I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies.

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2008)

The commercial mining ship and refining ship the Nostromo is returning to home through the outer rim. The ship's crew of seven are in hyper-sleep, only called to action in the most dire emergency, with the ship running on automatic, the corridors empty, the bridge lifeless. Until an alien SOS is broadcast and the crew's blissful slumber is broken so that they can help. The crew clearly don't like each other and this is not a Star Trek style Utopian existence, they are co-workers cast together, they do the job and live to together in a clutch of uneasy alliances.
As they realise they are not near home and have been awoken for another reason, they are, by the nature of their contracts, required to investigate. A three man team is assembled but as time goes on and more of the alien message is deciphered it appears that it is not an SOS but a warning, and from this point on claustrophobic movies will never be the same again.
Alien is one of the greatest horror films of all time, preying on all of our most primeval fears, fear of the unknown, fear of being eaten and fear of something inside destroying us, all of these fears are on show here with perhaps the most prevalent being the fear of the dark which this film does supremely well, without it being so dark that you can't see what is happening (A la "Alen 3). The script builds up slowly but purposely allowing the feeling of unease to grow inside us but without being boring or tiresome. The performances are all top notch with all the leads doing their jobs to perfection, with everyone playing their parts like it's a kitchen sink drama which again, makes the horror that much more terrifying as the ordinariness of the performances leads to terror that we can relate to perfectly.
I can't remember much about the score but it does not detract nor take anything away from the film so I guess it must be good. The direction is Ridley Scott's best ...Yes, better than "Blade Runner" and better than "Gladiator". However, although this film is Ridley's best work, it hasn't lead to a career of mediocrity, rather a career that has lead to quality, consistency and continued invention.
Aliens is okay and three and four aren't worth looking at, but thirty years later this is still a chilling and inventive horror that is as unsettling to watch as it is enjoyable.
PS Final thought. Sigourney's dressing in the space suit is still one of the sexiest scene's in cinema history, and I still don't know why?