A lesson in suspense...

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2001)

With "Alien", Ridley Scott delivered one of the most inventive and atmospheric chillers of modern cinema.
What makes it a classic? A good script always helps, and this is a cast that refreshingly consists of 'actors' rather than big name stars who can't turn in a performance. The fact that the principal crew is relatively small also helps because you feel a real sense of loss when one of them is offed. It makes a nice change from horror/monster movies where the hunter has a seemingly indefinite supply of prey to terrorise.
The sets really are pretty cool for a movie made so long ago, and the director exploits the dramatic potential that such a setting provides. There are plenty of shadowy nooks and crannies for the alien to conceal itself in. and Scott knows how to build up the tension gradually, resisting the temptation to rush any encounters with the creature and thus spoil the unsettling mood.
(SPOILERS)
The chest-bursting scene must be one of the most shocking and brilliantly conceived moments in film. The fact that the alien disappears soon after we see it at this point gives us a chance to absorb what's just happened and to take in the horrified reaction of the crew. Wonderful.
As mentioned before, the cast are uniformly excellent, with particular standouts being Holm and Weaver. In Ripley we have a character who just happens to be female and is not a woman because such a decision makes a difference to the actual story (gratuitous vest & knickers scene towards the end excluded) Weaver is excellent, clearly relishing at the idea of a strong female part, and showing off her talents accordingly. If it wasn't the money that tempted her back for a fourth time in "Ressurection", it was perhaps the mistaken belief that Ripley was still a strong character, instead of the gimmick the studio had by then made her. I can easily tell people who my favourite actors are, but when the same is asked of actresses I struggle; NOT because there are no good ones out there, but because they are rarely given the roles to shine. Show me a Hollywood actress with a consistently good (and high profile) body of work. I'm tempted to cite Sigourney as my favourite actress on the strength of the first three Alien movies alone, but she's rarely had a role as good as Ripley since "Aliens"
I marginally prefer the all-action sequel to this, but it's a close call. This takes a fairly unoriginal idea and exploits every last drop of tension from it until the climax. The movie will leave you sweating. Great stuff.