I’m a bit of a sci-fi buff. From Stargate to Alien to Little Shop of Horrors, I’m a fan of the genre and all it’s strange, fascinating iterations. Despite this–sadly–I don’t know if I can say I love Alien: Reign of Man. In its entire runtime, I couldn’t exactly tell you what was going on and why I should even care about it.
But I’ll do my best.
There’s some talk of a zombifying disease called Terminus, tons of references to the impending downfall of Earth, some talk about a shadow government called The Council and a group of soldiers immune to Terminus called The Eternals. The Eternals have been sent to some planet, Demo, to investigate a spire? That holds some kind of key that can be used on a spire on Earth? Lots of talk about dark matter? And a cure for Terminus? Earth is dying? Beuller? With all these things going on, Reign of Man is kind of like that gumbo your not-so-favorite aunt makes every Christmas: it has great elements, but it doesn’t really come together the way it should.
“…the film feels like a series of shorts stitched together to become one large, drafty quilt of lukewarm sci-fi.”
Like said gumbo, the core of the issue with Reign of Man is that it employs the best and worst of things at the same damn time. In its best moments, the film is a killer Tumblr photo set. From inventive set and art direction–with so little they went a long way– to shot choice, the film is striking in its presentation. At the very least, you can feel that you’re in another world watching this film. It is, as the kids call it, a mood.
This movie has had me captivated for months. I f*****g love this flick! Most folks want to put their heads into neutral and keep just enough oxygen flow to their brains so they will laugh or scream on cue. If they have to think about anything for longer then a second their oxygen is depleted and, being good droids, immediately give it a thumbs down for nonsense.
I totally get this movie. Its about the transition between the ages of man, and having run his course of power, must restart the cycle if he is to continue. In this case, between Pisces and Aquarius. The ending is the beginning referred to in Gospel of Thomas 18. But to see this vision, correct arcane knowledge is required. There is no doubt here that Justin Price is an absolute genius and a very old soul indeed!