worthy of the status of a true classic

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 2013)

as far as sci-fi/horror hybrids go you cannot get much better. alien would maybe give it a run for its money, but whereas we can all breath a sigh of relief at the end of that film, this has no such let up. when the end credits roll, and morricone's superb chilling score returns, there is no escape from the paranoia and fear. i remember stumbling out into sunshine when i first saw it and the images were still burnt onto my retina.... it is fair to say that carpenter's masterpiece SHOULD have got much wider recognition but this was the time of ET and people did not want such a relentlessly dark vision. I also saw ( approx. around this time, Blade Runner, Videodrome.. talk about spoiled with riches. has there been a similar time in our CG-saturated era? not really. there are great films, district 9, Primer... but nothing can match the impact of this in my own experience. it is simply perfect. i can only tolerate the remake, because of knowing that it is a remake of the 1982 version, and in spite of it's more state of the art sfx ( and the gorgeous Elizabeth Winstead), it really can not compare.. it seems at the very least ( esp. in the soundtrack) a work of reverence to a master. in my top 10 of all time, no mistake : )