2017’s “Alien: Covenant” was very highly anticipated for me. Not just because it was going to be a fun horror film, but because the ‘Alien’ franchise, is one of my favorite film series of all time.

Director Ridley Scott takes the handle once again with this film, fresh off the financial success of 2012’s “Prometheus”. I say financial success and not critical success because most critics and audience members alike seemed to despise the film.

When Scott announced his new film in the “Alien” franchise, “Prometheus”, fans quickly jumped to the conclusion that they were going to get a thrilling Xenomorph gore-fest. However, the film turned out to be more of a philosophical take on the series with occasional thrills. I, on the other hand, loved “Prometheus” and I was very excited to see what Scott was going to do next.

When the first trailer for “Alien: Covenant” hit the internet, fans immediately left their dismay behind, and put back on their hype hats. The trailer harkened back to the traditional horror of the original films, and not to mention the appearance of the Xenomorph that would be returning this time around.

I finally got to see the film on Friday, May 19th and was very satisfied. “Alien: Covenant” may be one of the series’ most thrilling and exciting entries to date.

The film starts rather slowly, but it soon picks up when our characters reach the quiet and desolate planet.  The first infection of the film has to be my favorite scene. The scene sets the tone for the bloody horror that will loom over the rest of the movie. The whole theater was on the edge of their seat.

Once the film reaches about its half-way point, things slow down when our main characters meet the suspicious robot, David, played by Michael Fassbender. This is the portion of the film that harkens back to “Prometheus”, in which characters discuss what it means to be human, and the theme of creation surpassing creator. However, things pick up once again when a shocking twist is revealed about where one of the character’s loyalties lie.

This is the portion of the film that seems to turn more into an action movie than a horror movie. I didn’t like this part of the movie as much, because I preferred the horror scenes from the beginning. However, the final scene of the film was fantastic and had me leaving the theater with a good taste.

The star of the film has to be Fassbender. He stole every scene the he was in, from his chilling performance as David, to his counterpart, Walter. The score of the film was also great. There was one reoccurring melody that would play whenever something bad was about to happen. This theme was absolutely haunting. My favorite part of the film was that it didn’t hold back anything, as this has to be the bloodiest film in the series.

On the other hand, many of the characters were extremely forgettable, besides David and Walter. Like I said before, the last act of the film turns into more of an action movie than a horror movie, which I didn’t really like. The visual effects on the Xenomorphs were also particularly bad. In the first films, the Xenomorphs were all done with practical effects. However, this time around it was done with visual effects, and it just looked weird at times.

In the end, “Alien: Covenant” is an awesome film that combines ‘Prometheus’ with the original films and takes the best from both. Obviously, the film has flaws, but as a fun horror film, it strives.

9/10