one of the best

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 2015)

What can be said that hasn't already been said, nothing that's what. One of the best in the genre to be made and best effects for it's time. They simply don't make films like this anymore Hollywood won't risk it or this generation won't appreciate it. One of the great strengths of "Alien" is its pacing. It takes its time. It waits. It allows silences.Today's slasher movies, in the sci-fi genre and elsewhere, are all pay-off and no buildup.The result is a film that absorbs us in a mission before it involves us in an adventure, and that consistently engages the alien with curiosity and logic, instead of simply firing at it.We have now descended into a bog of Gotcha! movies in which various horrible beings spring on a series of victims, usually teenagers. The ultimate extension of the genre is the Geek Movie, illustrated by the remake of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," which essentially sets the audience the same test as an old-time carnival geek show: Now that you've paid your money, can you keep your eyes open while we disgust you? A few more ambitious and serious sci-fi films have also followed in the footsteps of "Alien," notably the well-made "Aliens" (1986) and "Dark City" (1998). But the original still vibrates with a dark and frightening intensity.