Alien

Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, was a movie that defined science fiction, a movie that set the standard for all other scary movies. It was one of the first to really learn scare tactics that would literally have you jump out of your seat. The movie seriously had you thinking there was an alien coming out at any given moment. The movie was a hit because they had a cast of amazing new actors. They all seemed very tough and rugged, but yet intelligent and tactful. The leader was Ripley (Sigourney weaver), who lead the members throughout tough situations, with aliens popping out and killing at ease.

This movie would be similar star wars and fly for its time because all these movies seemed to set the stage for movies. Star wars was a movie that was set in space, which is the same for Alien. Alien relates to the fly because it was a science fiction movie that was very creative, yet disgusting. The aliens and the “fly” were pretty gruesome when face to face. Alien took place on a mining ship deep in space. The setting doesn’t change too often, unless when they discover the aliens on a new planet. The whole movie begins with a scare when an alien surprise attacks a crew member, rendering him unconscious for hours. We later discover that this thing that attacked him has embedded an alien inside of him, knowing in the future that this alien is going to cause some trouble. The aliens slowly, develop, mature, and kill the crew one by one. Ripley now has to act on instinct and survival tactics to get to one point of the ship to the next discovering deadly aliens all over the ship. The crew is left in a serious situation of survival that many view as an impossibility.

The plot seems to be very simplistic and very science fiction (fake). Everyone knows that if there were aliens this scary and deadly, no one would venture into space. These aliens are the classically definition of scary. The movie seemed realistic when it came down to acting. The cast seemed like they all fed off one another in times of survival. Ripley was a great leader because she was a ripped woman who had no intent to die, and lots of intent to kill aliens. She seemed to fit the part because no women other than her could have played her part. Most commonly a woman isn’t found to be that brave nor man; Ripley is the perfect leader of the movie. The crew mates all were very tough, but you could still sense that they were scared throughout. I believe that the main theme for Alien is to stay alive and that the strongest of the fit, only the strong survive. It seriously fit this movie because its everyone for theme self in the long run. It may be a team effort in some situations, but many cast members find themselves one on one with the alien, usually costing them their life. You really had to be ahead of the game and one step ahead of the aliens, who seemed to be everywhere. The crew was stuck in a sticky situation that only Ripley could resolve.

The acting in the movie was very well fit, the actors all preformed as if it was a true ship filled with aliens, just with a little more juice than most people. When I say juice, I mean they are tough cookies, people who aren’t afraid of anything, other than aliens. They all seemed very strong physically and emotionally, and yet knowledgeable at staying alive. They all acted tough, but only Ripley preformed to act tough the whole time. The lighting was found to be very similar throughout the terrifying film. It was very dark which made the audience much more scared. It felt as if they were an alien in every part of the ship, whether there was or wasn’t. It just added an effect that scared you throughout and kept you thinking. The ship was where the majority of the movie happened, It seemed to be very hi-tech but yet still junky and cluttered. The sides of the ship seemed very cluttered, and places where aliens could just sit and surprise attack. I believe that the music, the cinematic effect, helped the movie be as frightful as it was. Music is a key ingredient to scaring an audience. With a mix of some of the scariest aliens ever seen, a dark ship in space with no one to help, and some of the most intense music that only had you thinking ahead throughout, is what brings you the perfect elements of a perfect science fiction movie, a movie ahead of its time. Alien is a superb movie that set a path for many other scary movies.