I've been wondering this ever since I rewatched it last week. I remember so much of it being about technology and space and other life forms, etc, but it really didn't come across like that in the end. I do think the beginning when they first see the other ship, use cameras, and pick up the signal has alot of suspense. I also was worried when they broke quantine rules. But after that, one could easily view the Alien like any other fiction contruction (albate pretty intricately designed). Still horror really has a background in make-up, mask, and costume. So even this isn't a surprise. What I noticed were the conventions in the ship. That everytime someone was left alone they didn't return. That they were dumb and travelled alone, and of the here kitty kitty kitty whispering. And even the "end" when Weaver is in typical girl underwear and night slip. I guess it was interesting to place it in a ship instead of in a suburban house, but hey, one's physically detached and the other one is culturally detached right?

Upon this more recent viewing (too bad I had done my top 100 list already or I would have switched it up for a different movie) I think I need to downgrade it to maybe a B. It really had the trappings of sci-fe but was just a very traditional horror genre piece.

Traditional? As compared to what film...?

Yes it is a horror movie with sci-fi background. That doesn't mean it was "just another genre entry".

You could easily say the same thing about Star Wars, being a transplanted Kurosawa fantasy picture with a sci-fi background.

Some of the best films in the history of cinema were ones that were not ground breaking but were really incredibly well told with a slight enough spin to make them noteworthy.

Are you telling me that Alien wasn't well told? Or that your appreciation for Alien is completely wrapped up in how *groundbreaking* your perception of it is at this moment?

I see your point. When I watch Alien, I tend to put it in the horror genre, too. It isn't so much a psychological film, as I tend to liken most scifi films to, but just an old fashioned horror flick. I think it was the dynamic use of state of the art technology, a diverse setting, the "empty-space" factor, and old fashioned directing that made it so successfully scary. I appreciate it as a simple, but haunting horror flick and nothing more. To me, it's simplicity makes it all the more enjoyable.

The Fly(1986) is also a sci-fi movie but its also a love story if a non-traditional sci-fi horror is what you are asking for Dolcy. Who wouldnt weep when the Brundle fly begged to be killed.

No, it doesn't have to be groundbreaking, but yes, I'm saying it's not that well told. It got predictable is all. When they sent him off to go looking for the kitty cat, I couldn't even get that scared. Basically the fun in horror is to either be self-reflexive (for me that is, which is why I liked Scream) or to bring new expectations or some psychological element to it. I think even Suspiria was more interesting in creating characters and dialogue and all these alienated little girls. I'm not saying Alien is bad, its still a B, which is pretty good for me, but I just realized for the first time the complete horror convensions it used. How they were eliminated one by one. In what spaces, what they were talking about. If it hadn't been for "mother" denying entry into the computer and you realize its planned regardless of the crew's death (and the doctor being a plant) then it would just be a B- or C+ to me. The rest of it was just individuals running around dark hallways alone while a very well made horrific character chased them and killed them one by one until the last woman standing kills it.

He did include those elements though, and the first part of footage so that kept it a little more interesting and at a B.



Well said. I guess I just never considered it a horror flick before now (or I probably wouldn't have watched it )

I had th eopportunity to see Alien for the first time less than a year ago. Surprise surprise, i was not impressed at all. While i guess it was well made, i didn't really care about anything at all throughout the movie till the end when ripley is in her undies wwith the alien sleeping.

Now Aliens ... that was niiiice!

I thought it was a rom com, involving Ripley the beauty and Drooler the beast :wink:

Nevermind, it was a great sci-fi thriller. I would not consider it a horror movie.

In other words, what your implying here is that the 1979 movie ALIEN is sort of Dated by today's standards after rewatching it and that what was considered supposedly so Graphic and Violent back then watching an ALIEN burst out of someones chest, is really dated by todays standards and isn't a big deal and if the movie were remade today, in the present exactly as you saw it recently, it would be PG-13.. True or False... I mean, the fact that some time back, they re-released this movie in theatres and STILL gave it an R Rating, just made me laugh at how it REALLY wasn't deserving of that rating when you consider the violence we've seen in Sci-Fi films today compared to this film back in 1979.. Times have changed and the MPAA should've caught that upon re-releasing this movie and didn't..

Yeah, Alien is essentially a slasher film in space. I've always seen it like that. The reason it's head and shoulders above most genre fare, though, is Scott's direction and Giger's creature/set design.

However, as a fan of slaher films, I don't see the typical genre trappings as a bad thing, necessarily. That's why my enjoyment of the film is probably higher than your's, Galia.

I can totally see where you're coming from, though.

I love Alien, I always have, but I consider it more of a sci-fi flick than a straight up horror film. It doesn't scare me at all, but that's only because I've seen it so many times. The first time i saw it, it was on regular Tv and I remember being scared out of my mind by it. I couldn't sit still and was biting my nails while looking around to make sure no one was behind me.

Actually yes I do think Alien was a traditional horror movies in many ways. Just as Star Wars also drew on time worn cliches and so did Raiders. That's how genres get revitalized, they bring back the old stuff in new wrapping. Like how Scream brought back slasher movies to the forefront in the mid 90s by seeming to make fun of them, it was a gimmick that brought the genre back. And being in space was Alien's "gimmick".