365+ movies in 365 days: Day 25 - Alien

To coincide with it's release 31 years ago I watched Alien. This was the first time in a long while that I sat down to watch this movie beginning to end, lights off and no interruptions. It still packs a wallop. The beginning slowly builds the tension, until fifty-five minutes into the film, pure terror takes over. Like the shower scene in Psycho the "big moment" in Alien is well known by many, and I wonder if first time viewers have the film spoiled for them by knowing what happens. In case you've never seen it I won't reveal it here.

The rest of the film has you sitting in a state of claustrophobic anxiety as the crew of the cargo hauling ship Nostromo struggle to deal with the Alien that has invaded their ship. There are only six members in the cast and they are excellent at portraying the fear and terror of the doomed crew. Even though I know when the scary things happen I still cringed and jumped. At least I didn't scream out like a little girl.
Just a note, the end credits for this movie are only 2 minutes and 46 seconds. Times have changed.
At The Movie House rating **** stars.