First Alien: 40th Anniversary Short Released Online - Alien: Containment!

[Corporal Hicks]

Nearly 9 months after the competition was announced, today is the day we’ve been waiting for! The official release of the first of the Alien: 40th Anniversary Shorts! Up first is Chris Reading‘s Alien: Containment.

Four survivors find themselves stranded aboard a small escape pod in deep space. Trying to piece together the details around the outbreak that led to their ship's destruction, they find themselves unsure to trust whether or not one of them might be infected.

Next week will see the release of Alien: Specimen which was directed by Kelsey Taylor! Be sure to let us know what you thought of Containment down below!

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[Russ]

That was amazing. I loved it, loved the CRT feel, the sfx were well (re)used and I thought the actors - the lead especially - were great. What's not to love about this!

[Nightmare Asylum]

Will be watching as soon as I'm out of work. Can't wait!

[XenoHunter99]

That was fun! they did a lot with a little, and it works quite well.

[Xenomorphine]

Nicely done, though there were some odd moments. Didn't understand why one of the airlock door opened, how the scientist got trapped by it or why the lead didn't just seal herself in the airlock, itself. The general sense of atmosphere was well done, though and, while the chestburster prop still looked fake (as briefly glimpsed as it ultimately was), the production had great lighting.

[Drukathi]

That was fun. But the "end" in style of almost all anthologies (if you read bug hunt). Interesting - they all have the same end?

But for a forgotten man - thanks. Just lol. He is the most interesting character.

[LiquidMonster]

Meh.

[BishopShouldGo]

That was fantastic! Great acting, loved the atmosphere.

[Corporal Hicks]

Didn't understand why one of the airlock door opened, how the scientist got trapped by it or why the lead didn't just seal herself in the airlock, itself.

I don't believe she actually was stuck. It doesn't come across as strong but I think she meant to have just been banged up in the jolting. It opens because she hits in the controls during the same time too.

I would suppose the lead didn't want to risk getting nommed by the burster before she got her message out.

[DaveT937]

Bravo!

[Vrastal]

Was pretty good. Dont know if it was the choice of the writer or not but not seeing the chestburtsting happen or seeing the chestburster itself was a bit dissapointing. Really looking forward to what else was done.

[bacchus]

Overall I thought it was good. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a $30,000 short and not produced by Hollywood pros with a multimillion dollar budget to accept its shortcomings. The story was pretty generic and nothing innovative or new in terms of the Alien universe but I thought the VFX at the start and end were absolutely stunning considering the budget.

Was slightly distracted by one of the actors (the male lead) using an unconvincing American accent (he is fantastic English actor called Theo Barklem-Biggs who normally has a very strong London/Cockney accent - would have preferred his normal accent!). The only other distraction was the obviously budget-constrained chocie to not show the alien bursting through the chest in detail or showing the alien in any kind of detail.

What I liked:

• The beautiful shots at the start of the storm on the planet, and the shot of the ship being separated and the escape pod emerging. WOW.
• The soundtrack was subtle but spot on and reminiscent of some of the original films.
• The blood/gore effects were good. I liked the shot of the blood splattering on the female lead's face - reminded me of the backburster scene in Covenant.
• The final shot of the film with the bloody writing on the glass, the camera pulling out and the escape pod docking with the rescue ship. Again, fantastic.

What I disliked:

• The script/story was a bit too generic and straightforward for an Alien story. We've seen this play out numerous times in the films/books/comics etc it didn't add anything new to the universe.
• Theo Barklem-Biggs using a weird American accent and not his normal London/Cockney accent.
• The choice (probably forced by budget) not to show the chest burst in any greater detail (e.g. the 'money shot' of the alien emerging from the cavity)

Overall, this was a reasonable start to these shorts but I'm hoping for something new, innovative and more original in the remaining shorts.

Was disappointed that the contest was US only (I'm in the UK). I've written a 9 minute short screenplay for what would have been my submission which I might post later in the fan fiction section.

[The Old One]

*Sigh*

Spoiler

I'll explain later.

[close]

[Highland]

Not bad! Bit jumpy in parts ( the cuts) . Had me hooked though.

[Kathy]

Keep them coming!!!  Love it!!