The film that started it all

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2014)

I'm writing this review not because I think 'Alien' needs another 5* review, but because I read a post on an internet message board by someone saying, 'I can't believe this piece of junk is considered scary!' So, I re-watched Alien, trying to see if I could see where this poster was coming from. I guess there are now two types of viewers. The first - like me - grew up on Alien in the late seventies/early eighties, where it was one of the most ahead of its time films ever made. It started off the whole 'monster-munching' movie genre, where a lone creature stalks and eliminates a team/crew/whatever one by one. There have been countless B-movies made since its release in 1979 which have tried - unsuccessfully - recapture its look, feel and financial viability, but pretty much all have failed.
Then you have the new generation - those who have grown up with 'Avatar' as the 'normal' quality of film. It's fair to say that Avatar is a vastly superior film to Alien, but only because it has the budget etc. If you're used to seeing thousands of alien creatures fighting over a mystical landscape, watching a single creature (which, as some times, comes across very much as a bloke in a suit) jump out of the darkness about five times in two hours, comes as a bit of a let-down.
However, when it comes to purity, Alien will beat pretty much every movie ever made (even its highly-regarded successor, 'Aliens,' which - although also excellent, is not as pure as the original, as it blends genres more).
If you know Alien and generally appreciate horror and/or science-fiction, you'll probably already love it. However, if you're new to the genre and primarily are used to modern filming techniques, you may have to put yourself in the place of the audiences back in 1979, who had never seen such a claustrophobic and tense piece of horror.
The xenomorph itself, now looking a little dated (in my opinion the dragon-thing at the end of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland looked more horrific!) may not cut it compared with modern special effects, but - again - it was way ahead of its time. Alien will stand the test of (cinematic) time. Film history will always have a place of it (and Aliens), just don't go thinking that films have always been made the way Avatar and Lord of the Rings have.