A Perfect Organism

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2017)

While most people love Aliens, the sequel to this film, for my money nothing beats the first Alien movie. Considering when this came out in the late 70s, the only other "kid on the block" was the original Star Wars movie from 1977. While that Star Wars will always be my favorite movie of all time, Alien took sci-fi and horror to a whole new level.
There is nothing but artistry in this movie: the sets are amazing and extremely realistic, the sound and music are pulse-pounding and intense, the effects are almost all practical (all of them are pre-CG). The actors all do a superb job and there are a couple of surprises that happen in terms of who does what and where loyalties truly lie.
Then there is the Alien, a product of master artist HR Giger's nightmares. Ridley Scott chose to show LESS of the Alien rather than more of it, which makes you wonder where it is at all times. Is that shadow over there where it's hiding? Is it crouching amongst the pipes? Will it jump out an attack at any point? All of this tension is created by showing as little of the creature as possible.
Also, this is not a fast bang up action movie. This is a slowly paced film that works to build tension and horror in a masterful way. There is no shaky cam or other poorly shot footage, everything is meticulously done.
In case you are reading this and have not seen the movie, I will not spoil it for you. But you owe it to yourself to see a sci-fi classic in the way these kind of movies used to be made.