In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream...

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 1999)

This tagline changed the face of science fiction movies for decades. Alien was released in 1979 and was the first and the best of four films to hit the big screen. The commercial starship Nostromo is returning to Earth with 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore when its main central computer, "Mother", interrupts the journey and informs the crew that they must investigate a distress signal coming from planet LV-426. When three crew members go and search the surface for this signal, one of them ends up with something on his face, a parasite or facehugger. Later on, it falls off of his face and he seems to be fine but little did anyone know that the facehugger planted an Alien inside his body, which bursts from his chest in a shocking scene. As the remaining crew members hunt for the creature, it has shed its skin and grown into a very scary creature. It kills each crew member until only Ellen Ripley is left, which leads to a final showdown in a small shuttle she escapes in after detonating the Nostromo. Alien is so much more entertaining than any of its successors. It has the claustrophobic atmosphere, characters you care about and Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) at her finest! She uses her wits and intelligence to kill the creature, not machine guns and grenades like in "Aliens". Everyone puts in a great performance. The best characters in the film were Ash, the traitorous android, Parker, Rambo-like tough guy and of course Ripley. All in all, Alien is one intense film. Suspenseful and very scary. Stands apart big time from the other 3 films that followed it.