A dissenting opinion

Rating: 6/10 (10 October 2010)

"Alien" isn't the masterpiece of horror so many people seem to think it is. The reason is that it has the biggest fault possible for a horror movie: an idiot plot. In any really good horror movie, the characters will fight the monster intelligently and resourcefully; they may be killed anyway, but at least they (and the filmmakers) will gain the respect of the audience. The astronauts in "Alien" are utter dorks, and have no idea how to fight the murderous alien. They do not search the Nostromo in large, well-armed parties after the alien flees the dining room. They do not get into their space suits and draw out the air in the ship (or better yet, flood it with cyanide gas, which will kill any carbon-based life, plant or animal). They do not weld bars over the openings of the air shafts when the alien goes there for refuge, making it a harmless prisoner. And on and on it goes, one stupid blunder after another. Real astronauts would have presence of mind in a dangerous situation, but the astronauts in the film have the same problem solving ability as the screenwriter--that is, none at all. Like so many Hollywood movies of the present day, "Alien" tries to redeem a poor script with high production values and star power, and achieves only middling results.