Alien - Movie Review

The crew of the commercial spaceship Nostromo receives a distress signal and is dispatched to investigate. Forcing their way through an alien lifeform that proves deadly, they are left to survive on board their ship. It’s not easy to survive, get to know and trust your fellow crew mates, all the while you are battling an infinitely indestructible creature.

Themes: Survival, Fear of the unknown, Corporate greed. Tense and claustrophobic in tone, a creeping horror builds relentlessly for an utterly nerve wracking climax. Aliens bare bones approach to these feelings does just as much: you feel unexpectedly threatened.

Ripley is another strong named hero, played by Sigourney Weaver, who fights back against the grain of typical sword and sandal heroines. The rest of the cast gets solid performances, playing their isolated crewmates, ready to battle an overwhelming threat.

Ridley Scotts direction is top notch, heavy on atmosphere that increases the horror and suspense. With his ability to hold tension throughout and the films pacing, viewers remain continually, from beginning to end.

Jerry Goldsmith has a haunting, evocative score which, perfectly complements the films ominous feel. Much of the unease of which the film is made comes from the music, which immerses the viewer in Nostromos terrifying journey.|The cinematography in the film is visually stunning with the design work of H.R. Giger creating a nightmarish yet gorgeous alien world. Because of the use of light and shadow, film has a very scary atmosphere, and the atmosphere of the Nostromo and alien can seem very realistic at the same time. Both the spaceship and creature design are attention to detail, and provide authenticity to the films sci-fi setting.|Alien has impressive practical effects, especially with the alien creatures design. Aliens editing is tight and effective and maintains a seamless narrative flow; these effects, combined with creative cinematography, make believable horror that stands the test of time.

The pacing is filmed well enough that theres organic tension building, and enough horror elements sprinkled in to keep the film at the darkest of darks. All of this was done to keep the audience on edge, to be interested in what comes next.

Alien has sparse dialog that doesn’t cut out key moments, like fear, tension, and so on. When Alien is slow, it can make the build up challenging, but each line helps build character and progress in the plot, maintaining the films intense atmosphere. But this deliberately slow pace is necessary to build the tension for the film, for its a sci fi horror film that blends psychological thriller and monster movie in a blend not seen before in the cinemas.

The Alien film is a thriller that must not be missed. Long after the credits roll its moody visuals, deep performances and gripping story linger on.