Oft imitated, ne'er equalled

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2000)

"Alien" has it all--solid plotline, terrific cast, and a level of suspense that its many imitators (like that Schwarzenegger thing with that midwestern governor) can only dream off. The movie scared the living fertilizer out of me the first time I saw it--and that was in a well-lit room, on a small screen, with a dozen people around me!
This movie rightfully made Sigourney Weaver a star, and the supporting cast is excellent. Ian Holm is absolutely chilling as the science officer Ash, and the sequence in which Parker (Yaphet Kotto, one of the most underrated actors of our time) and Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) confront the alien is brilliant. Cartwright in particular gets the human-in-the-alien's-headlights look just perfect--her eyes get incredibly wide and her body just locks into place. Hearing the result over Ripley's comlink is much more effective than seeing it would have been.
A+++. One of the greats.