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This is one of those classics that remains in the memory a long time after having watched it. It’s the type of movie that is a classic not because it was made by a load of ‘knowns’ (in fact pretty much every single person involved in Alien – from cast to crew – were completely unknown), nor because it had a particularly large budget. It is a classic because it is one of the most remarkable and truly scary movies ever made.
Ridley Scott’s slow, disarmingly peaceful direction sets up some great – unxpected – scenes of tension, creating a raw atmosphere of fear and claustraphobia throughout, and Alien is surprisingly post-modern in its plotting. People die who you would never expect to (normally the captain would be the one battling the evil in the final showdown), and characters – who previously had all odds against them – survive. This is just one of Alien’s many inspired moments that both shock and manage to scare the audience.
The shabby, tight sets only add to the cloying, uncomfortable feeling that is created while watching Alien, and it seems that behind the scenes the set designers were going for a very dramatic, dark feel for, which comes across well and only heightens the horror that is induced.
Sigourney Weaver in her debut role (of Ripley) is excellent and, in retrospect, her character is far jokier and humorous than in the later Alien installments that were to come (with the possible exception of Alien Resurrection). This is an interesting fact to note from a continuity point of view. The rest of the cast (including Brit veteran Ian Holmes and Cult icon Veronica Cartwright) do well in their roles, and are given quite a lot of screen time considering the movie’s genre. This brings me to another unique thing about Alien – the action/violence within it is actually fairly minimal, and most of the screen time is taken up with character interaction and humorous dialect (which helps lighten the opperssively-dark mood). When the action does come, it comes thick and intense and is overpowering in its real-ness.
And then we have the Alien itself. I don’t believe that there is a single other film monster out there that is quite so beautifully-realised and completely terrifying. Its quick, calm disposal of its victims is more fright-inducing then a human in a mask, and the creature itself really is something to behold. A sort of human-shaped abomination, this is the Grand-Daddy of all screen nasties, and it knows it!
#OVERALL SUMMARY
An enjoyable and thrilling ride with many shocks along the way, Alien is a first-class Sci-Fi Horror with suspense galore and some great effects. Keep away from the big-budget Sci-Fi’s of today, this one is still going strong – even after over years!
