underwater-kristen-stewart-social-featureImage via 20th Century Studios
The Alien franchise may be stuck in limbo (again), but that isn’t going to stop filmmakers inspired by the series from creating their own homages. In the last decade, movies such as The Cloverfield Paradox, Life, and Annihilation have experienced varying degrees of success and failure. Meanwhile, the original franchise has hit a roadblock after being revived on the big screen by Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, and on television by Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth. Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1979 classic and two subsequent prequels, has expressed indifference toward Romulus, suggesting that he wants to reclaim the reins of the series. However, Scott’s recent track record hasn’t been all that inspiring. While fans wait for official word on where the series is headed next, they seem to be checking out another entry in the long line of Alien-inspired movies at home.
The movie in question was released theatrically at a rather inopportune moment in history: January 2020. While it can certainly be argued that the film had concluded its run before the world’s population became wary of venturing outdoors, there’s a version of events where it debuts unburdened by baggage and emerges as a January sleeper hit. Directed by William Eubank, the film grossed around $40 million worldwide against a reported budget of $65 million. Of this total, only $17 million came from North America — this was a lower haul than those of Life and Annihilation. However, the movie has found a solid cult following at home in the six years since, and is once again spiking on streaming.
Here’s the ‘Alien’ Alternative That Recently Spiked on Streaming
We’re talking, of course, about Underwater. Starring Kristen Stewart and Vincent Cassel, the film wore its Alien inspirations on its sleeve. It now holds a 48% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Underwater’s strong cast and stylish direction aren’t enough to distract from the strong sense of déjà vu provoked by this claustrophobic thriller’s derivative story.” According to FlixPatrol, Underwater emerged as one of the most-watched movies on the domestic Prime Video chart this past week. This spike coincided with the release of Whalefall, the underwater survival thriller written and directed by Brian Duffield, who co-wrote Underwater. You can watch Whalefall in theaters and Underwater at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
January 10, 2020
Runtime
95 minutes