--- title: "Alien³" year: 1992 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/alien3" fi1m_score: 62 critics_score: 52 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-19T16:08:32.628090+00:00" updated: "2026-09-19T16:08:33.054690+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Alien³ (1992) Directed by David Fincher · 1h 54m · MPA R · Science Fiction, Action, Horror **Fi1m score: 62** · Critics 52 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* Ripley shaves her head, the murderers find God, and the monster looks like it was pasted on afterwards > David Fincher’s first film is a funeral with a monster in it: rust, lead and candlelight, shot with more nerve than the script deserves. The people are good and the creature is not, and once the running starts it is a lesser *Alien* in a bigger building. ## Synopsis Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash-lands in an escape pod on Fiorina 161, a lead foundry the company runs as a prison for the men no other prison wants. The other people in the pod do not survive the landing. The inmates, a couple of dozen murderers and rapists who have shaved their heads against lice and found religion under their preacher Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), do not want a woman among them, and the superintendent Andrews (Brian Glover) wants her locked in the infirmary until a company ship arrives. The doctor, Clemens (Charles Dance), is the only one who talks to her. Ripley suspects something came down with her, insists on an autopsy nobody wants, shaves her own head, and waits. Down in the works, an animal is behaving strangely. ## Review *Alien³* begins by throwing away nearly everything the previous film spent two hours earning. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a lead works the company has turned into a prison, and the other people in the escape pod are dead before she wakes up. The men who pull her out are murderers and rapists who have found God, shaved their heads against lice and stayed on after the place was shut down. David Fincher, directing his first feature at 114 minutes, has decided that the third film about this creature should be slow and grieving rather than another battle, and for about an hour the decision holds. The look is the reason it holds. Alex Thomson shoots from the floor, in amber and rust, with candles and sodium lamps doing most of the work, and Norman Reynolds’ furnaces and pipe-runs are so large that the people crossing them are hard to find. Elliot Goldenthal gives it a choir and a good deal of low brass; the opening credits, which Terry Rawlings and David Crowther cut against the crash, are as fine a piece of dread as the series has produced. Then comes the passage where Charles S. Dutton’s Dillon speaks over a cremation while, elsewhere in the building, something is being born out of an animal. We had come for a monster and were surprised to find ourselves grieving. The crosscut does it: the words of the eulogy land over the wrong body. The people are better than a third film has any right to expect. Charles Dance plays Clemens, the prison’s doctor, as a dry, courteous man with a past he would rather not discuss, and his scenes with Weaver have an adult ease the rest of the series never bothered with. Dutton preaches with real weight. Brian Glover’s Andrews reads the rules of the place in a flat northern bark, and Ralph Brown’s Aaron trots behind him being agreed with. Weaver herself is tired, cropped and unsentimental, and the film is at its best when it lets her sit in a room and be looked at by men who have not seen a woman in years. The creature is the trouble. For close work it is a man in a suit and it looks fine. For anything faster it is a puppet composited into the shot, and the edges shimmer, the shadows fall wrong, and it scuttles along ceilings with the weight of a photograph. We winced, and not at the thing; at the seam around it. A film that has built its world out of rust and candlelight cannot afford one element that plainly is not there, and this one is in the frame every time the film asks us to be afraid. The second half is the other trouble, and we will not describe it beyond its shape. The plan involves corridors, doors, running and a great deal of shouting of names, and since Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson and David Giler’s script, from a story by Vincent Ward, has given us perhaps four prisoners to tell apart out of a couple of dozen, the names mean nothing. Rawlings and Crowther cut the running as a smear, and the effect is of watching the same corridor from several angles while the cast thins. The religion that mattered so much in the first hour stops mattering. A longer version exists that some critics say gives Weaver more room; by their account it does not fix the corridors. Ridley Scott’s [*Alien*](https://film.one/film/alien), from 1979, was a haunted house, and James Cameron’s [*Aliens*](https://film.one/film/aliens), from 1986, was a war. This one is a funeral, and it has the nerve to be smaller and slower than either. The set is a real achievement, the score is a proper one, and Dance and Dutton give it two performances the genre rarely gets. What it lacks is the one thing a monster film cannot do without, and four credited writers have not given it a story that could hide the fact. Most critics split straight down the middle, and we sit a shade above them, because the mood is achieved and the mood is most of what the film is for. Watch it at home with the lights off; the amber holds up and the creature is easier to forgive at that size. The 18 certificate is earned early, in a medical room, and if that scene does not put you off, the rest will not either. *Fi1m score 62, published 19 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (13) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (82/100, inferred): The critic defends Alien³ as gloriously imperfect art and a singular, thematically rich vision despite its troubled production. They single out the film's bleak, operatic atmosphere and early flashes of Fincher's craftsmanship, especially a crosscutting scene juxtaposing a cremation with the xenomorph's birth. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/alien-is-so-much-better-than-david-fincher-and-its-rep-1825849182) - **The Independent** (75/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's visual beauty, intense narrative drive, and exploration of themes like death, motherhood, and sacrifice through Ripley's arc. Fincher's direction is highlighted for creating striking images and maintaining tension despite genre constraints. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-death-and-the-maiden-1541580.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Matt Zoller Seitz (70/100, inferred): The critic views Alien 3 as an ambitious but flawed debut for Fincher that rewards revisiting, praising its eerie beauty, experimental touches, and Weaver's richly imagined performance as a redeemer figure. The pacing is loose and it becomes a retread in places, but its imaginative charge and thematic depth stand out. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/the-unloved-part-1-alien-3-david-fincher-sigourney-weaver-feminism-science-fiction-heroine) - **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (70/100, inferred): The critic finds Alien³ a worthy, if flawed, conclusion to the series thanks to its consistently bleak atmosphere that stays true to the original film's hopelessness. They single out the strong thematic focus on Ripley's death drive and resolve, while criticizing the disappointing alien design and structural problems from production hell. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ripleys-got-a-death-drive-alien-3-at-25/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Michael Wilmington (50/100, inferred): The critic notes Alien 3 has a stylish but gloomy and portentously grim mood distinct from its predecessors, succeeding in rounding off the trilogy in an interesting way with strong visuals and Weaver's performance. It lacks the soul or guts to fully sustain its ambition and gets trapped in talking-head scenes. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-22-ca-50-story.html) - **The Guardian** (50/100, inferred): The critic views Alien 3 as a flawed but visually striking film that was a commercial and critical disappointment upon release, later gaining a cult following despite Fincher disowning it. The review singles out the grim, grimy prison-planet setting and low-angle cinematography for creating an original, claustrophobic world. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/22/alien-3-movie-1992-david-fincher) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (30/100, inferred): The review finds the film disappointing as a follow-up to the first two entries, criticizing the murky direction, weak script, anonymous characters, and failure to match prior standards despite some effective sequences. It notes the high bar set by Ridley Scott and James Cameron. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/alien-3-review/) - **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (30/100, inferred): The critic finds Alien 3 visually striking and focused on visceral sensation over logic or futuristic tech, belonging to a gritty, comic-book style of sci-fi. It emphasizes mood and imagery but lacks the emphasis on technology seen in prior entries. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/22/movies/review-film-alien-3-hal-if-you-re-still-there-here-s-computer-friendly-sequel.html) - **Time Out**, DW (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the single creature as gormless as the army in the previous film and criticizes the poor script and lack of guns on the prison planet. Weaver's performance and Fincher's claustrophobic close-ups provide the only real merits. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/alien3) - **Variety**, Brian Lowry (30/100, inferred): The critic calls Alien 3 a muddled effort offering little more than visual splendor, with a dour tone and lapses in reason and logic that make it likely to fade after opening strong. Fincher's debut lacks finesse with actors, though the Alien effects are technically impressive. [Read](https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/alien3-1200429655/) - **/Film**, Danielle Ryan (80/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a bleak yet profound examination of toxic masculinity, the prison system, and threats to bodily autonomy, arguing it deserves reassessment as a strong science-fiction allegory. They single out Ripley's isolation among violent male prisoners and the film's handling of desire, control, and patriarchal violence for particular attention. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1181042/david-finchers-alien-3-is-an-oppressive-interrogation-of-toxic-masculinity/) - **Polygon**, Sara Century (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the Assembly Cut an improvement over the theatrical version, offering more nuance to Ripley's performance and removing some egregious elements while preserving the film's bleak tone. She singles out the added runtime for giving Weaver more room to shine but notes that the core issues of the original production remain evident. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/alien-3-assembly-cut-review-hbo-max/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (30/100, inferred): The critic views Alien 3 as a troubled, compromised debut that stifles Fincher's talent amid studio interference and script chaos, resulting in a messy film with scattered potential and an atmospheric but flawed execution. He singles out the opening credits and Ripley's sacrifice for their emotional and visual impact while criticizing the underdeveloped prisoners and inconsistent religious themes. [Read](https://collider.com/alien-3-review/) ## Details - **Director:** David Fincher - **Director:** David Fincher - **Screenplay:** David Giler, Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson - **Story:** Vincent Ward - **Cinematography:** Alex Thomson - **Editor:** David Crowther, Terry Rawlings - **Music:** Elliot Goldenthal - **Production design:** Norman Reynolds - **Costume design:** David Perry, Bob Ringwood - **Producer:** Gordon Carroll, Walter Hill, David Giler - **Cast:** Sigourney Weaver as Ripley; Charles S. Dutton as Dillon; Charles Dance as Clemens; Paul McGann as Golic; Brian Glover as Andrews; Ralph Brown as Aaron; Danny Webb as Morse; Christopher John Fields as Rains - **Runtime:** 1h 54m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 22 May 1992 - **Genres:** Science Fiction, Action, Horror - **Budget:** $50 million - **Box office:** $160 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e45rAwndek8 ## Where to watch in the US - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $4.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-19.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1993: Best Visual Effects (nominated) - Kurd Lasswitz Award for Best Foreign Work 1993: Kurd Lasswitz Award for Best Foreign Work (won) ## If you liked this - *Alien* (1979), Fi1m 92: The haunted house this one is mourning; slower, quieter, and the creature is barely seen. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/alien.md) - *Se7en* (1995), Fi1m 88: Fincher’s second go, in the same rain and rust, with a script that holds. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/se7en.md) - *The Thing* (1982), Fi1m 88: Men in an outpost, one monster, nowhere to run; effects built from rubber and blood. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-thing.md) - *Hunger* (2008), Fi1m 86: Another prison of bodies, shaved heads and faith, with no creature required. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hunger.md) - *Stalker* (1979), Fi1m 86: Industrial ruin shot as a cathedral; the mood *Alien³* is reaching for, done slowly. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/stalker.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/alien3