A prelude to the far superior Aliens

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2016)

I completely understand how important this film is to the horror genre. Nonetheless, the film never particularly blew me away when I watched it for the first time, and it doesn't particularly now. Where it should be building tension, it just seems to drag on sometimes.
Having said that, it really is terrifying at times. The third act of the film is so tense, so excellently shot and so well performed by Weaver. It is a well put together film with a great cast and a great creature, beautifully realised by H.R. Giger. Nevertheless, today, Alien feels to me as though it serves only as a prelude to the far superior Aliens.