Weyland-Yutani are on another bug hunt (don’t they ever learn?) and this time they’ve brought one of Ellen Ripley’s descendants along for the ride. Alan Decker is an empath who has some kind of telepathic link with the dreaded Xenomorphs. Unfortunately for Decker, he’s taking this journey against his will. Thanks to W-Ys cast-iron contract, he’s liable for all the damages his late ancestor incurred when she blew up the Nostromo, destroyed the refinery on Acheron, and cost them the chance to snag an alien as a military asset. And if he doesn’t agree, well, there’s always his children whose lives the company can turn into a living hell.
What follows is effectively an Aliens re-tread with all the usual military brass ruthlessness (courtesy of an icy performance from Stockard Channing), macho colonial marine gung-ho-ho-ness (although in this case, we’ve got mercenaries instead of Marines, not that that really makes a difference) and paranoia galore as Decker and the rest of the grunts are sent to their doom in yet another labyrinthine death trap. But where this audio adaptation of James A. Moore’s source novel really scores is in the atmosphere Dirk Maggs and his cast elicit from what, in less imaginative hands, would simply be same old-same old. And, like the two Alien audio adventures that preceded it, the action sequences are impressively kinetic even if the unconvincing ooh-aah of a thrown and received punch conjures a smile when it’s meant to make us wince.
Also, as is the norm for productions like this, the voice performances are something of a mixed bag. Channing is not only the one recognisable cast member but also the most impressive and it’s hard not to miss her in the large tracts of time when she’s left out of the story while the mercs are playing collateral damage, but while some of the main cast hold their ground others sound like they’re doing dodgy impressions of Kevin Conroy’s Batman and a Star Trek: Original Series-era Mr Chekov. However, one voice that really does work – but is used far too infrequently – are when the aliens vocalise their thoughts. If you ever wondered what a Xenomorph would sound like if it could talk, here’s your opportunity to find out. It’s also worth noting the faithfulness of the musical score and FX (who doesn’t enjoy the satisfying strafing of a blaster rifle) although weirdly the only effect that doesn’t convince – in fact, sounds disappointingly ho-hum when it should actually thrill us with its squirmy familiarity – is the squelchy opening of an alien egg and the splat of its facehugger deep throating a new unsuspecting victim.
Arguably like the Alien films themselves, this latest entry doesn’t match the elegance or energy of Audible’s first Alien audio play Alien: Out of the Shadows, but it’s a big improvement on last year’s flaccid second part, Alien: River of Pain. And, at just over five hrs in length, it still feels a lot shorter than the big screen Alien: Covenant…
ALIEN: SEA OF SORROWS / WRITERS: JAMES A. MOORE, DIRK MAGGS / PUBLISHER: AUDIBLE STUDIOS / STARRING: JOHN CHANCER, STOCKARD CHANNING, WALLES HAMONDE, LAUREL LEFKOW / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
