Alien
Review by Jason Gaston
Ah, the film that started it all. Alien is kind of
tame by today's numbed-by-video-games standards, but the film itself
carries some primeval themes that speak to us all. A creature from the
unknown - which is itself unknown - lurking in dark, claustrophobic
corridors waiting to pounce on and devour whoever it comes across.
The film is
brilliantly directed by Ridley Scott who keeps much of the horror,
action, and even basic drama during the first thirty minutes to a bare
minimum to actually allow the audience to become a little bored. I
feel that this decision was not only necessary, but moves to downplay
expectation by the time that the alien finally makes it's first
appearance. By that time, the sight of the facehugger leaping at Kane
is enough to make even the hardest of movie buffs pee their pants.
At the time, the idea of a female heroine was unheard of and the idea
that Ripley of all people would be the one to escape the dreaded
creature alone was the last thing the audience expected. Compare that
to today when we all know googly-eyeed Jennifer Love Hewitt is going
to escape the hook guy or Neve Campbell is going to escape ghostface.
Alien was successful because it played against audience expectation
and kept them guessing who - if any - of the Nostromo crew was
going to survive.
Another way that Alien remains a frightening movie is in large
part to the creature itself. A perfect predator that seemed (at least
until the sequel) largely indestructible and endlessly voracious.
Scott filmed many of the scenes so that we never saw what the whole
creature looked like and, even in the airlock climax of the movie, we
never got a good look at the creature.
In a world of I Know What You Did Last Summer's and Urban
Legend's and Kevin Williamson teenie-booper horror flicks that
almost always disappoint and insult, Alien remains at the top
of the heap driving it's toothy tongue through the heads of lame
dollar-show horror flicks. It's a movie that has and forever will
stand the test of time.