Review: Alien, There’s No Substitute For Terror in Outer Space.
- Jan 29, 2017
- 2 min read
Ridley Scott has copped some flak in the last few years, and for good reason. From Prometheus to Exodus, he made some less than decent movies but, after his success with The Martian, he has once again found himself in the people’s good graces. But there was a time when he was infallible, the mastermind behind Blade Runner, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. But it all started in 1979 with a little B horror movie called Alien.
The Nostromo, an intergalactic tug boat, is dragging a fuel refinery through the depths of space, returning it’s precious cargo, and a crew of seven, back to Earth after a months long voyage. But, when it picks up an unknown distress signal, the crew are awoken from hypersleep and sent to investigate. But something has come back with them, something far worse than it first seems.
Jaws in space. Those were the words used to pitch Alien, and they’re true, at least for the most part. While on a story level, the films differ significantly, when it comes to characters and the monster, they’re surprisingly similar. Both tell the stories of ordinary people facing off against an unstoppable killing machine, a theme that has since been repeated again and again.
While Jaws undoubtedly displays better performances, Alien is no slouch. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerrit) and Kane (John Hurt) give two of the best performances in horror and easily steal the show, at least when it comes to their inevitable demise. Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton all have merit, playing their characters in a realistic and tangible manner. But the two stars are Ian Holm as Ash, the ship’s doctor, and Sigourney Weaver in her breakout performance as Ellen Ripley. Each actor plays off the others brilliantly and it helps to create the feeling of a crew that have known each other for sometime. They toss around friendly insults, discuss crappy food and crappier and it makes it all the better when the real star starts taking them out.
By the real star I do of course mean the alien itself. A seven foot tall monstrosity that took the idea of a tongue with teeth the a terrifying place. It’s beautifully grotesque as it descends from ceilings and creeps about hallways. Once it’s loose, the tension begins to build as you what for the nastiest creature ever put to film to strike once again.
While Jaws gets points for its superior characters, it can’t hold a candle to Alien when it comes to horror. Alien is a masterclass in the building of tension and dread and has cemented itself as the gold standard of horror, despite it’s humble beginnings. If, for some obscure reason, you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting for? And if you have, well, re-watching doesn’t hurt.
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