More than just Science Fiction, this is an old fashioned horror film. And that's good.

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2017)

I liked this film. Now I know there are many who did not, and many more who think it is derivative of the Aliens series, but not I. For me this film was reminiscent of the horror films of my (long ago) childhood in which we know there is a creature, and we know it is close by, and so each time a door or cabinet is opened we expect it to jump out. And sometimes ... it does. And then there was this; we know what the creature looks like. For me this is a plus. Too often Sci-Fi-Fi creatures are shown moving too quickly or are somehow portrayed from so close that it is only their teeth that we see. Not so in 'Life'. We know how large the beast is from its birth till the film's end, and we know what it looks like; head to toe (though I can't swear that it had them; toes). As for the story, it is pretty much as one would expect, not better, not worse; but with the chills and surprises, the story is enough. Great acting, this film does not have any. Jake Gyllenhall seems to be sleepwalking through his role (so if its great performances you're after, this one you can miss.) Bottom line, the film held a grip on me right up to its final seconds. And that says a lot.