Alien
124 minutes,
USA/UK (1979), 18
Average user rating 
(4.7 / 248 votes)
(4.7 / 248 votes)
The film that gave us the action heroine, in the shape of Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, and presented space travel as just another job. It's a tour-de-force of suspense, slasher antics and good old-fashioned sci-fi
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Alien Review
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The film that gave us the action heroine, in the shape of Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, and presented space travel as just another job. It's a tour-de-force of suspense, slasher antics and good old-fashioned sci-fi
With Alien, Ridley Scott delivered more than just a memorable 'haunted house in space' campfire tale. He and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon used the monster as a Freudian symbol, launched a franchise that lasted for more than 20 years and set the unknown Sigourney Weaver en route to stardom.
The crew of the mining vessel Nostromo investigate a distress signal from another ship - but realise too late that it's in fact a warning to stay away. They uncover a huge store of eggs discovered alongside the body of an unidentified alien.
From here, it's a rollercoaster ride of goo-spewing androids, chest-rupturing horror and monster cat-and-mouse, until only Ripley remains to battle the 'bitch' that has used the vessel as a nest for her vicious spawn.
Superb performances add to Scott's stylish direction. And if a film can be judged by the amount of rip-offs it generates, Alien must rank as one of the most influential movies ever.
The crew of the mining vessel Nostromo investigate a distress signal from another ship - but realise too late that it's in fact a warning to stay away. They uncover a huge store of eggs discovered alongside the body of an unidentified alien.
From here, it's a rollercoaster ride of goo-spewing androids, chest-rupturing horror and monster cat-and-mouse, until only Ripley remains to battle the 'bitch' that has used the vessel as a nest for her vicious spawn.
Superb performances add to Scott's stylish direction. And if a film can be judged by the amount of rip-offs it generates, Alien must rank as one of the most influential movies ever.
Verdict
It remains a benchmark of extra-terrestrial horror, and gave us a bona fide A-list star in the shape of Sigourney Weaver, who showed her pants, battled the bitch, went back for the cat - and never looked back.
It remains a benchmark of extra-terrestrial horror, and gave us a bona fide A-list star in the shape of Sigourney Weaver, who showed her pants, battled the bitch, went back for the cat - and never looked back.
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