Alien: Specimen - 40th Anniversary Short

Started by Nightmare Asylum, Apr 02, 2019, 07:11:33 PM

Author
Alien: Specimen - 40th Anniversary Short (Read 46,158 times)

Samhain13

Samhain13

#210
Quote from: The Old One on Apr 09, 2019, 06:05:08 PM
I don't believe it's meant to invocate that particular white fluid, but the other one.

As the Alien.

For ALIEN, but the prequels? Hmm... my views on David's character arc go well with the mother symbolism.

Voodoo Magic

Quote from: Samhain13 on Apr 09, 2019, 06:17:31 PM
Quote from: The Old One on Apr 09, 2019, 06:05:08 PM
I don't believe it's meant to invocate that particular white fluid, but the other one.

As the Alien.

For ALIEN, but the prequels? Hmm... my views on David's character arc go well with that symbolism.


The Old One

The Old One

#212
I know, I'm just saying Alien's about the perversion of Motherhood and Fatherhood, subtextually.

Aliens takes it and makes it text, the good about procreation and parenthood, Mother Ripley versus Mother Alien.
Alien³ takes it and makes it text, again, but Ripley's now a literal forced insemination victim. (& AIDs allegory.)

Samhain13

I think some of that too. I see that on the prequels as well.

The Old One

The Old One

#214
Of course, David's a impotent rapist.

Samhain13

Samhain13

#215
Who had been forced into an motherly housewife condition by Peter Weyland since birth. Now wanting to be the father, as his programing predisposes him to, but since his body was limited he has to look for an unnatural form of Fatherhood. Forcing humans to play the part of mother to the aliens as revenge for what was forced to him.

From a perversion of Motherhood to one of Fatherhood. That's all David can ever be.

The Old One

The Old One

#216
The ultimate humiliation is the idea the misattributed creation's the reality.

Lord Byron creating the poem.
David Weyland creating the Alien.

"To compose something so majestic, one could die happy... if one died."
"When one note is off, it eventually destroys the whole symphony, David."

David's true impotence revealed.

[cancerblack]

Quote from: SM on Apr 08, 2019, 08:57:38 PM

Plus there needs to be a law against people using 'plot hole' for things that aren't...


Would vote for politicians on this platform alone.

Jonesy1974

Really enjoyed Specimen, way betting than the first one which I thought was a bit naff. Great atmosphere and really well shot. Loved the twist at the end too, I didn't see that coming at all.

Hope the rest are as good if not better than this one.

Predatorium

Loved this one! Way better than the first!

The Old One

The Old One

#220
It's excellent alright.

Perfect-Organism

Ya.  It's really good.  It's got attitude, has the feel of a movie, and has a great twist at the end.

TC

TC

#222
Alien: Specimen

Cinematography 3/5
Some bold lighting choices to have so much blackness in frame. Nice.

Acting 3/5
Very good. The fun, music montage worked well for character, and something new for an Alien film.

Production Design 3/5
Functional. I would have liked to have seen a wide shot of the interior of the greenhouse that establishes a more distinctly sci-fi setting (probably with a matte painting). And I feel like some ground fog would have added a touch of spookiness, as though from condensation from the plants.

Story 4/5
Some unfortunate repetitive beats: Being confronted by the spilled barrel twice; sneaking through the foliage in the dark in pursuit of Maggie.

Direction 4/5
I've shown the film to a few people and everyone says that the twist ending is that Maggie is a robot. But what's most interesting to me is what they think of Julie's character. Most people describe her as fun and caring and that she and Maggie have a bond of friendship. I used to think that too, but I've watched the film a few times now and that is not the way the ending is directed. Julie has no such feelings for Maggie, because she knows all along that Maggie is a robot (and, presumably, robots aren't friendship-worthy). The evidence for this? Look at Julie's behaviour when she comes across the aftermath of the fight.

Does she rush to Maggie's assistance? No. Instead she relishes the task of finishing off the face-hugger.

With Maggie in her death throes, does Julie look distraught? No. In fact, Maggie's condition makes Julie more annoyed than anything else.

Does Julie comfort Maggie as she is dying? No. Julie stands and observes from a distance and says a few words of appreciation ("you did good"), but is there sorrow or sympathy as she says this? Not really.

And look at the low angle camera, designed to make Julie look dominant and aggressive. Is that appropriate for a touching farewell scene? Of course not.

How does Julie euthanise Maggie? She could have reached into her back pocket for a remote control and flipped the power switch off and we could have watched as a little red light dims out - a tranquil end for a faithful companion. But no, she puts Maggie down with a violent, decapitating finishing move! The director made a rather strange choice there, if the scene was supposed to be that of a friend saying goodbye to her bestie, don't you think?

Then why the scene earlier in the film with Julie bopping out to her iPod and clearly designed to endear her to us? It's a ruse, plain and simple. And Julie throwing a balled up wad of paper for Maggie to play with? Yet another ruse, a red herring to reinforce the twist ending - that is, the real twist ending. Namely: Julie is a cold hearted bitch! Ha! Well done, Kelsey Taylor.

Overall 4/5
Enjoyable and mostly satisfying. Mostly.

TC

Corporal Hicks

I really enjoyed this one. They managed to find a pretty nice location for this one. Loved seeing a bit more greenery in an Alien short (it's honestly one of the things I loved in Covenant, found it refreshing). And while I do actually like that quick shot of the hugger on the leave, it's a shame we haven't seen more of the Aliens infecting greenery areas and moving about in them.

And while the CG wasn't exactly studio level, I think it looked great for these low budget pieces. I think there needs to be a level of reality checking in terms of the money and resources that they had for these things.

I know it's always going to be a challenge getting much of a connection with the characters in 10 minutes but I loved the little tricks. Music always works a wonder with me for some reason. One of the stronger ones for me.


HuDaFuK

Yeah, I thought the musical montage was a really neat way to help you engage with the character in a minimal amount of time.

AvPGalaxy: About | Contact | Cookie Policy | Manage Cookie Settings | Privacy Policy | Legal Info
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Patreon RSS Feed
Contact: General Queries | Submit News