Alien Resurrection (1997)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A cloned survivor of a deadly extraterrestrial encounter must navigate a high-stakes escape from a space station overrun by the very creatures she once fought.
The story
Set 200 years after the events of Alien 3, the military creates a clone of the legendary survivor Ellen Ripley. This clone, possessing a unique genetic link to the Xenomorph species, is kept on the spaceship USM Auriga for research. When a group of mercenaries arrives to deliver human hosts for the aliens, the creatures break free from their containment. The clone, the mercenaries, and a few remaining scientists must then navigate the decaying ship to escape and destroy the vessel before it can reach Earth and unleash the deadly organisms upon the human population.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Two centuries after Ellen Ripley's death, military scientists on the USM Auriga create a clone, Ripley 8, using her DNA and that of a Xenomorph queen. The clone possesses enhanced physical traits and a psychic link to the aliens. When a group of mercenaries arrives on the ship, the Xenomorphs escape their enclosures, causing chaos and killing many. Ripley 8 joins the surviving mercenaries and a few scientists to reach the ship 'Betty' and destroy the Auriga. Along the way, they encounter various hazards, including a sentient synthetic named Call who helps them interface with the ship's systems. In the final stages, Ripley 8 faces a hybrid Xenomorph—a result of her own genetic contamination—and manages to destroy it. The film ends with the Auriga colliding with Earth, while the survivors escape in the Betty, looking down at the planet from the safety of space.
- First release year
- 1997
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Writers
- Joss Whedon · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sigourney Weaver · Ellen Ripley (officially designated as Ripley 8); Winona Ryder · Annalee Call; Ron Perlman · Ron Johner; Dan Hedaya · General Martin Perez; J. E. Freeman · Dr. Mason Wren; Brad Dourif · Dr. Jonathan Gediman; Michael Wincott · Frank Elgyn
- Genres
- science fiction; horror
- Themes
- cloning; survival
- Tone and mood
- dark comedy; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- space; aliens; survival; military
- Franchise connections
- Alien
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the screenplay but praised Weaver's performance and Jeunet's direction.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 63 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Science Fiction Film · Nomination; Saturn Award · Best Actress for Weaver · Nomination; Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actress for Ryder · Nomination; Saturn Award · Best Direction for Jeunet · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was the first installment in the Alien series to be filmed outside England.; The character of the Alien in Resurrection was described as feeling more like a dog than previous versions.; The script was laid out similar to a comic book.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…