My Review of Alien (1979) · 11:01am Jul 2nd, 2023
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Good morning, folks! This is Mr. J back with my first movie review for the month! This morning, I will be reviewing a sci-fi horror film simply called Alien from 1979. This is probably my first time reviewing a straight-up horror movie, and this is coming from someone who isn’t a horror fan at all. The reason why I am now reviewing this franchise was that I was rather curious about its universe.
Now that I have covered the first two movies of an equally terrifying science fiction series (Predator), I figured there should be nothing holding me back from covering the Alien film series. Anyway, I first watched this movie around two months ago or so, and when I watched it, I was rather…shocked yet impressed with how well-made it is.
The story is about a crew of a commercial space tug called the Nostromo as they ultimately discover a mysterious spaceship left on an uncharted planet. Their most intriguing discovery eventually turns into a nightmare-inducing bloodbath—facing off against a deadly extraterrestrial creature of unknown origin.
As much as I dislike the horror genre in general, I must give credit where credit is due. This was an amazing experience to behold. The storyline was well-crafted, the horror element was utilized flawlessly, the characters were well-written, and the acting was incredible. A lot of heart was put into this movie despite the small budget they initially had.
They even cast a great set of people for their respective roles. My favorite character in this film is obviously Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver). She had both courage, determination, commitment, and strength to guide her colleagues in the right direction as well as to fight off the ferocious Xenomorph.
The other characters were pretty great as well. Ash (played by Ian Holm) was an effective hidden antagonist throughout the movie. The little hints he left that foreshadowed his suspicious attitude behavior were done brilliantly. I did not expect him to be an android programmed by his superiors to keep the alien alive at the expense of the crew members’ lives. The fact that he, even while ripped to pieces, expressed his admiration for the beast for its “purity” and “lack of remorse and a conscience” was honestly chilling to watch. He’s a prime example of how to effectively write a twist villain without ruining the story.
Another primary aspect I admire the most about this film is the suspenseful horror it built up. It has the factor of unpredictability where you are left both anxious and scared to see what happens next. And I like how they used very little screen time for the Xenomorph as they wanted to carefully utilize the impact of its presence without over-saturating it.
The most horrifying scene of this movie is the infamous chest-burster moment. When the facehugger latched unto Kane, I didn’t know what to expect. But when he eventually spasmed on the table and screamed in agony, I was taken aback by it. Then to see the alien literally burst through his chest…..what the hell, man. That’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Ridley Scott did a fantastic job making that scene extremely faithful to the horror element of the movie.
The cinematography and the visuals still look pretty good in today’s world. The characters, despite how few they were, managed to capture my interest despite the incredibly slow build up to the Xenomorph. They weren’t boring or annoying in any way, and they each had different personalities to make each of them stand out from each other. Their well-written dialogue, their action, and their characteristics moved the plot to an interesting direction and made me want to see how things would end. Again, just flawless direction and storytelling all the way through.
With all that said, I will give this a solid 8/10. Why such a low score? Because, like I said, I’m not a horror movie fan, and this movie had very little action in it—considering that action is one of my favorite film genres. It doesn’t have any objective flaws except for the slow pacing. That’s all. This is my honest opinion, and you are free to share your thoughts on it.
RIP Ian Holm, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Eddie Powell, Helen Horton, and Bolaji Badejo. Their amazing contribution to this movie is unforgettable and legendary. And I’m surprised this was Badejo’s sole film performance. He did a wonderful job acting as the Alien, and it’s sad he lived a short life prior to dying to sickle cell disease. May he rest in peace too.
