Throwback Thursday Reviews — Alien (1979)
This week’s review will coincide with the release of — Life. A film being released tomorrow that has a similar theme to Alien.
Ridley Scott’s — Alien is considered a classic Horror/Sci-Fi. It follows Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright and a cast of others as a merchant vessel responding to a distress call. The distant planet contains a ship with an alien life form that attacks a crew member. All hell breaks loose as the team fights for survival against the new alien life form.
It had been quite sometime since I had seen Alien. I had always been a fan of them all (aside from Alien Resurrection — which I have never seen), but from what I remember — they were always consistent...well maybe not the AVP series…
First off — I thought the movie would seem more dated than it was. There were definitely times where you could tell it was a film from the late 70s (mainly shots in outer space). Though the lighting helped it seem as if it hadn’t aged as much. The effects were impressive as well. The chest bursting scene is still horrific 38 years later. It will be exciting to see Alien: Covenant now that technology has come such a far way. The look of the alien is still so iconic. People who have not even seen the film could tell you where it came from.
My biggest issue came in character development and overall acting. There were definitely times where some actors and actresses felt a bit dull. Even coming from Sigourney Weaver (which is surprising to say the least). When the alien would pick them off — you hardly feel anything because you really don’t know anything about the character. It’s hard to root for somebody with no backstory or idea as to who they are.
It also plays into some key horror elements to keep you on the edge of your seat. The kills can be a bit tedious and slowly built up at times. The viewer doesn’t get to see the alien in full form for long because of it being so drawn out.
Alien has definitely inspired many films like Life, and is considered a classic because of it. It’s one of the many first Sci-Fi/Horror films to truly be successful. Alien has now increased my excitement for Alien: Covenant to see what they can cook up now. 38 years later and Alien can still hold it’s own. I’d give this film a 7.6/10.
