Alien (1979)

Plot Outline: A mining ship on it's way back to Earth responds to an alien distress call and lands on a nearby planet. They discover a hive of eggs and a mysterious spaceship. The crew eventually deciphers the distress call: it is actually a warning! But its too late and the crew are in for more than they ever bargained for when they bring something back on board.

The Review: It's not hard to see why Alien is such a landmark horror/sci-fi film. Look at the major horror/sci-fi flicks of the last 10 years and the majority of them could be billed as Alien clones. The plot has been recycled so much it's hard to sit down and see Alien in the same light as you would have done 10 years ago when the story wasn't cliché. The story - a group of people are stalked and killed methodically by a creature in a confined space - has almost become it's own genre of film. But it's always nice to see where it all started and nothing beats the original anyway for sheer terror and originality. Combining the ideas of the 50s sci-fi B-movies along with modern gruesome effects and gore, it makes for one hell of a first viewing. The alien itself is now legendary and looks terrifying the first time that you see it. H.R. Giger's imagination certainly conjured up one of the most iconic and terrifying creations ever to grace the big screen. As with all master directors, Ridley Scotty doesn't show you much of the alien and relies on your natural instincts of fear and curiosity to picture what it would look like on the full screen. It just makes it more effective but at least this time when you do see the alien, it's scary as hell and isn't a letdown. The rest of Giger's production design is also breathtaking, most notably the alien ship with it's vast arching chambers. We also have some other superb make-up effects - notably the now infamous chest-burster. It still packs a punch after all of these years. The performances are good and all of the cast fit into their roles perfectly. It was one of the first major films to have a female in the lead role. It was risky at the time, but actually it wouldn't have had the same impact if it had been a male lead. The feel of danger wouldn't be as great and the guy would probably have resorted to some macho method to duke it out with the creature.

Final Verdict: Alien spawned a whole new genre of science fiction and horror combined into one amazingly exciting genre. It's been imitated countless times since but there is still no beating the best for sheer terror and originality.

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