Suspenseful, Old-Fashioned Thriller

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2008)

A strange being gets on board a spaceship and starts knocking off the crew one by one. This is an old-fashioned thriller along the lines of "And Then There were None," except that the creepy mansion has been replaced by a futuristic spaceship. It starts off rather slow, but kicks into overdrive once the alien gets on board. The creature's entrance is one of the most startling scenes in horror film history. In only his second feature film, Scott's direction is superb, extracting every ounce of suspense from the situation. Weaver gives a star-making performance as the tough but feminine and sexy Ripley. The supporting cast is fine, particularly Skerritt, Cartwright, and Kotto.