In 1951, Howard Hawks’ The Thing introduced audiences to horror science fiction. While the genre would prove quite popular with the public, it would also unfortunately be too often associated with cheap and amateurish B-movies.

British efforts, frequently more serious in intent than their American counterparts, provided a few solid entries into the genre, including The Quatermass Xperiment (55), Village of the Damned (60) and Unearthly Stranger (63).

But Ridley Scott’s Alien (79) marked the first time horror and science fiction were masterfully combined to create a realistic, serious, and truly scary film.

When the film came out in 1979, Ridley Scott was a relatively unknown director. With only the magnificently atmospheric film The Duelists (77) to his credit, Scott created The horror film in space, one whose premise and style continue to be an influence on many filmmakers, writers, production designers and audiences today.

Shot at Bray and Shepperton Studios in England with a strongly British influenced cast (including John Hurt and Ian Holm) and crew, Alien received the Oscar for best visual effects and two BAFTAs for best production design and best soundtrack in 1980.

Various artists, including the Swiss surrealist designer H.R. Giger (who solely designed the Alien), were brought in to create the interiors of the ship, giving it its bleak, retro-futuristic and suffocating atmosphere that is reminiscent of what Scott would later achieve with Blade Runner (82). With an almost compulsive attention to details, Scott insisted on perfection in all aspects of the production design and the result is an unnerving and realistic rendition of space that had not been seen in film since Stanley Kubrick’s 2001.

Several elements set Alien apart from its predecessors. The alien itself, often mostly hidden from our sight, is a terrifying creation that has yet to be equaled. Unlike the positive and happy visions of Star Wars or Close Encounters (films that had contributed to a renewed interest in Science-Fiction in the mid 70’s), or even the clean and hygienic look of 2001, Alien offers a dystopic and disturbing vision of the future. The atmosphere is claustrophobic, the characters are not always very pleasant, and the technology is portrayed as clunky, obtrusive and working against the humans. But more importantly, the hero of Alien is a woman, one who outlives the males on the ship and outsmarts an otherwise indestructible creature. Never had Science Fiction seen such a powerful female character.

Synopsis. Attention: spoilers ahead!

The commercial towing cargo ship Nostromo is on its way back to Earth, with 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore on board. Its crew of 7 passengers is asleep, in a state of suspended animation, allowing them to survive the long voyage in space.

Halfway through their journey, Mother, the onboard computer, wakes the crew up from their artificial sleep. All 7 passengers gather for a meal, their first in months, believing that they are almost home.

Dallas (Tom Skerritt), the captain, consults with Mother and finds out that their hibernation has been interrupted to investigate a signal coming from a nearby planet, possibly an SOS. He informs the crew accordingly, who, having no choice in the matter, reluctantly agrees to the mission. A smaller ship is dispatched to the planet, almost crashing upon landing on its barren and hostile surface, resulting in damages to the vessel. While repair work starts, Dallas takes Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) and Kane (John Hurt) with him to explore the origin of the signal.

They make their way through a heavy layer of wind, dust and mist, until they finally approach a strangely shaped ship that seems to have crash-landed on this site a long time ago. They enter the bizarre and organic shape. Once inside, they discover the fossilized remains of some alien creature, as well as hundreds of eggs inside a gigantic and cavernous deep hold. Kane decides to take a closer look at one of the eggs, noticing some kind of movement within it. As he tries to look inside, a spider like creature jumps out of the egg and attaches itself to Kane’s mask.

Dallas and Lambert bring Kane, who is unconscious, back to the ship. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), second in command and now senior officer on the vessel, refuses to let them re-enter, stating that they must follow the quarantine procedure. Ash (Ian Holm), the science officer, disobeys Ripley’s orders and opens the hatch.

Kane is lying unconscious on the infirmary table. The creature is covering his entire head, its tentacles, looking like long fingers, hugging his face. When Ash tries to make an incision into the creature, it starts to bleed acid that eats through the hull and the decks below. A scan reveals that the creature has penetrated Kane’s mouth and is keeping him alive by feeding him oxygen, thus making the creature’s removal potentially deadly for Kane. They leave the infirmary, unable to determine how to proceed.

A few hours later, Ash calls Dallas back to the infirmary and informs him that the creature has disappeared. They inspect the room and discover its dead carcass. Kane awakens, feeling disorientated and a bit ill. Later, he joins the crew around the dinner table. Still queasy, he proceeds to eat, slowly. Suddenly, he starts convulsing and the alien, now in a more evolved state, rips through his shirt, emerging from his stomach. The crew is too stunned to find any proper course of action, and the creature escapes, leaving Kane’s dead body behind.

A hunt for the alien is now underway through the shafts and corridors of the ship. One by one, each member of the crew falls victim to the now monstrous creature. After Dallas is killed, Ripley now in command of the ship, goes to Mother hoping to get help and find a way to kill the beast. Through her questioning, she discovers that their true mission is in fact to bring back a life form, at any cost. Ash, who was aware of the mission all along, walks in on Ripley and tries to stop her from aborting the mission. A fight ensues, and with the assistance of the other 2 remaining crewmembers, Ash is defeated and the blows that he receives serve to expose his true identity: he is a robot, sent to ensure the success of the mission, and with a profound respect and admiration for the perfection of the Alien.

The 3 survivors decide to use one of the shuttles to escape and to blow the alien up with the Nostromo. But the creature continues to kill and soon only Ripley survives. After an intense battle, Ripley finally defeats the Alien. She files her report of the events before entering hypersleep for the long journey home.