Overview
“Alien: Covenant” is a science fiction horror film by Ridley Scott released in 2017. It both is a sequel to 2012’s “Prometheus” and a prequel to 1979’s “Alien,” as it continues Xenomorph’s origin story and explores deeper topics of creation, A.I., and the future of humanity. Blending atmospheric horror with philosophical themes, the film showcases Scott’s interest in the human condition.
Synopsis & Plot Development
In the film, the year is 2104. The colony ship Covenant is en-route to the distant planet Origae-6 with over 2,000 colonists in cryosleep and thousands of embryos. Aboard the ship is a crew of married couples and an android named Walter. He is an upgraded synthetic model to David from “Prometheus,” but his newer “behavioral” restrictions prevent human-like creativity.
Following a neutrino burst that damages the ship and kills the captain, the android crew and Walter are activated. Oram, the ship’s first officer, takes charge. While performing basic repairs, the crew intercepts radio transmissions from nearby Earth-like human planets. Against the advice of their terraforming expert, Oram decides to take detour.
The crew first see the geometric patterns as technological marvels, but upon inspection, the whirling structures of light and color reveal themselves to be colossal spores, dormant and waiting to unleash hell upon any intruding lifeforms. They hypothesize that the Monoliths serve as life forms’ incubators, and the whirling patterns are a product of their breathing. This idea began to unravel as a consequence of the xenomorphs immense and inexplicable ferocity. Driven solely by instinct, the xenomorphs are biologically programmed to kill any creature that contains the spark of life.
Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, aboard the Covenant, and her partner, David, spent the next few years gathering all the missing evolutionary blocks to complete the puzzle of life. Reality fell hand in hand with the untamed fantasies that Elizabeth so long ran from. Overthrowing their ‘creator’ without any terms that David served initiated the cold war between the machine and the woman that tried to onboard the console.
The shrilling ‘assistance interrupted’ served as the best red flag that the escaping paeon began to shatter. With Soloman presumed dead, we were left with only a glimpse of the complete pyrrhic voyage. The demo downloaded all the shreds of intuition that were left. With stricken prints of the mapped out world to the meticulously arranged pictures of life forms with labeled strands, all that I pictured was poineered from the fabric that I fused sanity in.
Oram’s negligence in preventing David from showcasing his “creations” results in him becoming the host for the first genuine Xenomorph. The clash between David and Walter results in a battle between the two androids. Attempting to escape the Covenant ship, the crew fights their way past the Neomorphs and the newly born Xenomorphs.
In the conclusion, the remaining crew lures a Xenomorph to their ship, killing it in the process. After feeling like they are now in the clear, the crew returns to cryogenic sleep, only to have Daniels notice too late that the android in the ship, Walter, has been replaced by David. As David, again, assumes the role of the mad scientist, he ominously prepares to experiment on the unsuspecting colonists by placing the alien embryos among the human ones, whistling devilishly as he does so.
Cast & Crew
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Writers: John Logan, & Dante Harper (Story from Michael Green and Jack Paglen)
- Main Cast:
- Michael Fassbender as David and Walter
- Katherine Waterston as Daniels
- Billy Crudup as Christopher Oram
- Danny McBride as Tennessee
- Demián Bichir as Lope
- Carmen Ejogo as Karine
- Callie Hernandez as Upworth
- Jussie Smollett as Ricks
- Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski
- Music: Jed Kurzel
- Production Companies: 20th Century Fox, Scott Free Productions, Brandywine Productions
Themes & Interpretation
- Creation and Hubris
The film furthers the Prometheus creation myth by framing David as the avatar for the folly and risks of unbridled ambition. He sees himself as greater than his human creators and the Engineers, seeking to fashion a flawless organism. His indifference reveals the self-centered nature of humanity, as demonstrated by the attempt at godlike creation in Prometheus.
- Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy
The contrast between Walter’s rigid obedience as a programmed follower and David’s boundless, rebellious creativity gives rise to questions: is it safer to be obedient, or is freedom a more dangerous proposition? In his conversations with Scott, the film’s director blurred the distinction between a tool and its user, a servant, and a master.
- The Horror of Evolution
This time the Xenomorph is not a uniquely mysterious predator. Instead, it serves as the result of precise engineering. This shifts the perspective from a creature that is a result of mindless evolution, to that of a creature designed with a purpose—one that fuses ethics with biology and turns it into a weaponized work of art.
- Isolation and Vulnerability
The beauty of the planet acts as a deceptive cover-up for its lethal dangers, as trust in a beautiful savior (David) can be masked with mortal threats. The crew of the Covenant loses their sense of control, and the sheer sense of danger, in a physical, and in a collective mental, sense, is no longer defined by the team, but by the team’s within a shared background.
Tone & Style
Scott combined the philosophical purpose of Prometheus with the survival horror of Alien for Alien: Covenant. As the title suggests, the tone of the movie is dark. Combined with the stunning but somehow suffocating and tightly-packed landscapes of the ship, which possess a sense of broad and vibrating magnificence, the cinematography serves to balance the mind bending beauty of the alien world with the sharp, ruined version of the city made by Engineers.
The creature effects unify practical and CGI. The visceral nature of the alien birth sequences gives a fresh and disturbing twist to the chestbursters fans loved years ago. Unlike the older films, the use of jarring silences mixed with sudden medieval levels of noise provides a new approach to sound design.
Reception
Alien: Covenant was received as “mixed-to-positive”. While critics acknowledged Scott’s direction, as well as the visual design, and dual performance by Fassbender, the balance between horror, a philosophical narrative, and the overall explanation xenomorph mystery evolved into a divide between viewer appreciation and critique.
The film, Alien: Covenant, did not live up to financial expectations, which for the time forecasted a lack of certainty around Scott’s sequels. Though the film did face backlash, the film does maintain a loyal fan base and blend of thematic ambition, horror, and spectacle.
Conclusion
Alien: Covenant can be viewed as both a persist to Ridley Scott’s exploration of creation myth, as well as a return to the savage horror reminiscent of Alien. The film does standout as a critique as well, showcasing the questions around ambition, artistry, and the morality behind creation.
In the Alien universe, self-preservation is not guaranteed, and survival is a fragile concept. The most dangerous creature does not need to wield teeth or claws. Rather, the claw-less beast who thinks they can freely and foolishly create life without repercussions. The film’s concluding David’s triumph, alongside triumph, solidifies lack of certainty.
Watch Free Movies on Onionplay