Life always found a way… until this film tanked at the box office and nobody heard from it again.
If you were told to think about a sci-fi-horror movie set in space about an alien life-form picking off crew members one-by-one, most film-lovers would be able to guess what movie you’re thinking about without too much effort.
That’s right, 2017’s Life, starring Jake Gyllenhall, Ryan Reynolds, and Rebecca Ferguson!
To say that this movie shares some similarities with Alien might be a bit of an understatement. On paper, it sounds like nothing more than a lazy knock-off. However, while it’s true that Life probably wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the best sci-fi horror film of all time, the same can be said about all sorts of Alien-influenced stories, like Metroid, The Expanse, or The Thing, so let’s not write it off for that. It’s also clear that, for as similar as their loglines might read, director Daniel Espinosa set out to put his own stamp on the space-horror genre with Life. I think he succeeded.
Let’s address the smack-talking elephant in the room first—Ryan Reynolds. His comedy stylings have had a divisive effect in recent years. Ever since striking gold with Deadpool, Reynolds has been accused of playing the same kinds of characters again and again, with some now finding his deadpan and sarcastic deliveries grating. If you find yourself belonging to this group, never fear. I’m happy to report that Reynolds’ performance in Life is the least Ryan Reynolds-y he’s been since Deadpool. Sure, there’s a light-hearted and quippy element to his character, but it’s toned way down from his usual portrayals. He’s also the focal point of a few high-tension scenes, which he pulls off with such aplomb that it makes me sad we don’t get to see him in more dramatic roles.
But there are five other crew members on board the International Space Station, whose mission to retrieve and study soil samples from Mars for signs of life initially appears to be a resounding success. The life-form, dubbed Calvin, begins to grow rapidly from just a single cell. Thankfully, the CDC’s representative on board, played with stern grace by Rebecca Ferguson, has firewalls in place to keep the life-form from reaching Earth. So long as Calvin doesn’t escape and develop a taste for human flesh, they should all be fine.
Something I really love about Life is the immediacy of Earth. Despite the whole film taking place on the ISS, the blue planet is a constant source of anxiety for the crew. Not only does Calvin pose a threat to humanity, but orbital decay, limited fuel, and failing communication systems means that the crew aren’t only fighting to survive, but fighting the very pull of the planet. The ISS itself is as much of a monster as Calvin at times, too. Watching a once-safe environment turn on the characters is a fun source of conflict.
Tension permeates every scene of the movie from the moment Calvin begins to display some predatory instincts, and while I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that things don’t go well for the crew, I’ll refrain from going into specifics. It wouldn’t be a space-horror without a few disturbing deaths though, and Life does not fail to deliver. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be squirming in your seat or holding your breath or suffering a thousand-yard stare as you contemplate just how horrible it would be to die in the way you just witnessed on screen. Life doesn’t hold back. Some might prefer the implied horrific deaths of Alien (bar one famous dinner scene, perhaps), but I consider this to be the other side of the same coin. While there’s nothing scarier than one’s own imagination, you can’t deny the effect a brutal on-screen death can have, even one pulled off with the aid of CGI.
Which brings us to Calvin. I don’t think any on-screen alien will ever top the Xenomorph in terms of creature design, especially nowadays as computer-generated monsters replace old-school practical effects, costumes, and puppetry. So yes, Calvin is a CG creature, and while you could be tempted to compare it to one of the most influential and terrifying alien designs of all time, I think it’s more useful to meet it on its own terms. Calvin may be computer-generated, but this really works to the filmmakers’ advantage. There’s no gravity on the ISS, which enhances the disturbing movements of Calvin’s squid-like form. The filmmakers also capture the growth of the creature excellently. Watching it grow new appendages and take on a more predatory form is chilling in just the right way.
Performance-wise, Rebecca Ferguson really steals the show. Jake Gyllenhaal as the on board medic is competent, but the overwhelming weight of what is happening to the crew ultimately falls on Ferguson’s shoulders. She conveys that weight superbly, and I couldn’t help but admire the seriousness with which all of the actors took their roles here.
I really do think it’s a shame that Life didn’t make more of a splash when it was released. Nobody half-assed anything here. Not the actors, not the director, not the cinematographer (props to some cool zero-gravity camera movements), and not the digital artists. Nor, for all the grief given to them, are the writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) to blame. The imaginative kills, the constantly-building tension, the pacing from which things go from bad to worse, the clever and effective climax - all of this is their own creation, not a rip-off of a more popular film.
Unfortunately, if I had to speculate why it tanked, I really couldn’t point to anything more than it being perceived as too similar to Alien, which is a real bummer. Alien was nearly forty years old when Life came out, and while I’m obviously not trying to diminish that film’s impact or artistry, I think enough time has passed that filmmakers shouldn’t be scorned for riffing and remixing such a classic film.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong. Maybe a bad trailer was to blame, or a poster wasn’t eye-catching enough. Maybe the title didn’t stick in people’s minds or maybe people were put off by Ryan Reynolds appearing in a serious sci-fi horror film. Or maybe it was none of the above. Maybe it came down to luck. Sometimes great films flop for no reason at all. There’s no getting around it.
That’s just life.
***
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