Alien: Directors Cut

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt and Ian Holm.

Director: Ridley Scott

Running Time: 1hr 57 minutes

Genre: Science-Fiction

Rating: 15

Synopsis:

After a space merchant vessel recieves an unknown transmission as a distress call, one of the crew is attacked by a mysterious life form, they soon realise that it's like cycle has only just begun.

At the time of it's initial release, a film like "Alien" had never been made before. It was long before Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" fame. Set in 2122. A space merchant vessel waking up from hypersleep recieves an unknown transmission as a distress call. Unable to track it's source the crew head towards it in the hope they can find out where it came from. When Steven Spielberg made "Jaws" he made a point of deliberately not showing the shark for the first hour of the film, in order to build suspense. It's a good forty to fifty minutes before you see the alien type creature. As a member of the audience you are fully aware that it could pop out at any minute.

Long before her "Ghostbusters" fame, Sigourney weaver stars as crew member Ripley. Is her character name a slight nod to director Ridley Scott? It is not until the end of the movie that Ripley really becomes of great significance to the storyline. There seems to be a trend amongst directors these days to make the sequel before the prequels come out. The problem arises when audiences are used to seeing their favourite science fiction movie only to find there is a prequel explaining what happened before. Why not just make the films in order they were clearly intended to be made in.

The storyline is magnificent and has been terrifically thought out and written. There are a few jump scares that work fantastically. The characters respond in such a genuine and natural way, that you can't help but feel engaged from beginning to end. The character of Ash is complex and terrifying at the same time. Ian Holm delivers a superb performance. It's no surprise that fans around the world are convinced that "Blade Runner" and "Alien" are set in the same universe. Is it possible that Ash is a replicant sent to bring back an alien lifeform? A lot of the suspense is built not in what you see, but in what you don't see. A race against time, this is by far one of the best alien films you will ever see, that will leave you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

5/5