| Alien: Containment | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Chris Reading[1] |
| Written by | Chris Reading[2] |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Quaid Kocur Patch Ward |
| Starring | Gaia Weiss Theo Barklem-Biggs Sharon Duncan-Brewster |
| Cinematography | Howard Mills |
| Music by | Simon Porter |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | IGN 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 10 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Budget | $35,000[3] |
Alien: Containment is ashort film based on thescience fictionactionmedia franchiseAlien. Released viaIGN on March 29, 2019, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the franchise, the film was written and directed by Chris Reading, throughTongal Studios and20th Century Fox.[4] StarringGaia Weiss,Theo Barklem-Biggs, andSharon Duncan-Brewster, the film follows the survivors of the colonial transportBorrowdale who discover that one of their number may be harboring achestburster.
The sixteenth short film in theAlien franchise, it received a generally positive critical reception.[5][6]James Paxton would reprise his role as MacWhirr from the film inAlien: Alone.
As the colonial transport spaceshipBorrowdale breaks apart and explodes,[7] four survivors who escaped via a shuttle — Ward, Nass, Albrecht, and thecomatose Mills — discuss thexenomorph outbreak that had taken place aboard the ship, and the chance one or more of them may have been contaminated by afacehugger. After Albrecht discloses thatWeyland-Yutani had okayed theBorrowdale's destruction to prevent the outbreak from spreading, Nass becomes paranoid that Mills is infected before attempting to kill him, before he realises he himself is the one infected as achestburster begins to tear its way out of him. As Ward attempts to help Nass, Albrecht flees to another room onboard the shuttle and seals the others off via a hatch, only for a sudden impact — a rescue ship docking to their shuttle — leading her to accidentally reopening it, letting lose the infant xenomorph. As the infant mauls Albrecht, Ward scrawls "Do Not Open" in her blood on the shuttle window to prevent the rescue crew from letting the xenomorph onboard their own ship.[8][9]
In apost-credits scene, Mills awakens to find Nass' corpse beside him. Hearing the now full-size xenomorph moving, he clutches hisoxygen mask back to his face to return tounconsciousness.[10]
In July 2018, it was reported that20th Century Fox had joined forces withTongal Studios to produce a series ofAlien short films to coincide with the 40th anniversary ofthe franchise.[12][13][14] By March 2019, the details of the short films were released, Tongal co-founder and CEO James DeJulio describing the joint-production as "reflective of Tongal's mission to bring creative opportunities to the next generation of talent."[15][16] The first short released and the sixteenth overall in the franchise,Alien: Containment was written and directed by Chris Reading with a budget of $35,000,[3] described as "captur[ing] the mood and contrast ofAlien: Covenant with the DIY nature ofthe originalAlien movie",[17] withvisual effects provided by The Brewery VFX.[18] Following writing an "economical" screenplay, Reading attributed the film'spost-credits scene's "tonal turn into comedic territory" as a result of on-setimprovisation "get[ting] a dark laugh from the audience".[10]
Alien: Containment was released on theIGN website on March 29, 2019, after which it was uploaded to theAlien Universe website, and allAlien social media pages on May 5, 2019, the short film then premiering alongside five others at theEmerald City Comic Con inSeattle,[15] and as aMovies Anywhere-exclusive bonus feature accompanying the digital release ofAlien.
Alien: Containment received a positive critical reception. Josh Weiss ofSyfy complimented the film for its structure as "aone-act play of sci-fi horror", as well as for the "intriguing" concepts introduced over its events,[5] with Vijay Varman ofCircle of Cinema praising both the filmmaking as "a masterclass in using a minimal budget to portray a CGI-infused landscape", andSharon Duncan Brewster's "incredibly complex performance in the vein ofIan Holm’sAsh".[6]
Fear. Claustrophobia. Blood. Three words Director Chris Reading uses to describe his film,Alien: Containment.
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Our latest episode sees regular hosts Corporal Hicks and Xenomorphine joined byJames Paxton to discuss his involvement with theAlien: 40th Anniversary ShortsAlien: Alone andAlien: Containment, as well as the legacy of his father,Bill Paxton.
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