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| Alien (1979) |
As I mentioned earlier, this movie has a very simple premise: an alien causes havoc on a spaceship. But, what makes this movie so effective is its atmosphere, and this is what elevates the film to something more. This movie is tense. The titular alien is hardly on screen for 5 minutes total, but the great thing is that's almost why it's so terrifying. The alien is far more of a presence than I was expecting, even before it actually lets loose on the ship. Hell, the alien itself doesn't actually appear until halfway through the movie. That's a risky move. Instead, the film spends the first hour building the characters to the point where you've begun to care for them, or at the very least, get to know who they are. The drawback from this, however, is that the first two acts of the movie are very slow, but this wasn't a problem for me at all. In fact, the last third was so great and so fast that the slow beginning was almost welcome. This also allows the film to explore the alien's biology and abilities in greater depth, which is always welcome. If you're going to establish a threat, it's worth letting us know why it's a threat before actually having it do threatening things, that way it's all the more suspenseful once the alien does break out. We don't have to waste time being shown or told what the alien can do, and it can be a danger right away.
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| The Alien |
This film employs a lot of practical effects, which is very welcome. It would be very easy for a movie like this to overdo it with the CGI, especially in the late 70s. Thankfully, about 95% of what you see is either practical or done with models, and it all holds up incredibly well. The famous chest-burst scene in particular is a triumph, and it's almost like a signal to let the audience know that the movie's about to pick up the pace, which is a genius idea. There's also another practical effect at around the 2/3rds mark that I won't reveal in case you haven't seen the film, but it was certainly very impressive, and if you've seen the movie, I think you know what I'm referring to here. The only time the practical effects don't quite land is when the baby alien escapes; that just looked kinda goofy like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon, but everything else is fantastic. The alien itself has a brilliant design, and it certainly looks unnatural enough to be believably alien. The lighting effects also really impressed me, especially in the last portion of the film. The constant flashes, the yellow sirens cutting through the smoke, it was all so unsettling that is was wonderful.
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| The chest burst scene |
Everyone does a great job in their roles here, but the obvious standout is Sigourney Weaver. She's the one we spend the most time with, and she's the one we get the most range from, so it goes without saying, but she nailed it. This was a powerhouse performance, especially when we get to the end and she's basically acting by herself. The camerawork employed during these sequences also amplifies the fear factor, making everything seem so claustrophobic through the use of extreme close-ups amidst the more frightening moments, and in these moments especially, Weaver shines in her performance. All of the other actors fulfil their roles nicely, but I feel as though I need to give a special mention to the late John Hurt, who was amazing in just about every role he was given, but this was an especially great performance. He's the one we spend the least amount of time with, yet the film manages to get us to like him, which makes that scene all the more tragic. Hurt's performance in that scene especially was just so gut-wrenching that it was almost uncomfortable to watch, which is what made that scene so effective.
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| Sigourney Weaver as Ripley |
For the majority of the film, there is no music, and it works well enough in those moments, but when the soundtrack kicks in, it's even more effective. The OST does a fantastic job of making you feel what the movie wants you to feel: afraid, relief, even the occasional moment of whimsy; this soundtrack has it all. But, again, the amazing thing is how much of the movie takes place in silence. The film knows exactly what it wants you to feel when it wants you to feel it and how to make you feel it. It's almost not a movie at all. It's more of an experience. You almost feel as though you're right there in that spaceship with the crew. When they're being stalked by the alien, you yourself feel as though it could be around any corner, and the film puts you on alert during those sequences. It's almost maddeningly good at this, and that's what differentiates this from other survival-horror movies: it succeeds in sucking you in. It just goes back to the atmosphere and how natural the entire movie is. Everything about this movie just works, and it was a joy to watch.
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| Yaphet Kotto as Parker and John Hurt as Kane |
Alien (1979) is the template for all survival-horror movies that came after it, and I'd dare say very few could top this one. Despite a slow start, the film doesn't waste a second of screen-time, and it's this, combined with the grounded story-telling and atmosphere, that certainly make this a must-watch. 9/10.
Tomorrow: the Terminator.
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