9 Under-rated Horror Masterpieces By Directors You Love
1. Alien 3
It’s not obscure or forgotten, but oh boy is it underrated. David Fincher’s screen debut, famously mangled by studio interference, is one of the most powerful and dark entries in the entire Alien saga.
Lost in space after their retreat from the disaster on LV-426, Ripley and the other ragtag survivors of Aliens finally land. What she doesn't know is that her companions are all dead, a queen alien embryo is gestating in her chest, and the planet is a prison full of sex criminals. That's a rough landing.
Alien 3 is not just good in comparison to the franchise-killing turd that followed it - Alien: Resurrection - or the two dire Predator crossovers, or Ridley Scott's patchy prequels. It's an awesome piece of work in its own right, full of great ideas, vivid imagery, and strong performances from a top-tier cast including Charles Dance, Brian Glover and Paul McGann.
Sure, there's some ropey CGI. But if this hard-nosed, gritty movie had been the last word for the xenomorph universe, the Alien series would have gone out on a high instead of being subjected to the unnecessary torture of death by spin-off and prequel.