Horrific Good Time....

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 2000)

When this first came out in '79, the TV ads themselves scared the living beans out of me. Never mind that I was only 14 at the time; they would have done the trick if I were 54! Little did I know just how frightening the actual movie would be!
"Alien"'s story-line has more to do with the old sci-fi film "It! The Terror from Beyond Space", about an alien who sneaks aboard a spaceship and terrorizes its passengers. Of course, there's light-years difference between Ray "Crash" Corrigan and this beast.
The plot remains the same, save for more modern tweaks and advances in technique. And the actors herein are all in peak form. Starting with the ever-radiant Weaver and continuing with Skeritt, Kotto, Stanton, Hurt, Holm and Cartwright, everyone does a fantastic job under the carefully-wrought direction of Scott, modulating terror and amazement at once as the alien gets aboard ship, terrorizing, attacking and destroying all in its path.

It would be unfair to divulge more than that, as this is less a film than an experience; one best left to be witnessed in a pitch-black room with a pillow clutched tightly in your arms. If you are a serious fan of sci-fi and/or horror, this is the film for your collection.
There are so many great scenes, classic moments and downright wonderment with outer space along with the terror of the situation that "Alien" is rightly considered a landmark in the realms of sci-fi and, as other reviewers have noted, stands the test of time.
As for myself, I'll take this film over any of its latter-day rip-offs any day.
Ten stars and a bronzed Face-Hugger for "Alien", a classic example of just what a bad alien can do, especially in the last twenty minutes of this film.
Talk about a bonus situation.