Series Review: Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)

By: Shawn McKee

In the beginning, Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) redefined the horror/sci-fi sub-genre. The script by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett borrowed elements from nearly every space alien film before it, while modernizing the genre with visceral, atmospheric horror.

The legendary Xenomorph design by Swiss artist H.R. Giger has become one of the most recognizable movie monsters of all time. Of course, Alien also introduced face-huggers and chest-bursters, creating an interesting dilemma for a deadly species reliant on host bodies to reproduce.

Alien gave us one of science fiction’s greatest characters, Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who only wishes to eradicate the Xenomorphs from existence. Ripley represents humanity in an inhumane world, where an omnipresent, faceless company (Weyland-Yutani Corp) wants the alien species at all costs.

In 1986, writer/director James Cameron delivered one of the greatest sequels ever made with Aliens. The film’s strong focus on action distinguished it from its predecessor, broadening the story’s scope with thrilling and memorable scenes throughout.

Though visually impressive, Alien 3 (1992) began the steady downward trend that continued with Alien Resurrection (1997), Alien: Covenant (2017), and the ridiculous Alien vs. Predator films.

I’m no fan of Prometheus (2012), and I moderately enjoyed the much praised but forgettable Alien: Romulus (2024). Ultimately, my interest in the series barely extends beyond Alien 3. So, color me skeptical when Disney and FX announced a TV series set two years before the events of Ripley’s first encounter, called Alien: Earth.

How does the show measure up? Seven episodes in, I can confidently declare its ranking as one of the best TV events in years.

The concept of Xenomorphs on planet Earth dates to the production of Alien 3. The idea was floated until they ultimately ended up with Ripley crash-landing on a prison planet. All the preceding films were unable to expand on this idea until now.

Alien: Earth is an eight-part series featuring a large cast and a complex, multilayered plot. Its grand scope and high production values result in the cinematic quality of HBO’s Game of Thrones or other big-budget shows. The special effects (from Wētā Workshop), set design, performances, and music are all top-notch. What the show accomplishes most effectively is capturing the primal horror of the original Alien while blending it with the thrilling action of the sequel.

This is thanks in part to series creator Noah Hawley, who clearly understands the style, motifs, and terror of the Alien universe while enriching the source material. Hawley also created the equally impressive FX series Fargo, based on the Coen brothers’ classic film. Alien: Earth has a lot to say, and its dizzying plotlines may overwhelm some viewers. But for those attuned to it, the experience is as gripping as anything in recent memory.

The story is set in 2120, where five companies control the world and lead commercial exhibitions throughout the Solar System. Mankind’s endless search for immortality has led to the creation of Cyborgs (cybernetically enhanced humans), Synthetics (AI beings), and relatively new Hybrids (Synthetics with human consciousness). Hybrids are the secret creation of the Prodigy Corporation, where they essentially implant the mind of a human (in this case, terminally ill children) into an artificial being.

Prodigy also happens to be a competitor of the Weyland-Yutani Corp, which sponsored a 65-year space expedition to obtain otherworldly specimens (most likely for biological warfare). As the USCSS Maginot nears the end of its mission, collecting several extraterrestrial specimens, disaster strikes, and the vessel crash-lands on Earth, directly into Prodigy territory. Prodigy lay claim to the ship and all its cargo, leading to further conflict with Weyland-Yutani.

We’re given glimpses into the disastrous Maginot mission, its slaughtered crew, and a fully-grown Xenomorph wreaking havoc. The show wastes no time in delivering the carnage, but it also slows the pace to introduce multiple characters with differing motivations.

Cast standouts include Wendy (Sydney Chandler), the first hybrid, and Kumi Morrow (Babou Ceesay), the cyborg chief security officer and sole survivor of the Maginot.

There’s also Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), Prodigy’s synthetic chief scientist, Boy Cavalier (Samuel Blenkin), the childlike Prodigy CEO tech trillionaire, and indentured medic Hermit (Alex Lawther), who also happens to be Wendy’s human brother (before she became a hybrid). Overall, top-rate acting is palpable across the entire cast.

The first four episodes center around the aftermath of the Maginot crash, resulting in a loose Xenomorph amidst caverns of biological horrors throughout the ship. The hybrids are enlisted to contain the cargo as Murrow is singularly focused on delivering the same cargo to its rightful owners.

Episode five, titled “In Space, No One…” is a stand-alone flashback to the events that led to the ill-fated Maginot’s crash. In writing and directing the episode, Hawley said it was to be his own Alien movie, which it aptly feels like. With one episode now left, we can only imagine where things will go.

Naturally, Alien: Earth has received widespread critical attention, earning praise as well as criticism of its writing, characters, and heavy focus on AI.

At its best moments, it’s thrilling and intense. At its weakest, it’s a bit talky. There’s real magic at work here. After what Disney and 20th Century Fox did to the Predator franchise, turning the deadly killer into inept fodder for unlikely plot-armored characters, I’m pleasantly surprised and relieved Alien: Earth hasn’t suffered the same fate.

The show pays tribute to the original and its legacy of fans without spoon-feeding them. It stands out as a testament of science fiction horror, where we Alien fans feel right at home.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Retrospective: Four Decades of Bustin’ on the Big Screen with ‘Ghostbusters’ By Jesse Striewski

One memory from my ’80s childhood has always stuck with me; I was in the garage hanging out with a friend, in mid-conversation with a copy of a book adaptation of 1984’s Ghostbusters in my hand when, I looked up to find a loose neighborhood dog standing at the end of the driveway, snarling in my direction with all of its fury. Instinctively, I threw said book in its direction prior to bolting for the back door before it had a chance to maim either one of us.

That’s just one of many personal Ghostbusters-related stories I can recall. When originally conceived by series creators Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, I doubt they had in mind a franchise consisting of merchandise that ended up in the hands of just about every kid in the decade it was released (nor do I think envisioned said kids using it to fend off stray dogs as frightening as the two “terror dogs” featured in their own film, though I could be wrong).

Directed by Ivan Reitman, the film follows three New York City-based parapsychologists – Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis), and Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray, in a role originally intended for John Belushi before his untimely death) – who go into business together catching ghosts and becoming local heroes in the process.

Once business starts really picking up, they’re able to hire both a receptionist named Janine (Annie Potts), and a fourth member, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson). And the group is further expanded by a love interest for Venkman, Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and her quirky neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). From then on, all the pieces to the puzzle seemingly fit together flawlessly on screen before our eyes.

Released the same day as a another massive ’80s hit, Gremlins, Ghostbusters was a bona fide blockbuster, with each of said films eventually reaching iconic status (ironically, I remember my family getting both movies on VHS at the same time, and still have both copies to this very day – one of which now actually signed by a cast member, which I’ll get to shortly) and becoming required viewing in just about every suburban household at the time.

Not long after the film’s release came the animated series The Real Ghostbusters in 1986, and a media franchise of toys, video games, lunchboxes, and nearly anything else one can think of, was officially spawned. An inevitable sequel, simply titled Ghostbusters II, finally appeared in 1989, and while not always looked back on with fondness, the second entry served as another rite of passage of sorts for me when going to see it in the theater, becoming the first film I ever watched completely independently/solo, thanks to the cinema being so full it was impossible to find more than one seat at a time.

After a number of years laying dormant, the series was finally revived in 2016 with an unfortunate reboot that would’ve been best left on the shelf than actually produced. Thankfully, a “proper” sequel finally appeared in the form of 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which saw the continuation of original characters (and many returning cast members) and even their ancestors. Another admirable follow-up, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, haunted theaters as recently as just this past March.

In 2015, my wife Brooke and I were lucky enough to meet Dr. Stantz himself, Dan Aykroyd, where I had him sign that very VHS tape that sat on top of my family’s entertainment center all those years prior (see photo). While a great moment nonetheless, I only wish I had asked all the questions I would later think of after-the-fact (naturally!).

The author (left) with Ghostbusters actor and writer/co-creator Dan Aykroyd in Orlando, FL on 3/21/15 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

And then of course there’s the coinciding song that no Ghostbusters conversation is truly complete without. Written and recorded by Ray Parker, Jr., the song was released the same time as the film, and its star-studded music video was also directed by Reitman. In 2022, the family and I got our second, firsthand ghost “encounter” when we saw Parker live at Epcot that October, receiving his biggest reaction of course at the intro to his biggest hit to date.

Ray Parker, Jr. performing “Ghostbusters” at Epcot in Orlando, FL on 10/21/22 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

Four decades later, we’re still here talking about the franchise with a fondness that few other film series can actually rival. It was a moment of time when American cinema and art was truly at a peak not seen before, or since its release. I will gladly remain stuck in that era of time for the remainder of my days rather than entertain ninety percent of what Hollywood tries passing as “entertainment” these days.

A signed copy by Dan Aykroyd of the original Ghostbusters on VHS from the author’s collection.

Film Review: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Columbia Pictures/Ghost Corps)

By: Jesse Striewski

I was already aware of some prior negativity being thrown out there regarding the latest fourth entry (we’re not going to include that dreaded 2016 reboot here) in the Ghostbusters franchise, and after catching it on the big screen this past opening weekend, for the life of me I just don’t understand why.

The latest chapter finds the Spengler family (McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon) and Grooberson (Paul Rudd) now all fully (and rapidly) established Ghostbusters in New York City via Oklahoma after their encounters in 2021’s Afterlife (I never said there weren’t a few plot holes here). Viewers are instantly thrown into their new chaotic lifestyles, and the adventure quickly begins.

Things seem all-too routine until a random slacker (Kumail Nanjiani) sells a strange orb belonging to his recently deceased grandmother to O.G. Ghostbuster Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) in his occult shop, which just so happens to contain a trapped evil entity capable of being the catalyst to the end of the modern world as we know it.

Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts all return again from the older films, with even William Atherton reprising his role again as Walter Peck from the 1984 original (which admittedly felt a bit on the “forced” side). Blink and you might even miss the brief cameo of John Rothman as the library administrator from the first film as well. New cast members also include Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lynn, and James Acaster (among others). Curiously however Sigourney Weaver does not show up here even after her quick cameo at the end credits of Afterlife.

There’s moments of nostalgia (the nod to Ray Parker, Jr. on a television set in one scene is a nice touch), but it’s never too overly sentimental. It’s far from a “perfect” film, but I honestly felt like that kid again watching Ghostbusters II up on the big screen in the summer of 1989 (back when life was much more simple). For that, I don’t have all that much to say about Frozen Empire that isn’t positive; the “For Ivan” added on at the ending credits for late Director Ivan Reitman also shows a certain touch of class by new Director Gil Kenan for sure.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Film Review: Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Columbia Pictures/Sony Releasing)

By: Jesse Striewski

It’s exceptionally rare for a sequel or reboot to an already beloved, established franchise like Ghostbusters to come close to comparing to its the source material. But Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the long-awaited third follow up to the first two films, both breathes life back into the series, and redeems the entire franchise after that painfully embarrassing reboot in 2016, which I hope we all can agree by now was a mistake no matter who was cast in it.

Produced by original director Ivan Reitman and directed by his son, Jason, Afterlife does its best to wrap up and explain many questions fans might have about the original characters’ whereabouts, as well as introduce a host of new, yet surprisingly likable ones.

The plot is no huge stretch of the imagination; the daughter (Carrie Coon) of recently deceased Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (originally portrayed by the late Harold Ramis) is forced to pick up the pieces of her father’s past life and move into his decrepit old farm house. Meanwhile, her genius daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and rebellious teenaged son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) slowly uncover their grandfather’s mysterious past, and the small town’s ghostly secrets, all with the help of some newfound friends (played by Paul Rudd, Celeste O’Connor, and Logan Kim, respectively). What ensues is all-out escapism entertainment that allows viewers to get completely lost in.

Along the way there’s numerous references and throwbacks to the original films that’s every die hard fan’s dream come true. And yes, there’s appearances from series alumni Bill Murrary, Dan Aykroyd, Erine Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver, and of course a beautifully constructed tribute to the late Ramis (and I’m pretty sure this is all already public knowledge by now, so technically those aren’t spoilers!). Blink and you might miss some of the many subtle throwbacks weaved within the ongoing proceedings, too (like a ghost from the old animated series that I actually had the action figure of when I was still young!).

I’ve heard rumbles from other critics that the film panders to fans. But what would you rather have, another heap of total garbage like the last misfire of a film, or something with some actual heart like Afterlife?! This is the film that fans have deserved for decades now, and the one I’ve personally been waiting for since I was a kid sitting wide-eyed in the movie theater during Ghostbusters II all those years ago. Check the bonehead mentality at the door, and just enjoy what has been put together for us here.

Rating: 4/5 Stars