3. Alien 3 (1992)
What Everybody Remembers: A messy, murky and ultimately unsatisfying sequel to the masterpiece that was
Aliens, this movie screwed up right out of the gate by killing off two important characters for no good reason, and giving protagonist Ripley nothing much to do except run around a bunch of darkly-lit corridors trying to escape a dog-like Xenomorph, whilst occasionally conversing with paper-thin characters.
Why It's Nowhere Near As Bad: Alien 3 didn't do itself any favours when it decided that the best option in overcoming the problems associated with having Hicks and Newt alive at the start of the movie was in just killing them. For fans of the franchise, such a move was pretty unforgivable, and the associated anguish is understandable. Get past that, though, an
Alien 3 isn't quite the abomination that a lot of people claim it to be: sure, the plot is lacking, but the setting and the aesthetics are more than enough to make this an interesting entry in the series. The prison concept could have been better developed, sure, but as minor horror movie, for the most part, this works. What's more, the director's cut version is a great improvement on the theatrical cut, and better showcases what might've been if the production process hadn't been quite so freakin' turbulent.