Review - Alien (1979)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Back in the '60s and the '70s, the sci-fi genre got several titles that essentially redefined the genre. Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Wars all released in this era, and showcased a new view of sci-fi as a genre for brilliant storytelling. But, also around this time, a British filmmaker named Ridley Scott made a truly terrifying sci-fi movie that is still celebrated forty-five years later. I am, of course, talking about Alien, the 1979 sci-fi horror film starring Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt, and Veronica Cartwright. 

      The movie opens with a commercial spacecraft, the Nostromo, returning from a routine haul, when the ship's computer, referred to as Mother, awakens its seven crew members: Captain Dallas, Executive Officer Kane, Warrant Officer Ripley, Navigator Lambert, Science Officer Ash, and engineers Parker and Brett. And, why is the crew awakened from their stasis? Well, the Nostromo detected an unknown signal, and company directive dictates that any signal must be investigated on penalty of preexisting contracts being voided. In other words, of the crew of the Nostromo doesn't investigate, they don't get paid for their haul. 

       So, separating from the haul, the Nostromo lands on the moon where the signal is coming from, and Dallas, Kane, and Lambert go to investigate. On the moon's mountainous surface, they come across a derelict ship of unknown origin, and and inside of it, they come across the deceased remains of a massive alien being dubbed the "space jockey," and a slew of eggs. One of the eggs opens, and a spider like creature called a Facehugger latches itself onto Kane. Dallas and Lambert rush Kane back to the ship, where Ripley refuses to let them inside based on quarantine protocol. Upon further examination, Dallas and Ash, who let the away team back inside regardless of Ripley's stance, discover that the Facehugger can't be removed safely without killing Kane, and the creature's blood is acidic in nature and eats through the hull of the Nostromo. 

       Leaving the moon, the Nostromo crew continues on their journey back to Earth, and the Facehugger eventually falls off Kane's face, and it's dead. Kane seems alright, at first, but it's during a meal that another creature called a Chestburster forces itself out of Kane's chest, and he dies. So, now it's up to the rest of the crew to capture the creature. However, it eventually grows to full maturity, and the alien creature, later referred to as a Xenomorph, slowly starts killing off the crew. 

        Digging into the ship's system, Ripley learns that the new priority is for the Nostromo to bring the organism back to Earth, and the Nostromo crew is completely expendable. And, the one who knew about this the entire time was Ash, who turns out to be an android. Being the last one standing, Ripley sets the self-destruct on the Nostromo and escapes with the crew's cat Jones. However, the Xenomorph escaped, as well, so Ripley ejects it into space, and places herself and Jones into stasis, leaving one last log about the incident in the Nostromo. 

       Alien is easily one of the most terrifying films in all of sci-fi. And, that was kinda the idea. It's a survival horror story in space, which hadn't really been done before. The idea that the main cast were essentially blue collar workers was kind of refreshing, and all of them were portrayed brilliantly by some of the best actors working at the time. Now, while pretty much everyone knows of Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, which was an excellent performance, I also really enjoyed the likes of Tom Skerritt as Dallas, Ian Holm as Ash, and John Hurt as Kane. Both Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto as Brett and Parker were really good, and Veronica Cartwright as Lambert was good, as well. But, it was the design of the Xenomorph, which was designed by the one and only H.R. Giger, that steals the show here. This creature was like something out of a nightmare, and was instantly iconic. 

      Overall, I love this movie, and it was a great way to kick off one of sci-fi's most legendary film franchises. I'm giving Ridley Scott's Alien a rating of 5/5. Well guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys later.