Effective...

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2000)

When one brings up the subject on horror movies, your first thought is of the "Scream," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and the "Friday the 13th" series. But then you think a little harder, about the good ones--"The Exorcist," "Rosemary's Baby," "Poltergeist" and "Alien."
I admit, I have yet to see "The Exorcist," but to this day, "Alien" remains the creepiest movie I've ever seen (and when I say 'creepiest,' I mean that it did not leave a lasting sense of fear...it was just 'creepy.' I still have yet to see a movie that will actually scare the wits out of me).
Nothing prepared me for "Alien." I already knew exactly what was going to happen, and I still found myself in the dilemma of who would live and who would die. The suspense was incredible, almost unbearable--at the end of the movie, I felt like I was gonna hurl! Not because of the gore (I've actually got a pretty strong stomach for that), but because of my connection to the characters trapped aboard the monstrous Nostromo. The feeling of hopelessness, despair, stranded in the middle of nowhere and awaiting the inevitable was so effective, I almost couldn't take it. The claustrophobic sets (especially the scene with Dallas chasing the alien through the ventilation shafts) and the grisly alien effects, combined with surprisingly good acting from the cast, made this the beginning of a new era in science fiction. Director Ridley Scott took us where no one had gone before--into the lives of the characters fighting the trauma.
Before anyone died, we got to know each member of the crew. By the time the baby alien violently burst from John Hurt's chest (and what an amazing scene! Oh, but don't watch "Spaceballs" before watching this...it'll make it seem silly), we actually felt like one of the members standing around him, trying to hold him down, trying to save him but without any luck. We had gotten a taste of everyone aboard, and every time someone died, we could really feel for them, a feeling of "It's not fair!"
The slick camera angles were another fairly influential part of the film, somewhat shaky at times but it all adds for effect, especially near the end with Ripley frantically tearing down the tight corridors, steam spewing from all around, blinding her from what's ahead and what's behind. If only I had seen it in theatres...that would have made it truly haunting.
And a clever trick from Scott...the use of our own imaginations to decide what really happens to each character. The only person we actually see dying was Kane and the chest-bursting incident, but we only get a glimpse of what happens to everyone else. We see a bloody Parker, hunched over lifeless later on in the movie, but we have no clue what happened to him. We saw the alien whip around, grab him and begin a short struggle, with blood pouring from Parker's mouth when all of a sudden, the alien's second mouth shoots out and--where does it go? Who knows...this isn't even answered in the sequel. All we know is that it tears into some part of the body and kills them almost instantly. Personally, I think it grabs the heart (or some other major organ) and rips it out, but that's just me.
Ridley Scott must be among the most talented directors in history. I can't see a resemblance in his directing between "Gladiator" and "Alien" (or "Thelma and Louise" for that matter) besides stunning sets and stomach-churning gore. He proves here that he can master the art of film as well as Hitchcock and Kubrick (actually, he combines both their talents in this film). "Alien" will always remain one of the most inventive and influential additions to cinematic history.