Yeah.
Movies that play with things that people are scared by, such as being isolated, at risk of something terrifying, betrayed, basically-being-physically-hurt-in-a-really-shitty-way, have an easier job because it's easier to tell an authentic story if you're playing with genuine worries. Movies that ponce around with clever ideas that make the director look like a really-smart-individual often fail because - well - they're not that good and people aren't (always) stupid.
Alien: fabulous movie. Near perfect horror where Giger's genuinely brilliant monster designs pushed buttons in an otherwise conventional but excellently directed scary movie.
Aliens: OK - we'll allow you to exploit the original and admit that the sequel has a few flashes of its own scary goodness
Alien version n+x hmmmmmm, err Guys?
Prometheus: better on second viewing, or maybe third. Sad that the best I can say is 'it isn't as SHIT as Interstellar'. The most significant philosophical thought that it inspires in me: 'I wonder if it cost about the same as Interstellar to make.'
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead |