Alien (1979)

"That's the only way. We'll move in pairs. We'll go step by step and cut off every bulkhead and every vent until we have it cornered. And then we'll blow it the fuck out into space! Is that acceptable to you?" -Alien 

When it comes monsters in horror and/or science fiction, aliens have always freaked me out the most. I couldn't really tell you why or where it started, but even a cheesy alien movie will probably send my thoughts whirling down the rabbit hole of being abducted by evil space creatures.

Best. Tagline. Ever.

The 1979 movie Alien, directed by Ridley Scott is a great example of the horror of aliens. I've seen the movie once before awhile ago, so it was fun to return to it for this class on monsters. The movie starts off right in space and automatically we get that sense of isolation aboard the Nostromo as it makes its voyage. We're introduced to a crew that is compromised of some static characters (two want money, one seems bored, an overeager scientist who turns out to be a robot, one who is there for the purpose of bringing the alien on the ship, one woman who won't stop whining, and another woman, Ripley, who was the first character I automatically liked). So it took awhile for me to get into the characters, but once they all started dying I could root for the ones who stuck together a bit more. Nearly everyone dying also played into the theme of isolation more, which always amps up the scary (at least the cat survived, that was the most important to me).

The setting on the planet the crew visits when they encounter the alien was well-created, too. An abandoned empty planet with reduced visibility is sending out a signal that can't be decoded? Awesome, let's definitely go explore it. At one point one crew member says the system "Mother" decoded part of the signal and it sounded more like a warning, and I've always wanted to know what that warning said exactly! Ah, but alas, the enigmatic unknown won instead.

Playing around with the unknown is one thing that makes the alien creepy in this movie. We rarely

get a good shot of the whole adult alien's body. Usually the thing is lurking in shadows or moving too fast to see. That tactic really aids in keeping the audience focused and wondering just what exactly is this thing and what does it look like? That tactic is also effective in written works along with movies.

So overall, there were still some things in the movie that I'd like to have answers to (no I haven't seen any of the sequels yet), but the setting, design, creepy music, and alien itself definitely come together to create an overall good movie with a monster that I'd certainly like to never see any time soon. Or ever.