Very rarely do I suffer from complete and utter
disappointment. Sitting in the cinema as
the credits rolled on Prometheus was one such moment. I was perplexed, bewildered, deflated.
Prometheus is the hotly anticipated, it-is-but-it-isn’t prequel to Alien. Ridley Scott
returns to the helm to provide a back story to the world that he created in
1979 when he directed Alien.
Clearly there was something about Alien, since its creation there have
been four Alien (directed by Scott, James Cameron, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and David
Fincher) and two Alien Vs Predator movies.
Whatever it was that Alien had was evidently
lacking in Prometheus.
In Alien Scott creates a terrifying world,
adeptly using environment and situation, as opposed to special effects,
explosions and violence to unsettle and scare the audience. The aura of suspense and claustrophobia that
he creates leaves the audience in as much uncertainty as the doomed crew of the
Nostromo. It is both sci-fi and horror,
blended seamlessly. It is also, still, the best Alien film in the franchise.
