“Everyone said they
wanted more aliens, they
wanted more horror...
and I think you’re
going to get that!”
NEIL CORBOULD
The crew of a colony spaceship think they’ve found
paradise in Alien: Covenant. But then the dying starts!
I
n space no one can hear you
scream... When Ridley Scott’s
Alien was unleashed in 1979,
cinemagoers had only the film’s
now-famed tagline to forewarn them of
the unspeakable horrors to come.
From the squealing creature bursting
from John Hurt’s chest to the adult
Xenomorph in its full, fangs-dripping,
nightmare-inducing glory, the British
director introduced audiences to new
realms of terror, in the process creating one
of the most influential movies of all time.
Nearly 40 years and seven films later
14 odeon.co.uk
(if you include the prequel and the daft
but fun Alien vs. Predator spin-off series),
the monstrous Alien universe has repeatedly
proven its ability to entice viewers. But
can it, after all this time, still terrify?
The answer, if Alien: Covenant is anything
to go by, is a very definite yes.
Haunted house in space
In cinemas now, this ‘prequel sequel’ is
set 20 years before the events of Alien
and sees Scott returning to the ‘haunted
house in space’ premise of the original,
following 2012’s thought-provoking but not