Maybe it’s because the Alien franchise has returned in TV form for the first time, but everyone’s got sci-fi horror on the brain lately. Alien: Earth probably has a lot to do with that, but the best news is that while that franchise might rule the subgenre, it’s far from the only story worth enjoying.
There are plenty of recognized classics in that department, of course, whether you’re going back to Hammer’s Quatermass movies or you’re watching Predator. But there are also other less-appreciated gems waiting for you out there, including a recent film, packed with stars, that’s never gotten the love it deserves. Fortunately, you can stream right now. .
Like Alien before it, Life is the story of a spacecraft crew who encounter an extraterrestrial organism that grows out of their control. Unlike Alien, the crew in this case are scientists, and they’ve already anticipated the arrival of this organism from a sample collection probe on Mars. They’re ready to see the first real evidence of alien life ever encountered, ready to study it, ready to nurture it.
So naturally, it sets out to tear them all apart.
Yes, it does sound a lot like Alien, and there’s no doubt that director Daniel Espinosa and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick turned to the franchise for inspiration. Where Life sets itself apart, though, is not just in its focus on scientists, but on the ways in which science can be weaponized, seductive, and ultimately horrifying in the wrong circumstances. It’s a movie about a group of the smartest people in the world slowly discovering that their worst fears are actually real.
And those people are played by some pretty big names. This single film, with its high-concept hook and Alien-inspired scares, managed to pack a roster of superstars and future superstars, starting with Jake Gyllenhaal. Joining him in the cast are Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, and Hiroyuki Sanada, to name just three. They each bring a slightly different flavor to the narrative, and work very well together as a unit tortured by this alien thing taking over their space station.
And even with its inspirations on its sleeve, Life does find some rather original ways of getting its chosen monster to wreak havoc on the scientists and their station. The creature, which has more in common with The Thing than Alien, is a shape shifting clump of cells eager to replicate and absorb all other life around it. It’s a being of pure appetite, but it also applies shocking intelligence to various situations, turning the battle into more of a chess game than a slasher. And it all builds to an ending that’s rather harrowing for a major studio release. Dread Central’s Steve Barton, reviewing the film upon its 2017 release, called it “a truly intense horror film with just enough sci-fi to appease fans of that sub-genre.”
Life is climbing the streaming charts right now over on Paramount+.
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