A Ho-Hum Life

Alien is a classic film with some recent sequels that have arguably chipped away a bit at that greatness. Then there are the movies that are clearly inspired by Alien without actually being sequels -- movies like 2017's Life.

Set aboard the International Space Station, Life follows a crew of six as they research a biological sample returned to Earth from Mars. Their initial excitement at confirming the existence of life away from Earth soon gives way to horror, as the growing creature threatens all their lives.

The cast was the main draw for this movie, an assemblage of people you'd imagine wouldn't hop on board for total schlock: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds among them. (Well... hmmm... Ryan Reynolds has had some spotty "role radar," with at least one terrible movie to every good one. Perhaps his presence here should have been a warning?) But like these characters, who don't know what they're getting into when they start toying with alien life, I didn't really imagine the dark side of what I was getting into with this movie.

The truth is, this movie isn't that bad. But it is incredibly uninspired. Or perhaps over-inspired, in that it's largely derivative of Alien, with bits lifted from Gravity and Psycho for good measure. The characters are quite shallow, with barely enough personality to do more than perpetuate jeopardy with their bad decisions.

Visually, it is quite strong. From a creepy creature design to impressive zero-g simulation to cramped sets that at least feel credible for the ISS, it all looks pretty convincing. The camera work is fairly inspired too, juggling the sense of claustrophobia with the vastness of space. And it all opens with an eye-catching 8-minute "single take" that takes you all around the station as the camera moves and even rotates fully in all dimensions.

There are also some unsettling deaths -- and for a certain kind of horror fan, this might just be the single most important ingredient. The creature gets a dopey and common name that would totally undermine its menace... if it didn't off the characters in truly gruesome ways. For my money, though, I'd like to care a bit about the characters before they become so much meat for the grinder.

In an alternate reality where Alien had never existed and this movie arrived? It would probably blow your mind wide open. As it is? I bet you already forgot this movie existed, if you even heard about it when it was new three years ago. Three years from now, I'll probably have forgotten it too. I give Life a C-.