Alien Review

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Ever go on the movie ride at Disneyworld? It’s weird that amidst all of the movies that they have in there, some of them are horror related, and some of them are harder than others. For instance, they have a whole hallway with Alien on display. This movie is an iconic and oh so real space movie. Ok, it’s not realistic, but it could very well be the fate of those that are going to try and live on Mars and never come back. The movie was released in 1979 and it is directed by Ridley Scott, and stars none other than Sigourney Weaver as Ripley.

Fans of the NES game “Metroid” will liken many of the elements from the game to this movie. The movie as a whole stands the test of time in a lot of different ways. The plot is simple, but well played out. A deep sleep is shaken, the crew aboard a mining vessel in space wakes up and has to answer a distress call. It’s during the mission of helping someone else, that they realize they are messing with something that they’ve never seen before.

Aside from the iconic imagery that comes from the product of Alien, you have to think about the time frame. This movie was released in 1979, and during that point there wasn’t anything remotely close to a computer that could do a lot of the rendering that would get done in the next decade. Computer graphics were not available for this film, and therefore the effects are all done the classic way. Modeling, clay, latex, and a lot of other tricks of the trade were employed and you can’t even tell that they aren’t modern.

Visual design aside, Ripley’s character is somewhat believable, tenacious and strong. Women complaining about how female roles are never really action packed, should shut up and munch on a hot dog for a moment while Sigourney Weaver rocks the silver screen. This is an impactful movie and Weaver does well here, vulnerable at times, strong at others, and all woman. I love it. Feminists would love it too, and any underlining text about sexuality and the beast and all that jazz can just shut down for at least a couple hours while I enjoy my moment in the proverbial sun and say that Ripley may be the best women’s horror movie character ever! BADASS! Mover over Lara Croft.

The production of Alien is something that film geeks really go nuts for, and it’s rightfully so, as you watch it over and over again. If ever there was a perfect science fiction tale, with horror elements to boot, this is it. It sparks the imagination like Wells, Lovecraft, Hitchcock, and many more would attest to. If you haven’t seen this, or if you don’t own it, there’s something wrong with your collection. Get the Alien box set here, and let’s not tell anyone that you haven’t checked it out. Idiot.

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