"Alien" was a ground breaking film. It seamlessly managed to combine science fiction and Gothic horror. It thrilled fans of the genre and has kept its reputation over the decades. It was so new at the time, of course, devotees wanted more. The studios were happy to oblige.

"Leviathan" merely takes the plot of "Alien" and moves it under water. Mining is still at the core. A soulless corporation still puts profit before people. You know this because Meg Foster, one of the most inherently scary looking women on the planet, is one of the corporate uppity ups. It's still a small crew in a hostile environment but here they're mining silver as opposed to iron ore. The producers sprinkle in a bit of John Carpenter's "The Thing" in that this crew comes across the menace after it already caused the decimation of a Russian crew, and also that the creature assimilates each crew member it devours. Rick Baker happened to be the effects guy in both projects. Like "Alien," "Leviathan" has a strong female lead. Here, though, Peter Weller shares the survivor credits with her. I like Weller enough but he never really builds up a fire. Here, even in the thick of it, he remains surprisingly calm.

This movie sports a strong cast who all do a decent enough job. It IS a shameless rip-off but it's still fun to watch. I suppose I should be surprised it took them ten years to come up with this. At a crisp 98 minutes it won't strain your time budget. Just sit back, pop a beer and some pizza and roll around in the mud.
"Alien" was a ground breaking film. It seamlessly managed to combine science fiction and Gothic horror. It thrilled fans of the genre and has kept its reputation over the decades. It was so new at the time, of course, devotees wanted more. The studios were happy to oblige. "Leviathan" merely takes the plot of "Alien" and moves it under water. Mining is still at the core. A soulless corporation still puts profit before people. You know this because Meg Foster, one of the most inherently scary looking women on the planet, is one of the corporate uppity ups. It's still a small crew in a hostile environment but here they're mining silver as opposed to iron ore. The producers sprinkle in a bit of John Carpenter's "The Thing" in that this crew comes across the menace after it already caused the decimation of a Russian crew, and also that the creature assimilates each crew member it devours. Rick Baker happened to be the effects guy in both projects. Like "Alien," "Leviathan" has a strong female lead. Here, though, Peter Weller shares the survivor credits with her. I like Weller enough but he never really builds up a fire. Here, even in the thick of it, he remains surprisingly calm. This movie sports a strong cast who all do a decent enough job. It IS a shameless rip-off but it's still fun to watch. I suppose I should be surprised it took them ten years to come up with this. At a crisp 98 minutes it won't strain your time budget. Just sit back, pop a beer and some pizza and roll around in the mud.