Simply One Scary Movie

Rating: Null/10 (29 October 2003)

I am not a big horror fan and normally don't care for gory horror films. However, I generally love science fiction and was very curious to see what this film was all about (I saw it when released in 1979). Well, all I can say is it scared the hell out of me!!! In fact, when the movie was over, the lights came up in the theater and nobody moved or said anything. That's how powerful this movie was back in 1979. As noted in many other comments, this is a well constructed film that has the ability to keep drawing you in when, in the back of your mind, you're saying "I don't want to go there!" It's a testament to the quality of this film that my parents (who were in their fifties at the time and had never seen anything remotely like this in the movies in their entire lives) sat through the whole thing on HBO.
No real need to go over the story because, by now, almost everyone has a rough idea of what the "Alien" films are all about. I will say that there was a direct predecessor done in the 50's. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name. I rented it years after seeing "Alien" and was struck at how closely it resembled the more modern film and how some scenes were pretty scary for the time.
Anyway, I recommend this film. As noted by many, it may not hold the same impact today after years of increased gore and shock. But, I think for a lot of people, it will still hold your attention and still scare the hell out of you!