STRANGE film
Alien 3 is such an anomaly. A sequel to a sci-fi action blockbuster that, after massive studio interference, ends up being an intimate, low-key, British-grim space horror.
You'd expect the studio to have pushed for more braindead action and maybe a PG-13 rating (as we saw with AvP etc) which would make some financial sense, but instead they thought they'd hit the jackpot by killing off every single beloved character that survived the previous film, including the series' lead, and have the whole miserable story take place on a dank rapist-filled prison planet.
All of Cameron's hugely popular world-expansion - huge Alien hoards headed by a mega-queen - were stripped away and we're back to one alien and no weapons in a weird lunatic religious cult. It's bizarre on a business level, which suggests Sigourney may have forced through some of the unpopular 'artistic' choices.
It's a miracle, then, that the film is as strong as it is (I refer, of course, to the extended cut, the theatrical can now be dismissed). Fincher goes for gloomy and quiet, and doesn't let the tone drop for a moment. It's a relentless journey from hell to death, with dark red blood gushing from punctured skulls, insane religious fervour, bad news and ultimate sacrifice. The writing is good and the performances are strong. More than anything, there's an intelligence and an adult nature to the film, the young Fincher exhibiting a maturity that actually shows up some of Cameron's pop thrills, and leaves the later Alien films looking like kiddy cartoons.
Alien 3 commits to a theme of endings so completely that it actually stands up as a nihilistic mood piece that wouldn't seem out of place in an arthouse cinema. The creature is particularly vile in this instalment, a hideous demon that has come for these sinners, and will eventually catch up with our heroine.
On an entertainment level the film's mistake is to kill off Charles Dance so quickly - his blossoming relationship with Ripley, cold though it is, is the one little glow of warmth in a cruel and indifferent world, and it gets snuffed out half way through. You can see why Ripley begs for death, but she's even denied that until she goes through more hell. I have to respect such commitment to misery, but if Blomkamp disregards the film and makes a true sequel to Aliens, with Alien 3 consigned to a hyper-sleep nightmare, I won't be complaining.