It may not be Star Wars , Marvel or DC levels, but the Alien universe is large enough with the release of the sixth film Alien: Covenant . The 2017 feature directed by Ridley Scott, is the second in the franchise’s prequel series following the 2012 Prometheus . The first prequel started out exploring the origin of humanity which inadvertently led to the discovery of the Xenomorphs, the big bad aliens. He also pushed the boundaries of horror within the small confines of an aircraft in outer space. Now with the second prequel, Alien: Covenant , Ridley goes back to the basics while maintaining the best aspects of the film’s series.
The 2017 film introduces us to the Covenant, a ship with 2000 colonists, including a team of crew members and a thousand embryos. They’re bound for a planet where human inhabitation is possible. A radio transmission from another planet, seemingly from a human, makes Covenant change course to investigate its source. When they land, the crew members meet the android David (Michael Fassbender) and earlier version of the Covenant’s android called Walter (also played by Fassbender). Obviously, things are not hunky dory on this planet and the crew members realise this is the homeland of the Engineers, human forerunners who were the source of all mystery in Prometheus . Something sinister has wiped out the entire race of the Engineers and the Covenant crew need to get out before danger strikes. Unfortunately, David – who has developed free will and is now obviously evil – has other plans.
With Covenant we have yet another strong female lead keeping with the series’ legacy. Daniels (Katherine Waterston) follows Prometheus’ Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Sigourney Weaver (Ellen Ripley). Scott also continues to stick to the conventional Alien method of scares with the facehuggers and the chestbusters. The gore though, is significantly amplified with fountains of projectile blood and the violent ripping apart of human beings when aliens emerge from their bodies. The bloodbath is magnificent especially when humans attempt to combat the aliens.
For the latest instalment Scott assembles a weird cast which includes a serious Danny McBride (Tennessee) and a fleeting cameo by James Franco (Jacob Branson). It’s strange because both (especially the former) are known to mostly play characters that are insufferable cocky characters in stoner comedy films.
Then there’s the long wait for Alien: Covenant to get into its own, that is when the aliens actually arrive. But then onwards, the film is super fun even if Scott doesn’t really reinvent the wheel. Expect predictability in line with standard outer space horror, which the 1979 Alien pioneered. But mind you, that’s not a shortcoming of the series. Covenant also answers some of the questions we had in Prometheus , exactly how the alien race came to be. But then it also makes us curious about queries that were left unanswered in this installment. Scott has hinted at more films in the franchise, so hopefully, we’ll get our answers soon.
