Review of Alien

Alien (1979)
10/10
Briiliant Combination of Enertainment and Art
7 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Two of the essential ingredients for a film to achieve the approval of the fans is when you juxtapose entertainment with artistic integrity. Of all the genres science-fiction can be the complex films to achieve that goal, but when it succeeds it can be quite rewarding. In 1979, director Ridley Scoot made his directorial debut on North American soil with "Alien". From a viewer's standpoint, it looks like a simple sci-fi creature feature picture as the crew from a financially unstable spaceship must battle a deadly alien creature that has found a way to get in their ship. What makes this movie a success is that the detail that was put into the story that has made it an iconic staple in the sci-fi genre. Everything about the creature works effectively from its ugly character design, to its deadly intentions and its hiss gives the Xenomorph a well-earned place in the annals of classic movie monsters.

The story is about the crew on The Nostromo are on their way back home to Earth. While they were deep in their hyper sleep a S. O. S. Transmission is ignited and an unknown vessel has arrived. After further research they discover upon a hidious alien creature that has an endless craving for blood and death. Under the leadership of Captain Dallas (Tom Skeritt) and his second-in-charge Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), they are now faced with danger as they must survive against an entity that is almost unbeatable and hard to comprehend. This commercial crew is the unfortunate underfogs as they never in their lives have met anything so enigmatic or dangerous.

"Alien" is obviously one of the most hardcore sci-fi movies ever been made. The opening sequences before the monster makes its way in has great moments of unsettling vibes. Even when we reach the end there is no general conclusion as we assume that there is something more out there that has been given to us in this wild roller-coaster of excitement and gruesome terror. The intensity level is raw, unsettling, and very graphic in detail. Even from the inside of the ship, Scott takes advantage to how very condemned this ship really is and how the crew will manage to survive considering the limited communication devices that are on this commercial spaceship and the limited technology that have to survive this deadly predicament no one was really prepared for.

The whole voyage to space truly exhibits psychological effects that the crew undertakes as we get the gist of lonliness and isolation that garners quite a great feeling of sympathy for them. Being away from home with little or no contact from inside their ship, sometimes you have to wonder if your dreams of being in space an honour or a nightmare. In this case of the crew from the Nostromo, it's a hellish nightmare once the evil creature enters their lives.

To get any feeling for anything considered sympathetic, we must have to depend solely on the very small crew. Though there is no true hero depicted here, the crew is still the ones we must trust if ever they are to survive the trenches of space and while encountering the monster. Though there may be very little in terms of character backstory, they do speak out in terms of interacting with one another which is good enough to get a bit of understanding why they chose this mission. Though some twists happen two-thirds along the way, including one character who is not what they seem, they are in the long run, likable, and we truly care about their well-being.

Of course we can't ignore the life of the party now can we? There's a lot going on in the physical and the mental state of The Xenomorph. The physical capabilities depicted in the creature are designed without it looking lopsided or cheesy and all of its attributes come to life in a belivable manner as when up close chills come tingling on my back. The special effects make this monster one of the most feared creatures in movie history and the added features it brings to the space crew is truly amazing. Like I mentioned earlier, the movie is more than just a "creature feature" movie, but has some elements of psychological drama as well. The nightmare level as at a fever pitch and no one on board is safe given the circumstances they have encountered.

Sure it was released in 1979, and a lot has changed over the years. But "Alien" is still en effective film that is still legitimate in this day and age. It combines both the horrors of dealing with a deadly monster while also looking at the emotional scars our astronauts are facing where contact is very limited. In the end, you will likely be uncomfortable once the credit roll.
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