A Science-Fiction/Horror Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (6 July 2008)

Ridley Scott's science-fiction/horror masterpiece is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. Why can't they make sci-fi/horror movies like this anymore?! A strong story, a claustrophobic atmosphere, a superb cast, and one of the coolest creature creations to come out of Hollywood. It's tough to find someone who hasn't already seen this film and it's harder to find someone who didn't enjoy it. The story revolves around the 7-person crew of the NOSTROMO, a commercial space vessel towing a refinery back to Earth. Halfway home, their journey is interrupted when they receive a possible distress call of unknown origin from a nearby planetoid. A quick investigation leads to some of the most memorable movie moments when their ship is soon terrified by a seemingly unstoppable alien.
I first saw this movie on cable when I was around 11-12 years old and I remember the scene with Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) scouring the lower decks in search of Jones (the cat) when he first encounters the full-grown xenomorph alien; that one scene scared the crap out of me and it officially hooked me for life. The entire movie has a cramped feel with set design that gives you the feeling that the creature could pop out from any bulkhead at any moment. Honestly, the set design is probably one of my favorite aspects of this film. Unlike some science fiction films where everything is clean, shiny, stream-lined, etc, Scott's film has a realistic, gritty, lived-in feeling that makes the movie feel more grounded in reality (which makes the danger feel that much more ominous). And you can't mention the design of this film without mentioning the contributions of H. R. Giger; the man is a surrealist genius and this movie would NOT have been the same without his cooperation.
The cast of this film did a fantastic job at bringing this film to life. The chemistry between the 7 crew members feels genuine and it's definitely easy to believe these people have been stuck on a spacecraft for years with each other. John Hurt, as the doomed Kane, was great and I can't imagine how different things would've been if the part had gone to Jon Finch as was originally set. Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright both contributed strong performances while the chemistry between Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton made for some great moments. My absolute favorite characters in this film were Ash (played by the ever-awesome Ian Holm) and, of course, the iconic Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). From the very beginning, you can tell there's more to Ash that what he lets on and Holm does a great job of giving those subtle hints to keep you suspicious of his intent. And Sigourney, well, she just rocks. Ripley has become a film icon as a head-strong, capable, female lead and Weaver was the perfect woman for the role. The animosity between Ripley and Kotto's chief engineer Parker made for some tense moments and she even managed to carry the movie on her own towards the end.
And finally, the Alien itself. It is one of the coolest creature designs for a movie ever, courtesy of H. R. Giger. It's sleek, slimy, look with it's trademark extendable inner mouth have made this one of the most memorable monsters to grace the big screen and spawned three direct sequels. Upon watching this movie, it's easy to see what's placed it on the top favored movies of so many people...