In Space...

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2013)

Space may still be the final frontier, but after seeing ALIEN, one can't help but reconsider discovering it. Far into the future, and far out into the reaches of deep space, workers on-board the NOSTROMO, a mining ship, are wakened out of cryogenic sleep because the ship's sensors have picked up a supposed SOS from a nearby planet. Amid the crew's bickering and complaints about "fair wages," they decide to investigate. Upon setting down on the environmentally-torn planet, their ship sustains damage that requires them to stay put until repairs can be made. So a small team, headed by Kane (played by John Hurt) choose to explore the source of the SOS. And what they find is incredible, the remains of a downed spacecraft. Venturing inside, they find evidence of the ship's inhabitants, in particular a fossilized corpse in a chair with a gaping hole in its chest. Still going further into the ship, they find the hold full of what appear to be eggs. One opens up and something jumps out, attaching itself to Kane's face. Against the better judgment of Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) the team is let back on-board the ship. And I won't tell you anymore, except that an alien is let loose on-board that proceeds to kill the crew. For those of you unfamiliar with ALIEN, I won't reveal one of the greatest and most graphic special effects in sci-fi history. Only to say, you'll never think of enjoying a relaxing meal around the dinner table quite the same way again. The film works so well because it's basically a haunted house set in deep space. As one by one, the various characters are forced to investigate darkened corridors, air shafts, the occasional weird noises and so forth. Everything from the lighting, use of shadows and darkness, to the unsettling sounds of the ship itself, lend to the mounting tension. So watch this and be prepared to scream. But if you're in space, don't expect anyone to hear you!