1. Alien 2: On Earth Beats Neill Blomkamp To The Punch
Movie fanatics went bananas when District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp posted concept art for a movie he didn't think was going to happen on his Instagram page, which has since been green-lit; a fifth Alien movie that would ostensibly overwrite the third and fourth movies. He was beaten to the retconning sequel punch by a handful of decades, however. Released following the success of the first Alien film, Alien 2: On Earth (originally titled Alien Terror) was yet another Italian rip-off, this time directed by Ciro Ippolito under the Americanised pseudonym Sam Cromwell. Despite opening in such a manner that connects it directly to the first Alien film - a killer extraterrestrial hails a ship to Earth, as the title may have tipped you off to - it quickly abandons any pretence of actually having anything to do with the Ridley Scott original and instead uses copious stock footage of space, has a contemporary setting, and involves a psychic blob playing Peeping Tom to the scores of scantily-clad female stars. ...Okay, so that last bit is about right with the first Alien. But the rest is absolutely the pinnacle of unofficial sequels: a tenuous connection to the original, no budget, and an Italian huckster pretending to be the next James Cameron. Are there any more crazy, low-budget rip-off sequels out there? Let us know down in the comments.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
