ALIEN 2: ON EARTH

ALIEN 2: ON EARTH

Original Title:
Alien 2 - Sulla Terra

Alternate Titles:
Alien Terror

German Title:
Alien - Die Saat des Grauens kehrt zurück
 
Italy, 1980
Directors: Ciro Ippolito (as Sam Cromwell), Biagio Proietti (uncredited)

6/10

Haha, the crazy Italians did it again! Next to infamous unofficial sequels like Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2" or Bruno Mattei's "Terminator 2", there was also a "sequel" to Ridley Scott's "Alien":

the b-production "Alien 2: On Earth", a silly but enjoyable in-name-only sequel, which has NOTHING to do with "Alien" and feels more like a precursor to "The Descent" - I shit you not!

The first 25 minute are pretty weak: there's loads of uninteresting Apollo mission stock footage, boring scenes of people bowling and driving around, some telepathic rubbish and a few horribly annoying characters (e.g. the dumb headphone-guy at the bowling alley). Only one good scene where a little girl gets her face ripped off.

The next 40 minutes take place in a creepy cave system (Neil Marshall, eat your heart out) and that's where the fun starts: nearly all of the main characters get killed off by some weird alien creatures. Ok, the aliens look pretty silly, but the brutal kills are simply awesome: bursting and exploding faces / heads, aliens sucking on faces, ripping out eyes, and one uber-glorious decapitation. The atmosphere is stunning, there are lots of highly suspenseful scenes and a terrific slow-motion sequence; the camera work is great and the spooky psychedelic space-folk from Oliver Onions is simply excellent.

Oh, there's also some nudity and one of the very first acting performances of Michele Soavi who later became one of Italy's most impressive horror directors.

The final 15 minutes are weird: some thrilling scenes, some hilarious alien P.O.V. shots and a completely disappointing open ending.

"Alien 2: On Earth" is pretty unpopular among horror fans, and yeah, I understand everyone who hates it. I mean yeah, it's dumb, cheesy and pointless - however, if you enjoy oldschool Italo-gore and ignore the fact that this was just a cheap "Alien" cash-in, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as me.

Wiki ~ Imdb