Aboard a spaceship deep in outer space, something is alive, something is deadly... that something is...Alien.

ALIEN has been described as less a science-fiction horror film, and more a haunted house movie in which the spacecraft takes the place of the traditional house.

Directed by Ridley Scott, this movie owes much to past monster on the loose pictures such as It!, The Terror From Beyond Space and The Thing. H.R. Giger's design of the alien was a nice departure from the usual big head, big eyes model used so often before, and the film won an Academy Award for it's visual effects.

The movie also features Sigourney Weaver in a star-making performance as Ripley, a role originally written for a man. The score was composed by the great Jerry Goldsmith.

The setting is a huge mineral tanker spacecraft called Nostromo. Having successfully completed their mission, the seven members of the crew are returning to Earth and are sleeping in their isolation chambers.

Soon however, they receive an S.O.S signal from a nearby planet, which the company they work for requires them to respond to. Three members of the crew, Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Kane (John Hurt), and Lambert (Veronica Cartwright), visit the planet in a small craft.

There, they discover the remains of an alien civilization. Kane is investigating a cavern containing huge eggs, when one of them suddenly opens and a creature leaps out and attaches itself to his helmut.

He is taken back to the ship, where officer Ash (Ian Holm) places him in quarantine. Kane's helmet is removed, revealing that the creature is now attached to his face, and an x-ray shows that a fluid has been deposited in his stomach. Later, the creature disappears and Kane is revived.

During his first meal after the incident, Kane dies horribly when a small alien bursts through his chest, apparently planted by the other creature. It scurries off, and the crew, including Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), band together to find it.

During this search, Brett (Harry Dean Stanton) is killed while trying to retrieve his cat, and Captain Dallas is killed soon after. At this point, the alien has grown immensely in size and is a greater threat.

Ripley is now in command of the ship and finds out from "Mother" (the ship computer), that the real reason for their mission was to collect one of the aliens for the company. She confronts Ash with this information and he attacks her.

Officer Parker (Yaphet Kotto) comes to her rescue and bludgeons him, whereby they learn that Ash is actually a robot sent by the company to secure the alien's return.

Lambert and Parker are soon killed trying to escape in the shuttle craft. Ripley is the sole survivor and she takes off in the shuttle, setting the Nostromo to explode. However, the alien has managed to get on board. Using her wits, she manages to use one of the shuttle's jets and blasts the creature into space.

With the catchy slogan, "In space no one can hear you scream," ALIEN was a sensation. Ridley Scott, who had previously directed commericals, became a Grade A director. His work here is tremendous.

The suspense he created and the work he got from the cast are outstanding. In some scenes in fact, it seems as if the actors and actresses are improvising.

Veronica Cartwright is as terrific as she was in the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers the year before. We wonder why she didn't work more after this. Of course, Sigourney Weaver went on to have a prolific career throughout the '80s and 90's. An interesting tidbit: ALIEN was filmed at Bray Studios in England, which was where Hammer Films were produced.

As of June, 1999, all four ALIEN movies are now on DVD. They've never looked better, and ALIEN in particular features a lot of extra goodies.

Chief among them are the scenes which were deleted from the final version. We get to see the infamous cocoon sequence in which Ripley finds Captain Dallas trapped as he begs her to kill him. A similar scene was filmed and actually used in the sequel.

Another interesting clip shows some animosity between Ripley and Lambert, with Lambert apparently blaming Ripley for Kane's initial predicament. It's fascinating!

And for those who extoll the virtues of modern horror films, take a look at the trailer... it's a knockout. Subtle, lyrical, and effectively scary. You just don't see previews like that anymore.

Hunter: This movie took me by surprise. I didn't know what to expect when I saw it back in '79, but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. And there had never been a female protagonist like Ripley. When she takes charge, she is a formidable presence. Sigourney created an indelible character...a heroine for the ages.

Aliens was also wonderful, but I don't consider that a horror movie. It has it's suspenseful moments but it's really more of a sci-fi adventure movie, albeit one of the greatest ever made.

Jason: Claustrophobia scares the shit out of me, and this movie really functions on that premise. The thought of being in outer space, with an alien chasing you through a spaceship, picking off your comrades one by one, is great! The ending scene is definitely a classic capper to this movie and one that I always remember first when anyone mentions this film.