The ultimate in claustrophobic horror, Ridley Scott's menacing sci-fi chiller is up there with some of the best horror films, and like all the classics, contains a selection of scenes that will live long in the memory - chest-bursting beast anyone? The movie, which stars Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Harry Dean Stanton among others, is set aboard a spaceship carrying a crew back to Earth, but they pick up a peculiar signal which seems to be emanating from some derelict craft which just so happens to be occupied by a hideous extra-terrestrial monster that begins to feast on the humans once they are aboard. And not only that, but it seems as if the being is breeding, as the crew stumble across numerous bizarre egg-like formations, resulting in a stalk n' slash episode for the thinking man. 'Alien' is just one of those films you have to watch, rather than hear about - I saw this as a kid in the early '80s and the stuffy passageways, sweaty shadows and ferocious aliens really gave me the creeps. The creatures of this epic were based on work by talented artist H.R. Giger, and despite spawning a number of sequels, including the impressive immediate follow up 'Aliens,' the original is far superior when it comes to out and out scares and horror, and boasts enough blood and jumps to effortlessly ooze itself into any horror film chart. As expected, the script is good, the plot excellent and the acting strong, but unlike so many other sci-fi monster movies, 'Alien' succeeds on atmosphere alone.
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