Mind your orifices, it’s time to discuss another “Alien” installment. In Episode 003 of Horror Movie Weekly, Jay of the Dead chose to review “Alien: Covenant” (2017). The Triad of Terror, which includes Jay of the Dead, BillChete and Lady Phantom, debate whether “Alien: Covenant” is an effective installment in this franchise, particularly in its role as a prequel film. We also discuss whether this film is scary or simply more of the same. Join us!
On Horror Movie Weekly, your late-night Horror hosts Jay of the Dead, BillChete and Lady Phantom bring you one recent Horror movie review every Sunday. (We’re defining “recent” as any Horror movie released within the last five years.) And we always reveal next week’s pick at the end of every show, so you can watch along with us and be prepared for the following episode. Join us, and thanks for listening!
SHOW NOTES:
Introduction
– It Chapter Two is now playing in theaters
– Teaser trailer: Gretel and Hansel (2020)
– Jay of the Dead’s pick for this week’s review:
Alien: Covenant (2017) — Genre Classification: Horror: Alien | Sci-Fi | “Beastly Freak” (Creature Feature)
Premise: Part of a prequel series that leads up to Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979), “Alien: Covenant” is a sequel that transpires 10 years after the events of “Prometheus” (2012). A human colony ship called the Covenant takes an impromptu detour to a different destination that may provide a better home for its 2,000 colonists. But the entire mission is endangered when the transport team encounters a malicious alien organism.
Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by John Logan and Dante Harper. Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, et al. Rated R for sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity. Runtime: 2 hours, 2 min.
Ratings and Recommendations: Alien: Covenant (2017)
Jay of the Dead = 8.5 ( Buy it! )
BillChete = 2.5 ( Avoid )
Lady Phantom = 4 ( Avoid )
Next on Episode 004: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) — BillChete’s pick
Podcast artwork: Lady Phantom
Original podcast theme music: Jay of the Dead
Links for this episode:
Follow us on Twitter: @horror_weekly
Website: Horror Movie Weekly.com
Jay of the Dead’s film blog / solocast: ConsideringTheCinema.com
Jay’s HORROR-only content: ConsideringHorrorCinema.com
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Once again, I’m on “Team Jay.” I enjoyed “Alien: Covenant” and thought Fassbender was amazing. I understand it has problems but those are largely nit picks. I gave it 7.5/10 and it made the bottom half of my Top 10 List from that year. I agree with Jay also that if you can get through “Prometheus” and think about its take on evolution that it makes it an interesting double bill. I really like horror movies that make you think. I don’t always enjoy checking my mind at the door. For example, my favorite horror movies so far this year are “Us,” “Midsommer” and “Tigers Are Not Afraid,” which just dropped to Shudder. Keep up the great work and go Team Jay!
Aw, shucks. Well, Pastor Matt. When you’re right — you’re right! ha ha ha
Thanks for weighing in again. Yeah, it took me at least three times to really wrap my head around “Prometheus,” and I think Lady Phantom has a point: It is OK for films to challenge us and make us think, but I feel like that film (and even Covenant) may have some storytelling issues, though I haven’t been able to pinpoint them yet.
Side rant: What I’m really against is filmmakers like Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko,” “The Box”), who feel that it’s permissible to require “supplemental materials” from outside the film (books, scripts, comics, etc.) in order to properly or fully understand the film. I think a movie should be able to stand on its own, and I believe “Prometheus” and “Covenant” do stand on their own. I just think the delivery of the narrative could use some tinkering, perhaps.
I’ve got some in-depth coverage of “Midsommar” coming up on Considering Horror Cinema, and I can’t wait to someday discuss “Tigers Are Not Afraid” with BillChete and Lady Phantom. Thanks again for listening, Pastor Matt!
-J
Wow, I didn’t know some creators required some different materials other than the movie to make the film understandable. That’s really dumb, even if they’re trying to be smart.
Oh, there’s a Team Jay?? I didn’t know we had teams. It’s funny how people tend to take a side, even when there are none. But anyways, to each his own.
Good evening HMW,
I enjoyed your discussion of this movie. I own the boxset on blu ray and am a big fan of the first two films. The others I am indifferent about. In the first film, when the crew goes aboard that derelict space ship and they discover the dead engineer in the chair, you always wondered who that was and there was no further explanation of it. This was always an unanswered question in Aliens lore. Prometheus tells us that back story of the origins of the engineers and I thought that it had a lot of potential. I really enjoyed the performances and visuals of Prometheus. I did like the characters that Theron, Fassbender and Rapace portrayed and thought it was one of the more interesting sci-fi films. That scene with Rapace trying to perform that procedure on herself was one of the more suspenseful scenes and very effective. They way the film ends, sets us up for Covenant.
The problem is, the film is neither a proper sequel to Prometheus, nor is it a good Alien film, so it’s like a double failure. We should have gotten a film featuring Noomi Rapace’s character dealing with the Alien threat in her own way. Instead, Ridley Scott foolishly decides to make Fassbender’s character the main focus and it just doesn’t work at all. He destroys all the work he did in building the world of Prometheus, literally. Even so, if you are going to go in this direction, then Walter has to kill David, as that would have made the most sense.
The film isn’t scary. The visual effects are substandard. The performances are average, especially Fassbender. How can a guy go from Prometheus to this? What a dropoff in his portrayal. This is especially disappointing considering Ridley Scott’s prior work. I made the mistake of purchasing the blu ray as I missed the film in the theater and now regret that decision entirely. If you would like my copy, you can have it, as I will never watch this again. It’s only been played once and it’s in like new condition with slipcover. The film is a 3 out of 10 and an avoid. Alien and Prometheus fans should be very wary of this terrible film.
I am very excited for the next episode for The Killing of a Sacred Deer. I like Yorgos Lanthimos’ work. Dogtooth is very good and both The Lobster and The Favourite are interesting films. What a strange situation, where after four episodes, I’ll likely be 3/4 in favor of Bill and possibly LP and perhaps 1/4 in favor of Jay of the Dead. I would have not predicted that to be the case. Also, Tigers does not feel like a horror film at all. It’s more like a drama with fantasy elements. Was pretty disappointed and underwhelmed by this over-hyped film. Tomorrow night is the long awaited 3 From Hell. I cannot wait to see this, a real horror movie!
Thanks all and keep up the great work!
YES! I had the exact same experience as did Sean: big fan of the franchise, but missed it in the theater and did a blu-ray blind purchase. My opinions usually align with Jay, but I can’t say that I agree with his love for this film.
I’m a Prometheus apologist, even though I feel that its storytelling lacked any substance to connect the ideological tissue together. In spite of that, the planets and visuals were exceptional, and Elizabeth Shaw is one of the strongest characters that the franchise has offered up. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of her, and were instead burdened with Ridley Scott’s treatise on the dangers of A.I.
Ash’s betrayal in Alien was jarring and cool, but never supplanted my fear of the xenomorph. The most interesting thing about the X was that we never knew how it came to be, and therefore discovered its lifecycle in real time. It was effective, and horrifying.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if the subsequent films are more concerned with exploring the intricacies of Ash, Bishop and their kind than they are with the Xenonorph, Scott should at least have the decency to remove the word “Alien” from future film titles.
Totally #TeamJay.
I just finished listening to the Land of the Creeps episode #203, with your vocal appearance.
I’m sending a comment in hopes of winning one of my personal favorites… Monster House.
Saw this in theaters in both 3D and straight. 3D was awesome and this film came out before the HUGE insurgence.
Glad all is well.
Oh yeah, Alien: Covenant is one of the better in the series.
I can’t believe that Bill Hayes this movie so much but loves the original 4. I don’t care if you watched it in 4k 3d blue ray or vod, there is no way that the alien in this movie looks better than the CGI (complete garbage image) that was in the third one. I say that as a fan of all the movies, including prequels. I will defend them to my grave. But if your argument is built do strongly on how bad the alien looked then you need to revisit alien 3 brother.
Still, love the show. Keep up the good work.