ALIEN

SYNOPSIS: A mining ship, investigating a suspected SOS, lands on a distant planet. The crew discovers some strange creatures and investigates. What they find is a heap of trouble when an alien creature assaults one of the crew and then begins to come after the rest of them.

BOTTOM LINE: I find the first 30 minutes of this movie to be excruciatingly long and boring, but once it gets going it cranks up the creepiness level so high you'll be squirming in your seat. I personally prefer it's adrenaline pumped, kick-ass sequel ALIENS, but for sheer terror in space it's hard to beat the original. Much like Hitchcock's PSYCHO, this film packed an inconceivable surprise, not even the actors were let in on, that must have scared original audiences to death. Since I saw the second before the first, I knew what was in store and it still chills me to the core, though not for the same reasons. Directed by Ridley Scott, this is a haunted house in space with very bad things lurking in the darkness. What the first one lacks in action it more than makes up for in suspense. After seeing Weaver's performance here, it's no wonder they decided to make more. She's strong and vulnerable with a will to survive that just won't quit. Becoming a host to these evil creatures wouldn't exactly be on the top of my life goal list either. The supporting cast, art direction, sound design and special effects create a frightening world I am only too happy to leave after 2 hours, but am consistently drawn back to. This is first class sci-fi filmmaking that will have you cautiously looking around corners for days and question the safety of space travel.