Alien

I re-watched the 1979 science fiction / horror movie "Alien" the other day, and it only reminded me of what a great movie it actually is. Sure, it's not "Casablanca" (and Sigourney Weaver is sure no Humphrey Bogart), but it definitely has all the small things right which helped turn it into a cult classic.

Watching it this time around, I was struck by two things: 1) The quiet of the movie, and 2) the great use of plot twists.

I was surprised how closely the movie stuck to it's tagline - "In space, no one can hear you scream." In fact, the movie itself is eerily quiet, considering that it features an acid-bleeding monster and several death scenes. There's no major explosions, no huge gun fights, and very little screaming. Instead, the movie lets the silence seep in and absorb you, which makes the occasional loud noise very striking and haunting. For example, in the scene in which the captain, Dallas (played by Tom Skerritt), is tracking down the alien in the ventilation system, the "blip" on the motion monitor of the alien running at him is much creepier than booming footsteps or horror movie music. The same goes for the scene in which Ripley has set the ship to self-destruct, and the alarm system constantly blares in the background for five minutes - without any other sounds, the alarm becomes eerily ambient.

In regards to the plot twists - this movie hits all the great ones, including the classic chest-bursting sequence. There is also a great moment when Ripley, taking command, checks the ship's computer to determine how to handle the situation, only to find that the science officer had received orders to bring the alien back to earth alive as the primary objective with the note "Crew expendable" (at which point the camera pulls back to reveal the science officer standing right behind her, reading over her shoulder).

Although this movie spawned (no pun intended) many sequels, the chain went significantly downhill after the second film ("Aliens"), and this progenitor stands out far above the rest.