Alien: Night Shift

Alien: Night Shift, certainly isn't the best of the short films. But it's far from terrible, it's a Moody and Atmospheric tale. Sure to be enjoyed by any curious fan.

Night Shift has some great visuals. The opening shot with the facehugger in the foreground was gorgeous. And perhaps my favourite shot out of all of the anniversary shorts. I also liked the unique setting of a colony store. Acting was all very strong, aside from our female lead, Rolly, which is a bit of a downer. Also really appreciated the Aspen Beer easter egg. Very nice touch!

Unfortunately, this short out of all of them is plagued with the most problems. Beyond the short itself initially suffering from sound problems upon release, the sound design was quite weak as a whole. Specifically, the sound effects they used when beating an Alien to death with a bat sounded, quite frankly, awful.

Also, the character of Welles, despite being played very well by the actor, seemingly has the worst aim. First he can't shoot a chestburster point blank without shooting Chris Murray in the neck, and then misses all subsequent shots, somehow hitting the lights too despite not even aiming at them. I can suspend my disbelief but as I said, very contrived.

Ultimately, despite a strong start, it basically becomes a worse version of the previous short 'Alien Containment', with characters trapped in a room with a Chestburster, except that Containment was aware of its tight budget and opted not to show the creature, whereas Night Shift has a full on goofy body shot of the alien rushing the lead. Overall, a good effort, but probably the worst short of the bunch.

If you're looking for an Alien short film that truly captures the mood, environment, and character types of the original Alien saga, Alien: Night Shift might just be it. The director has paid close attention to detail, making it fit seamlessly into the iconic franchise. Even the audio feels like it's straight from the original movie.

There are also plenty of hidden gems - from Easter eggs to subtle background sound effects, like the familiar handheld motion tracker sound we know from the original films, even though it doesn't quite match the events of this short. It's a burst of nostalgia.

But here's the downside: there's a noticeable drop in quality about halfway through. It starts off extremely strong, but the second half isn't nearly as good as the first. Still, it's a must-watch for any Alien fan.