Perhaps the most competently made horror film ever

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2015)

There has always been one big debate with Alien. Is it a horror film, or is it a science fiction film? The answer to me is simple, it is both. Although, I do believe that it is primarily a horror film. Barry Keith has said that the distinguishing factor between science fiction and horror is that "The appeal of science fiction is primarily cognitive, while horroris essentially emotional." The reason that I think of Alien as a horror film, is that all of the science in it is there to instil an emotional reaction, specifically the emotion of terror. The production design, art direction, make-up, writing, all rely heavily on science fiction ideals and visuals. However, all of these ideas and visuals are presented in a way to scare the audience. The large spaceship with its dark, narrow corridors serves the purpose of a massive, claustrophobic haunted house. The alien is designed to play on the audience's fears. Even the android character is primarily used for scares, as even he takes the place of a villain from a slasher film in the second half of, similar to the alien. If the film were primarily science fiction, all of the inventions and futuristic elements would primarily be in presented to cognitively affect the viewers. Though the film does have some science fiction ideas that aren't meant to purely instil horror. However, none of these ideas have the sense of awe or wonder that is usually to be expected from science fiction. The space travellers in the film are miners who see what they do as labor rather than a journey. The idea of a dirty, muddy, industrial look was foreign to space operas and science fiction at the time of the film's release. This is where the film succeeds as pure science fiction.
The fact that Alien is largely a horror film is not a negative at all, as I think it is a great one . As I have mentioned before, I think that film is not the best medium for cognitive art. Books are generally the best as they do not deal with the dimension of time to present their ideas, allowing the viewer to take their own pace in understanding ideals. Alien in many ways encapsulates everything I love about science fiction cinema. The sense of mood created by the locations and cinematography are mesmerizing. Every part of the spaceship feels like its own character, and the superb special effects present them in a perfect manner.
'I also feel that Alien is a good example of using realistic acting in a science fiction film, as opposed to Advantageous. Most of the dialogue scenes feel improvisational, and though the actors have everyday looks and qualities, they do not appear or behave "plain", instead they are ordinary, but with character. I personally think that the dinner scene after a crew member has been impregnated by the face-hugger is the best scene in the film. The scene is a perfect example how effects that are not necessarily amazing can be used to amazing effect in combination with great filmmaking. The interactions during the dinner scene, which might be the best scene in the film, feel very mundane and ordinary. It has occurred to me that most of it might had been improvised. Scott brilliantly makes us laugh and take comfort for the first time during this scene before the small alien bursts out of the crew member's chest. We are slowly made to believe that everything may actually be okay with the characters and spend some time with them. When the alien comes out of the crew member's chest, the audience is entirely shocked, and at that point it does not fully matter how good the effect looks, as it was not the effect that made the audience feel something, it was the craftsmanship of the film.