A very effective and well made horror film

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2012)

Nowadays horror films just throw CG blood and gore in your face or they try to gross you out in some other way.I thought that "Alien" was likely to be the starter of this trend(Aliens that burst out of people's chest- plenty of opportunity for gore).However,I was surprised to discover,that "Alien" is a very well made and brilliantly executed movie.
Although the film was made with a fairly low budget,it does everything in it's power to look like a professional piece of work and in that regard it succeeds greatly.The cinematography is amazing,the camera is always focused in such a way,that when the alien appears,it catches the viewer off guard,even if he was expecting to see the alien in that scene.The perfect example for this is a scene near the end,when Ripley is already aboard the shuttle and thinks the alien is gone.The creature is actually sleeping between some pipes,but they made his head resemble the pipes so well,that I was really shocked when the alien awoke.
Unlike many horror films these days,the characters aren't just cannon fodder.We also have a very likable protagonist-Ellen Ripley.Each character has a distinct personality and I liked how they would often come to conflict,like in the scene,where they are arguing whether or not they should bring Kane back to the ship.
The pacing is a little slow in the first 20 minutes,but I think this is necessary for the sake of introducing us to the characters and creating some build-up.There is a pretty good plot-twist near the end,but I wont spoil it.
The film doesn't just rely on cheap scares.There are a lot of very suspenseful moments and some very disturbing scenes.The scene where the alien kills Lambert,for example.
Alien is a great horror film.It's well made and suspenseful.I strongly recommend it.