Welcome to one of the main features of 'Castle Dracula,' the movie reviews section.
The reviews placed here are from all around the world, from the USA to the UK Japan
and everything inbetween. The formats reviewed are video and DVD. I have included the
origin of the film reviewed so you can check your player for compatibility. You may
also notice that there are some DVD-R reviews. These are not 'bootlegs' or 'copies'
but official screeners that I have been sent containing an as yet unreleased film to 
review. All the reviews here have been reviewed either by myself or my current movie 
reviewers. If you're an avid watcher of horror movies then why not join 'Castle Dracula'
as an official 'staff member' reviewing them. To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff'
link in the menu to the left for details of this and other vacancies.
New reviews are normally placed here once a week, check my front page for under 'Castle
Dracula Updates' to see what latest movie reviews have been placed.

- Aliens Special Edition - US DVD -

Tagline:-

"This time it's war."

Synopsis:-

57 years after the events of "Alien," a salvage ship finds 'Ellen Ripley' in 
hyper sleep, along with 'Jones the cat,' on a pod ship detached from the 'Nostromo.'
Upon investigation of her action's previously, her license is revoked and she 
works robotic lifters. Unbeknownst to 'Ripley,' a colony has been put on the 
alien planet, where the original movie took place, to settle it and create an 
artificial atmosphere. When the transmissions from the colony suddenly ceases, 
'Ripley' is recruited to lead an expedition made up of a group of heavily-armed 
marines and a salvage company representative to descend on the planet and 
investigate the alien presence. 'Ripley' is once again thrown back into battle 
with the aliens -- only this time there's hundreds of aliens and their Queen!


Story/plot:-

The story starts out where the previous movie ended but 57 years in the future. 
It's not as mysterious as the first movie because we already know that aliens 
are there in the alien spaceship. 'Ripley' told them about it when they recovered 
her. It's basically more of a action movie this time. Some of the eeriness is 
still present but this time the people are soldiers with tons of firepower. 
But even their weapons can't hold out for long. 
It's action-packed and never boring.


Atmosphere:-

The atmosphere is one of intense and building tension. Which way will they 
attack? 
How many? 
When? 
Where? 
The set's again, mostly, inside the dark, shadowy confines of a space compound 
on the same body of land where the aliens were first discovered 57 years 
previously. Only this time there's hundreds of aliens and tons of explosive 
firepower. When the best soldiers with the best firepower run in terror, you 
know it's bad!


Cast/characters:-

There's over a dozen characters to keep track of but most aren't too important. 
There's a few key characters. There's more tension between characters than in part 
one.
Sigourney Weaver is back as 'Ellen Ripley,' the star of this series. This time 
she's more angry, expressive, and even more determined to kill the aliens. 
She's great as usual but even a more experienced actress who holds nothing back.
Carrie Henn plays 'Rebecca "Newt" Jorden,' the little girl and only human survivor 
found on the compound. It's her first dramatic role and she's a natural actress, 
very believable.
Michael Biehn plays 'Cpl. Dwayne Hicks' who assumes command later. He starts out 
nervous and a bad leader but becomes good and courageous towards the end.
Lance Henriksen plays 'Bishop,' the android. He plays the part without flaw, great 
actor.
Paul Reiser plays 'Carter Burke,' the representative of the company which 
authorizes this expedition to find out what happened to the unresponsive colony. 
He starts out nice but turns out to be selfish and greedy. Reiser does a good job 
as the annoying character who everyone loves to hate.
Bill Paxton plays 'Private Hudson,' a rather gung-ho soldier.
William Hope plays 'Lt. Gorman' is the original officer in charge. He's strict 
and follow the rules.
Jenette Goldstein plays 'Pvt. Vasquez,' the small but strong and feisty female 
soldier who's very competitive with the guys. I found her character as annoying 
as Reiser's but a good job.
Al Matthews plays 'Sgt. Apone,' the black officer in charge of the first troop 
to enter the compound. He used to be in the military so his acting's authentic.
Mark Rolston plays 'Pvt. Drake.'
Ricco Ross plays 'Pvt. Frost.'
Colette Hiller plays 'Cpl. Ferro.'
Daniel Kash plays 'Pvt. Spunkmeyer.'
Cynthia Dale Scott plays 'Cpl. Dietrich.'
Tip Tipping plays 'Pvt. Crowe.'


Cinematography:-

Directed by James Cameron. He did a great job of taking over for Ridley Scott. 
The camera work is superb. No shot is wasted.


FX, sound, etc:-
The SFX are vastly improved over Alien while maintaining the characteristics of 
the original. There's better weapons and a much larger and more complex set. The
tank vehicle is impressive as are the robotic lifter suits. There's more gore, 
blood, violence, aliens, everything. The aliens are great but the queen alien's 
awesome! 
She's huge and well-sculpted. The music and audio effects are great. Jerry Goldsmith's 
classic music from "Alien" is used and added to by another great, James Horner.


Final Thoughts :
This is a great sequel to "Alien." Some fans like one or the other movie better 
but I think I consider them as one cohesive and continuous story. Cameron stayed 
true to Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, and Giger's original vision and concepts.  
A must see by horror fans!


DVD Features :

On Bonus Disc (#4 in the Quadrilogy set)

Deleted scenes
Artwork and extensive photo galleries
Original storyboards
The first draft of the screenplay
Several featurettes covering pre-production, production and post-production.

4.5/5 stars

Reviewed By Wolf By Night

Click here to read how this page is protected by copyright laws.