xenomorphs, the series challenges the very concept of genre as it explores what might go wrong when humanity comes into contact with a truly perfect organism.

And with Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus paying homage to the most underrated movie in the franchise during its horrific final act, today I’d like to look back on Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s unfairly maligned Alien: Resurrection and dive into why I think this oddball gem of a film deserves more love.

Like many sequels, the story of Resurrection begins soon after the release of its predecessor. Desperate for a course-correction after the grimdark prison story of Alien³ left audiences feeling frustrated (which was the studio’s own fault, as they sabotaged David Fincher’s vision every step of the way), Fox attempted to recruit established filmmakers like Danny Boyle, Peter Jackson and even David Cronenberg before landing on French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While Jeunet is now mostly known for Amélie, he’d made a name for himself in the 90s with dark parables like the criminally underseen Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children – making him the perfect choice to take the Xenomorphs in a novel direction.

Working off a script written by Joss Whedon (who would later repurpose elements of the story in Firefly due to his dissatisfaction with Jeunet’s handling of the material), the filmmaker and his team faced slashed budgets and tight schedules once shooting finally began. Jeunet even required a French-to-English interpreter in order to communicate with the crew, which is why he insisted that the shooting script should be illustrated like a comic-book. Despite these difficulties, Alien: Resurrection would ultimately be released on schedule in November of 1997.

In the finished film, we follow an augmented clone of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as she wakes up on a medical research vessel two centuries after the events of Alien³. Using the original Ripley’s infected DNA, military scientists were able to clone a Xenomorph queen and are now conducting experiments on her offspring. When the aliens inevitably escape, Ripley 8 joins forces with an ensemble of mercenaries, soldiers and other survivors (portrayed by a collection of talented actors including Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman and Dominique Pinon) in order to stop the damaged vessel from returning to earth and setting the creatures loose.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?

Despite the film’s financial success (which can be largely attributed to its ingenious marketing campaign, which also happened to gift us with the first modern first-person-shooter game on consoles), Resurrection was so poorly received that it basically killed off the main franchise. In fact, while Alien³ has a lower score on Rotten Tomatoes, that flick has seen been reevaluated as a misunderstood religious thriller due to the Assembly Cut – a privilege that wasn’t extended to its successor.

One recurring point of criticism was directed at the handling of Ripley’s character arc by bringing Weaver back immediately after a heroic sacrifice. While this doesn’t bother me personally since Ripley 8 is technically a brand-new character that only happens to share some memories with her namesake, I can understand how this addition might piss off Alien fans who were already frustrated with the previous film’s decision to kill off Newt, Hicks and Bishop. This wasn’t helped by Weaver’s explanation that she only agreed to return because they “drove a dump-truck of money” to her house, though she has since admitted that the harrowing scene where she encounters her “sisters” was also a big attraction.

Of course, the most common complaint was about Resurrection’s generally unserious tone, with both fans and critics claiming that the pulpy sci-fi approach didn’t fit the franchise’s somber origins. After all, the rag-tag crew of The Betty felt a lot more like something out of Star Wars than even Aliens’ playful yet realistic colonial marines – and that’s not even mentioning the exaggerated mad science behind the messy plot.

Lastly, there’s the simple matter of this being the fourth entry in a long-running series. The novelty factor of Giger’s monsters was long gone by 1997, with the Xenomorphs having become such a huge part of popular culture (from Contra to Spaceballs) that it was hard for audiences to see them as a genuine threat.

All in all, it was the perfect storm for Resurrection to end up not getting the recognition that it deserved.

THE SILVER LINING

As is often the case with movies that are initially disliked but end up finding their true audience later on, many of the things that critics hated about Alien: Resurrection are precisely what make it an entertaining watch today. In hindsight, the schlocky B-movie tone is a feature, not a bug, and the fact that the film feels nothing like the rest of the franchise is my favorite part of the experience. We’d already seen three other Xenomorph infestations at that point, so if the studio was going to force filmmakers to bring Ripley back for more after her poignant death, they might as well have some fun with it.

From the charming ensemble that makes the flick entertaining even when the Xenomorphs aren’t onscreen (I especially appreciate Perlman, Pinon and Brad Dourif’s contributions to the flick) to the grungy sci-fi aesthetic, there’s a lot of great filmmaking going on here if you can warm up to the new vibe. Hell, the cinematographer even added extra silver particles to the negative development process in order to give the picture a futuristic tinge!

The film also features some of the most genuinely disturbing moments in the entire franchise, with Whedon and Jeunet landing on some unsettling psychosexual story-beats as Ripley deals with malformed clones and a disgusting Xenomorph hybrid child that still haunts my nightmares. Not all of these new elements stick the landing (I’m still on the fence about Ripley 8 empathizing with the aliens), but I appreciate how the filmmakers at least tried to keep things fresh for the third sequel.

Of course, that’s not even mentioning the added brutality, with Resurrection offering up plenty of memorable death scenes and unexpectedly gnarly moments like having a Xenomorph mutilate itself in order to produce acid blood and escape its bonds. These are all enhanced by gritty industrial visuals that make great use of hand-made miniatures and set design – though it’s a shame that the Xenomorph is brought to life through janky CGI.

Alien: Resurrection might not be able to compete with the grounded space-trucker thrills of the original – or even the action/sci-fi blockbuster blend of Cameron’s sequel – but that doesn’t make it a bad movie. It’s simply a different take on the source material. And with modern franchise films being satisfied in simply reliving the glory days of their respective IPs instead of exploring new ideas, I find myself respecting this strange experiment a lot more every time I revisit it.

H.R. Giger himself called Resurrection an excellent film – what better praise could you ask for?

Watching a bad movie doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad experience. Even the worst films can boast a good idea or two, and that’s why we’re trying to look on the bright side with The Silver Lining, where we shine a light on the best parts of traditionally maligned horror flicks.

The post Appreciating the Pulpy Sci-fi Horror of ‘Alien: Resurrection’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Netflix’s possession horror movie The Deliverance is loosely based on the 2011 account of Latoya Ammons and her family’s haunting, otherwise known as the Demon House. Director Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler) didn’t want to take any chances when it came to broaching the horror tied to Ammons’ account and enlisted an apostle to anoint the set with prayer.

The Deliverance, out now in select theaters before arriving on Netflix August 30, stars Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, Aunjanue Ellis, Caleb McLaughlin and Tasha Smith.

Day plays Ebony Jackson, “a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.”

The project initially came to Daniels shortly after Precious, but the spiritual filmmaker was initially hesitant to broach a horror story based on real-life people. That shifted with the socio-political climate, and Daniels found new inspiration within the story.

“About five years ago, I realized that we were in dark times, and I really wanted to find my higher power,” Daniels says of the turning point. It then became an issue of, “How do I tell this story without making it your typical horror story with jump scares? Because that sort of was a bore to me. I didn’t really want to do that.”

Daniels continues, “I wanted to figure out a way to tell the story that you are invested in these people, these characters, so that when the horror does come, you’re terrified for them.”

The Deliverance. Athony B Jenkins as Andre in The Deliverance. Cr. Aaron Ricketts/Netflix © 2024.

The Deliverance, which Lee Daniels wrote with David Coggeshall and Elijah Bynum, spends a lot of time establishing complex characters that stand apart from their real-life inspirations. So much so that Glenn Close’s character, Ebony’s mother Alberta, is an invention of Daniels and Close’s making.

Daniels explains, “So, the Alberta character is something that I made up. She wasn’t white, she was black in real life, but I wanted to do something different. I wanted to show a character that we don’t really see. I mean, African-Americans know her well, but they’ve never seen her on screen, this white woman who is immersed into this black space with a black daughter and even blacker grandkids. How does she navigate and what is it like being biracial? What is that really like? We’re in that world before the rug is snatched out of us, and we’re into a place of horror. So I got you looking over here when this is coming at you.”

The director is just as candid when confessing what made Close perfect for Alberta, telling Bloody Disgusting: “I was just desperate to work with her, and I think she can do anything.”

Of course, the film belongs to lead Andra Day, a desperate mother battling her own demons long before the biblical demons come into play. Not only was the actor committed to the role, but Daniels revealed another vital characteristic he was looking for: faith. That faith led to surprising improv when the horror reaches its apex.

“It was important for me to find an actor that was a devout Christian, and I was blessed with her,” Daniels says of Day. “When she is speaking in tongue, that was not scripted, that wasn’t written at all. That was her going off the book and letting the Lord speak through her. My AD was like, “When she starts speaking in tongue, should we cut?’ I go, ‘No, it, this is God working. It’s God’s work.‘ And so we let her do her thing.”

The Deliverance. Demi Singleton as Shante in The Deliverance. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

That also speaks to Lee Daniels’ unwavering faith and a commitment to ward off any ill omens on set. So much so that the filmmaker had an apostle come to the set every day.

“You know about that apostle, huh?“ Daniels grins. “The apostle was on set every day to pray for us because I had read books about Poltergeist, what was happening on set and on the Exorcist and on The Omen. There were some dark things happening, and it was not going to happen on my set.

“Prior to every scene, we prayed, and the first time we did it, Netflix sent somebody down from HR saying, you got to stop the prayer thing. I’m like, ‘Guess what? I can’t do this without prayer.‘ I did tell my crew that if you don’t want to pray, you can go away. But for the most part, everybody stayed. Everybody felt like me. They just wanted to get protected.”

The post Why ‘The Deliverance’ Director Lee Daniels Had an Apostle Visit the Set Every Day [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Blumhouse and Universal will release Speak No Evil on September 13, 2024, a remake of the same-titled Danish horror movie, and we’d like to give YOU the chance to see it early.

Bloody Disgusting has joined forces with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – South Lamar for a 7pm screening of Speak No Evil on Tuesday, August 27, with 80 seats available for Austin-based Bloody-Disgusting readers. If you want a spot, simply fill out this RSVP form!

Free popcorn and soda will be provided to all guests, we’ve been told.

The Speak No Evil team tells us, “While social reactions are encouraged following the screening, we ask that you hold full reviews until Tuesday, September 10 at 9am PT.”

James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Eden Lake) is directing Speak No Evil for Blumhouse and Universal, with Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate, Happiest Season) and James McAvoy (Split, Glass) set to star. Scoot McNairy (Argo) will also star.

In the remake, “When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.”

James Watkins also wrote the script for the Speak No Evil remake.

Jason Blum will produce the upcoming film for Blumhouse, with Paul Ritchie, Christian Tafdrup, Jacob Jarek, and Bea Sequeira serving as Executive Producers.

Directed by Christian Tafdrup, the original Speak No Evil was selected as one of Bloody Disgusting’s 12 Best International Horror Movies of 2022. Daniel Kurland raved about the highly distressing Danish nightmare, “This claustrophobic character study eerily examines the nature of evil and the chilling realization that there doesn’t always need to be a reason for wickedness. Speak No Evil feels like the twisted Danish cousin to Barbarian and every tense moment of silence feels like it could evolve into a totally different type of horror.”

The post See ‘Speak No Evil’ Two Weeks Early on August 27 at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Alien franchise is back with director Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus, which has scared up over $100 million at the worldwide box office in its first few days of release. Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, the new movie is the seventh installment in the main Alien series and the first to be released by Disney. Will it eventually spawn an eighth installment?

Chatting with The Hollywood Reporter this week, Fede Alvarez has revealed that he and co-writer Rodo Sayagues (Evil Dead) already have some early Alien: Romulus sequel ideas.

WARNING – THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS ALIEN: ROMULUS SPOILERS…

In Alien: Romulus, “While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

The sole survivors of the mission are Cailee Spaeny’s Rain Carradine and her android brother Andy (David Jonsson), who seek a better future on the planet Yvaga at the end of the film.

If Romulus does spawn a sequel, it sounds like we’ll be heading to Yvaga with the duo.

“Yes, I definitely can [pitch a sequel right now],” Alvarez explains. “We tend to do that naturally, not even thinking about sequels. For us, movies have not become franchises, tentpoles and sequels. This is a language that I’ve only learned in the last ten years of my life working [in Hollywood]. For me, it’s always been about story.”

He continues, “So, once we finished, we started thinking, ‘What do you think happens when or if they get to Yvaga? Is it going to be great? Or is it a terrible place?’ We tend to believe it’s probably a terrible place that they think is great and fantasize about, so we naturally started thinking about where it goes and what’s going to happen. And then, a few minutes in, we go, ‘Oh, that sounds like a sequel.’ But we really try to think about it more in terms of story and if it needs another chapter and whether people want to know what happens next.”

“So we’ll wait to see what people think and if people ask for it,” Alvarez adds. “My philosophy is that you should never make [a sequel] in two years. You’ve got to get away. You’ve got to get the audience to really want it. If you think about Alien and Aliens, there’s seven years between them. But we definitely have ideas about where it should go.”

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