20 "WTF Did I Just Watch" Horror Sequels

16. Alien: Resurrection

Unlike most films about aliens, the first three Alien movies were grounded affairs to an extent. They took relatable characters and scenarios - blue collar workers transporting some cargo, marines venturing in enemy territory, a male prison - and played them fairly straight; they just happened to be in the far future and feature aliens.

Unfortunately, 1997's Alien: Resurrection is just far too strange for its own good, which isn't necessarily surprising when you see who they brought on board for it. It's directed by quirky French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet and written by Joss Whedon - both talented guys, but not really suited to the sombre world of the Alien films. 

The result is a weird and goofy mess headlined by Winona Ryder's female android and a superpowered Ripley clone, played by an exasperated Sigourney Weaver who was clearly just there for the paycheck. There's lots of distracting comedy, it never feels grounded enough, and it concludes with an utterly bizarre finale involving a stupid-looking alien-human hybrid. 

Apparently, that all could've been even sillier; the hybrid was originally supposed to have explicit genitalia and a clearly sexual dynamic with the new Ripley, though this was vetoed by the studio. That was probably for the best! 

The ever-confrontational Joss Whedon publicly trashed the final product, feeling that Jeunet adapted his work poorly, and while most don't have an awful lot of time for Whedon these days, he had reason to be critical. This instalment really didn't work.