For all of its green computer readouts and drab, ‘70s styling, Ridley Scott’s “Alien” has aged remarkably well. It’s still an absolutely riveting classic because Scott creates such an encompassing feeling of dread in every moment. The movie’s shadows make us afraid not for what we can see but all that we can’t, and even more so for what we can hear.
It’s possible that a horror movie hasn’t been made since that’s quite as good, not because today’s directors are incapable of it but because the kids crave a new kind of queasy spectacle these days.
That’s why my anticipation for “Prometheus” was as high as any movie still to come out this year. To combine the special effects wizardry of the 21st Century with the atmospheric slow burn of one of the greatest horror movies all time would be a marvelous achievement.
To capture that mystique, Scott would have to be ambitious. “Prometheus” then is more than a closed-door horror movie where the characters are picked off one by one. It has lofty aspirations about the questions of life and existence with a glossy sci-fi finish. It’s a breathtaking epic that on a technical level leaves “Alien” in the dust.
And yet in its attempt to get bigger, it actually got smaller.
Scott’s game this time around is in instilling fascination in everything that’s beyond the next corner, not fear. It’s the same quest Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) is on. She believes the origins of life on Earth can be traced to a remote planet in the galaxy after discovering ancient cave paintings on Earth pointing to their celestial makeup.
She and a team of scientists explore this new planet with a fine-tooth comb. It’s the familiar terrain briefly crossed near the opening of “Alien,” and this time, Scott gives us more of a chance to explore. He said his inspiration with this film was to ask the one question that surprisingly few asked about “Alien:” who is the alien pilot the crew discovers frozen in his seat?
The beautiful thing about “Prometheus” is that it is all about what you can see and hear but can’t begin to understand. The humanistic android David’s (Michael Fassbender) fiddling with ancient alien technology is just as fascinating as the reveal about the alien’s intentions on Earth. Scott directs these scenes with patience, allowing our eyes to linger on the spectral silhouettes re-enacting the alien movements.
In fact, the more grandiose, silent and atmospheric moments of “Prometheus” recall the elegance of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” We’re able to hear the echoing thump of David bouncing a basketball through the empty ship corridors and see the gentle sway of cups sliding across the ship’s kitchen table. Neil deGrasse Tyson may have made the point that the amount of distance the group has traveled would only get them to Jupiter, but I wonder if the film is accurate in showing just how puny and insignificant a speck the space shuttle is beside this massive alien planet?
But like the planet dwarfing that ship, “Prometheus” does still pale in comparison to the monolith that is “Alien.” There is a scene involving Dr. Shaw, an alien and an automated surgical machine that is as sickening as anything in “Alien,” let alone anything you’ll see this year, but watching it proves how different the two movies really are.
“Prometheus” is a massive action movie with some small scale grace, whereas “Alien” is a claustrophobic horror movie that feels overwhelming. The special effects in “Prometheus” are more horrific and awe-inspiring than engrossing and visceral. The two blinking dots inside the diagram of the ventilation shaft in “Alien” have more urgency and suspense than the gigantic destruction seen in “Prometheus.”
Maybe there is something wrong then when the one thing missing from all the special effects in “Prometheus” are two blinking dots.
3 ½ stars