Fear of the unknown.

Rating: 10/10 (11 February 2004)

A deep space mining crew is suddenly awakened from hyper sleep to answer the emergency beacon emitting from a ship on a nearby planet on their way home to Earth. Upon investigating the ship of the beacon's origin, they are introduced to a new alien species...
Possible Spoilers:
As far as I'm concerned, Alien is the epitome of ultimate terror. Confined spaces, very dark lighting, a small number of people stranded very far away from home, facing an invincible and sadistically evil alien who eats humans for breakfast, and which is born by ripping out of a person's chest. Not only that, the damn thing has two mouths, acid for blood, and makes Superman's strength look like it's comparable to that of a hairless baby mouse. H.R. Geiger is one sick S.O.B. for coming up with the design for this damn thing. I bet he's a big opium freak, as suggested in the new dvd, and a good thing too because it's the craziest alien life form I've ever seen created. A journey into his mind could make any serial killer cry, I'm sure.
Films like this simply aren't made anymore, and if they are, I certainly haven't seen any of them. Ridley Scott sets his name in stone in the terror department of film and sci-fi, period. The tension is built up perfectly, and throughout the film you never really get too much of a good look at the alien itself, making it even scarier than it really is because it's a mystery. This is also complimented by the technique of using minimal lighting in the film, which was a wise choice, otherwise it might be kind of silly seeing some guy in a rubber suit jumping around. The musical score simply adds to the already creepy environment and imagery, haunting and brooding at just the right times without giving away anything yet to come.

The cast is a good one featuring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Ian Holm and a few other familiar faces that not only seem believable, but have a nice chemistry running between them. In all probability, such a deep space mining crew might just be assembled as such, if it were reality of course and we actually had such a means to do such things. And Weaver can really play being terrified out of her mind with he eyes closed, as she also displays masterfully in the subsequent sequel.
Surprisingly, the special effects hold up to today's standards despite being a quarter of a century old. Of course there's no CGI, but I think in many cases that that's a good thing. Too many director's nowadays seem to feel differently, much to my dismay, even though there are exceptions.

If you haven't already seen it, you're seriously missing out on a truly terrifying and epic sci-fi experience. Many people in the film industry have recognized this and is why so many sequels were made.

But I do have to ask, were did Weaver get those undies? Yuck.
One of my favorite movies of all time. The purest definition of terror and fear on film. Do not watch if you are pregnant or have heart problems. Flawless.