Looking back at 1992’s Alien 3, one finds both a story of production woes and an early glimpse of the future for David Fincher. Looking to build upon the critical and popular success of Ridley Scott’s 1979 original chilling sci-fi horror and James Cameron’s 1986 action-packed sequel, Brandywine Productions’ third installment in the franchise faced trouble out of the gate. Producers Walter Hill and David Giler, both integral in writing the first two films, were adamant about creating an original script that avoided rehashing the previous installments. But after failing to get Ridley Scott back on board, the production team was a revolving door, with writing responsibilities trading hands numerous times. Eventually, director Vincent Ward was fired over creative differences and a 30-year-old Fincher, known at the time for directing commercials and music videos, signed on.
The script was unfinished, a hodgepodge of previous iterations that included aliens as metaphors for HIV and the Cold War along with action-heavy scripts more reminiscent of the second film. Yet for all of its production mishaps, Alien 3 was not the failure it could have been. Though it received mixed critical and popular reception, it had solid box office success and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. And despite Fincher stating that no one is more disappointed with the final product then he was, there are certainly positive features of the film that foreshadow Fincher’s distinct style.
Understanding the history of the production helps to view the film in proper context. At its core, the biggest problem with Alien 3 is that it fails to stand on its own two feet. Whereas the first film was a trailblazer in sci-fi horror and the second was an action-packed thriller, Alien 3 is neither of those things. Within the Alien universe, it feels closer to the horror elements of the first, but it never passes the original in any capacity. Alien embodies the idea of less is more. There are few shots of H.R. Giger’s iconic Xenomorph, which viciously grabs the audience’s attention during its reveal and still holds up decades later. And the rest of the film is a timeless masterclass in thrilling suspense. Alien 3 on the other hand, is more gratuitous in featuring shots of the alien, and many of those CGI-laden shots do not hold up today. And while Fincher honed in on his craft and had some metaphorically bright spots creatively within the dark film, the lack of innovative source material makes it a slog to get through. With a messy plot and redone horror elements, it feels much like a lesser rehash of the legendary original.
The story takes place immediately following Aliens, with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) emerging from a cryogenic state aboard an escape pod after it crash-lands on Fury 161, a prison colony. The beats follow as expected, with a stowaway Xenomorph emerging from the pod and taking down the residents of the colony one by one. There is some focus on the dynamics between the prisoners ‒ not too unlike the astronauts aboard the Nostromo in the original ‒ and their interplay with Ripley, but the bulk of the film is about hiding from and hunting the alien. The only thing that makes it feel unique is the directorial style that would go on to become emblematic of Fincher.
As Fincher’s debut feature film, it’s easy to spot examples of his dark and precise style. Taking place in a prison foundry, the setting lends well to his use of muted colors (grays, greens and blues), depicting an especially gloomy and haunting environment. And the desaturated low light and creative use of off-kilter camera angles cement the uneasy, gothic tone. There are some truly chilling shots like the iconic scene featuring a dripping Xenomorph face rubbing up against a terrified Ripley, though the CGI and some camerawork, like the upside-down POV shots of the alien, look cheesy in hindsight. In terms of story, Fincher focuses on a group of prisoners tossed away in the grand expanse of space, which shows his eye for examining the dark stories of undesirables. And the ensemble cast of prisoners provides depth in character that is a highlight within the franchise. For these reasons, Alien 3 provided a sandbox for Fincher to both develop his craft, and give audiences a glimpse of what was to come in both directorial style and story.
Expectations were high for Alien 3 and the mess of a production seemed to disappoint most of those involved, especially Fincher. He even stated that he’d rather get colon cancer than return behind the camera of a feature film after his experience. Fortunately for audiences, he landed back on the scene a few years later with 1995’s Se7en, where he had more control and was given a leash long enough to resist studio appeals to lighten the tone and change the original script. The final film, of course, ended up being one of the most widely praised detective films of all time. Perhaps if the production of Alien 3 was more organized and offered Fincher more time to develop his own story, the sci-fi film would have met the grand expectations audiences would later come to expect from the heralded director.
The post Oeuvre: Fincher: Alien 3 appeared first on Spectrum Culture.