The Big Picture Magazine
Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey (2022) simultaneously pays respect to and gently subverts the 1987 Arnie vehicle to which it is a loose prequel. On the one hand, it grounds the franchise in the simple premise that made John McTiernan’s Predator so effective to begin with: two creatures – one human, one extraterrestrial – going head-to-head in […]
Let me flow into the oceanLet me get back to the seaLet me be stormy and let me be calmLet the tide in, and set me free … – Pete Townshend, “Drowned,” from The Who’s Quadrophenia (1973) The conflict at the heart of The Warriors (1979) isn’t as simple or straightforward as Mods versus Rockers. […]
Ridley Scott’s fascination with omniscience goes to the outer limits in his 2012 science fiction film, Prometheus (2012). Often assumed a prequel to Alien (1979), Prometheus focuses on discovering mankind’s “engineers,” while amalgamating concepts of heroes and villains. Scott’s unsurpassable directing techniques are shown through the tiniest features in his characters. Even the unsettling soundtrack brings […]
Fans will find much to relish in Alexandre O. Philippe’s obsessive documentary, Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019). As its title suggests, the film explores how Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror masterpiece draws from the past (especially Egyptian and Greek mythology) and speculates about the future, yet continues to feel entirely of the moment. A number […]
The setting for Alien 3 is a dank world devoid of sunlight and common sense. David Fincher’s first feature film is often overlooked despite the influence of H.R. Giger’s ultra-detailed sci-fi art that remains so emblematic of the first two instalments in the franchise. Despite the emphasis on recreating the harsh aesthetic of the Alien […]