Ground-breaking Sci-fi/Horror Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (9 February 2002)

Alien...a masterpiece? Yes, I think it has stood the test of time very well. It has had three QUALITY(if not even) sequels. It has more than amply influenced all science fiction films to come after it. It made the female macho heroine stock rather than exceptional. It has so immersed us in its design, sets, and situations as to even be used of late in some kind of snack food commercial and be lampooned by Mel Brooks. The story of the Nostromo and crew going to a dead planet after hearing some kind of distress signal is all too recognizable. While there, one of their party has a baby alien attatch itself to his face, later his belly opens up and a small alien rips its way out. The alien grows with great speed and soon is a giant of a stowaway on this small, 7-manned crew commercial ship. Predator and prey meet. While the basic story is fairly simple, some of the overlying themes used in Dan O'Bannon's script reek with thought-provoking insights into the division of science and humanity(or humanism if you prefer). What lengths should science go to acquire new knowledge? What are necessary sacrifices? The script also details the greedy exploits of business with the Mother company being all too concerned with possible military profits rather than the lives of its crew. Ridley Scott directs with definite style, if not a bit plodding through much of the first half of the film. The sets used are breath-taking, and the scientific mumbo jumbo presented is given its full due in explanation and observable merit. The special effects department really does a great job with the alien creature as it is truly one of the most menacing monsters to grace the screen in some time. Acting honors go to Sigourney Weaver in her penultimate role as Ripley, the head-strong, no-nonsense, by the book navigator that manages to elude the alien for some time. Her wits and its hostility lock horns in some great film sequences. Scott's use of bleak metal exteriors really enhances the mood of doom, despair, and futility that pervades the film. The rest of the cast is very good with Ian Holm standing out as an android of sorts whose only goal is securing knowledge at any price. While not as gritty or energized as its sequel Aliens, Alien is one of the finest horror/sci-fi films made in the last twenty-five years. It will go on being an inspiration to future genre films for some time.