Alien

We join the mining ship Nostromo with its crew being awoken from stasis upon the detection of an SOS signal. A landing-party visit a derelict ship displaying signs of a violent history, but not one that has finished... Kane (Hurt) peers into an egg in the ship’s vast chamber, only to be attacked by a creature that penetrates his helmet and attaches itself to his face. Upon his re-awakening on the Nostromo, Kane seems fine at first, but via the now infamous self-named scene that follows, all hell is about to literally ‘break loose’.

Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley has become the model of a strong action female: intelligent and resilient – characteristics she necessarily displays in abundance. Ash (Holm) is chilling and mysterious, clearly inspiring David in Prometheus. Everyone in the cast performs admirably, immersing the viewer in the experience.

Don’t let the fact that Ridley Scott has revisited Alien for a director’s cut dissuade you. This is a masterpiece of cinema – both in the result and the methodology used to attain it. Certain scenes were shot without the cast knowing what to expect – giving genuine frights that could never have been acted. The models and animatronics utilized far outstrip any CGI available at the time, giving the aliens a true life-like quality.

Very few films define a genre. In the shape of Alien, you have a film that not only epitomizes sci-fi horror, but in the form of face-huggers and chest-bursters, provides two of the most iconic alien forms in cinematic history. And that’s all before you get on to the actual aliens themselves.

Robert Gardner

Archive

When Ridley Scott, spurred on by the success of Star Wars, decided to make a special effects driven sci-fi feature, few could have predicted the groundbreaking results. Alien traded in lightsaber duels and rollicking spaceship battles for moments of almost electric suspense and jump-out-of-your-seat scares. Where Star Wars thrilled, Alien terrified.

In a time when people travel the galaxy on colossal spacecrafts, the small crew of a commercial towing ship have their auto-piloted journey disrupted by a mysterious transmission from a nearby planet. Awakening from their cryogenic sleep, the small band of intergalactic cargo workers investigate the signal’s source, returning on board with something deadly in tow. When the unfamiliar creature breaks loose and stalks the darkened hollows of the mammoth ship, Warrant Officer Ripley (Weaver) and her dwindling team are left fighting for their own survival in the empty depths of outer space.

While some of the film’s special effects may have dated, the ingenious use of lighting and sound help form some of the film’s most petrifying scenes. The real world materials and make up used to create the eponymous beast give it a disturbingly solid presence when compared to modern CGI monsters. Where the film truly shines, however, is in its atmospheric storytelling. Underpinned throughout by a uniquely disquieting tone, watching Ripley and her crew slowly and nervously confront their fates makes for tense viewing. The characters are a believably real but colourful bunch, with Holm in particular being both compelling and unsettling as Ash, the ship’s Science Officer.

As beautifully crafted as it is paced, Alien has earned a place in cinematic history thanks to its inspired set design and now iconic shocks. A major influential force within the sci-fi genre, Scott’s horror film in space is nothing short of brilliant.

Luke Woellhaf

As the all time classic Sci-Fi horror movie, Alien makes a long overdue return to Warwick. Flight Lieutenant Ripley fights it out alone in the dark with one of the ugliest and meanest monsters ever to hit the big screen, in one of the most chilling suspense thrillers of all time.

The story: a battered commercial starship faraway in space and time on it's way back to earth. Seven tired astronauts, deep in hyper-sleep waiting to be woken as they approach their destination. The sleepers are reluctantly aroused to answer a distress call - and begin a horrific adventure their worst nightmares cannot even approach. For (as I'm sure all will by now know) they become the pray of an Alien whose sole purpose for existence is to kill, and we follow their desperate attempts to combat the beast and return to earth.

As usual Ridley Scott produces a film that just oozes tension, atmosphere, and class. You become hooked right from the haunting and sinister title sequence, all the way through to the end! Even now, 16 years since it's first release, Alien fails to appear dated, the effects and sets effortlessly transporting you far into the future and the lives of crew of the Nostromo.

One can hardly write an Alien review without mentioning Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). She takes on a roll normally labelled 'Men Only' and produces an outstanding performance. Ripley's feelings of fear and helplessness beautifully. The movie is made by its 'moments': Ripley risking everything to save the ships cat to name just one.

Alien is a movie by which all others in the genre are judged - and as yet I don't reckon many have even come close. You have no excuse to miss this.

Alex Craig