Alien (1979) directed by Ridley Scott
I live within walking distance to a small theatre that occasionally shows old classics which is really cool since people my age never got the chance to watch these movies on the big screen. I've seen Alien before probably 6 or 7 years ago so I've forgotten just enough to make it new again. I think for the remainder of this project I'll probably watch more movies that I haven't seen in a long time (5+ years) as there are actually a bunch of oldies that I'm just dying to watch again.
One thing I kind of forgot about Alien is that it is more of a horror film than science fiction. At its very core it is a creature feature from the 1950's. It's probably not a coincidence that its premise is similar to Howard Hawks's The Thing from Another World. In that film a group of scientists discover an alien creature in a remote Arctic outpost where it awakens and terrorizes the humans. Replace the Arctic outpost for a spaceship in the middle of nowhere and you got Alien.
What's great about the horror aspects of Alien is that it is all about the mood and atmosphere rather than the queasy blood and guts horror you see nowadays. Like Halloween, Alien takes its time, building up suspense and then finally letting you gasp a little at the right moments. It doesn't just jump into the alien right away. There is a great sense of mystery in the beginning. There are characters that we get to know pretty well in a short period of time. There is this a great sci-fi element involved. All this builds up the tension even before we even know an alien exists in the film.
There really aren't that many pop out scenes in the movie, at least compared to horror movies today. Instead Alien makes sure you stay scared throughout by building up the tension. In fact, it is the relative lack of pop out moments that makes the film so scary. You're waiting, waiting, waiting for that inevitable scare, but it doesn't come just yet. You're left holding your breath, hiding your eyes just a tad bit longer than you'd expect to. The really good horror movies are like experienced lovers, they take their time to do it right; the bad ones are like young kids who just want it as fast as they can. I can't really say more than that. Alien is a classic, great as both sci-fi and horror.
Grade: A
I live within walking distance to a small theatre that occasionally shows old classics which is really cool since people my age never got the chance to watch these movies on the big screen. I've seen Alien before probably 6 or 7 years ago so I've forgotten just enough to make it new again. I think for the remainder of this project I'll probably watch more movies that I haven't seen in a long time (5+ years) as there are actually a bunch of oldies that I'm just dying to watch again.
One thing I kind of forgot about Alien is that it is more of a horror film than science fiction. At its very core it is a creature feature from the 1950's. It's probably not a coincidence that its premise is similar to Howard Hawks's The Thing from Another World. In that film a group of scientists discover an alien creature in a remote Arctic outpost where it awakens and terrorizes the humans. Replace the Arctic outpost for a spaceship in the middle of nowhere and you got Alien.
What's great about the horror aspects of Alien is that it is all about the mood and atmosphere rather than the queasy blood and guts horror you see nowadays. Like Halloween, Alien takes its time, building up suspense and then finally letting you gasp a little at the right moments. It doesn't just jump into the alien right away. There is a great sense of mystery in the beginning. There are characters that we get to know pretty well in a short period of time. There is this a great sci-fi element involved. All this builds up the tension even before we even know an alien exists in the film.
There really aren't that many pop out scenes in the movie, at least compared to horror movies today. Instead Alien makes sure you stay scared throughout by building up the tension. In fact, it is the relative lack of pop out moments that makes the film so scary. You're waiting, waiting, waiting for that inevitable scare, but it doesn't come just yet. You're left holding your breath, hiding your eyes just a tad bit longer than you'd expect to. The really good horror movies are like experienced lovers, they take their time to do it right; the bad ones are like young kids who just want it as fast as they can. I can't really say more than that. Alien is a classic, great as both sci-fi and horror.
Grade: A
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