Alien
ALIEN is one of those timeless films that will forever remain iconic, and rightfully so. The aesthetic of this film combines sexuality, gothic, and mechanical styles in a way that is as horrifying as it is visually striking. The sheer amount of atmosphere and tension that Ridley Scott was able to craft with this film was honestly incredible, and that's why this film remains one of my all time favorites.
There was nothing like ALIEN at the time it was released in the late 1970's. Two years before this, the original 1977 Star Wars was released to the public, and despite how much I adore that film and how much it inspired me, every studio frantically tried to replicate the success and heart that George Lucas' epic had. Most of these films failed, but Ridley Scott wanted to take the science fiction genre in a different direction by combining it with the horror genre.
At the time, this was completely unheard of, and to this day, it's what makes this film so unique: it's a genre defying epic that's just as horrifying and thrilling as it is entertaining. ALIEN was one of the first films to do this, and in return opened so many doors as to where the genre could go from where it was currently at.
Although we're on the Nostromo for the entire film for the most part, Scott perfectly establishes his universe from the very first frame of ALIEN. What makes this film also great is the writing, which acknowledges that in order to make a creature horrifying and threatening, you have to develop great characters that the audience will want to survive. It's what defies great horror flicks from the B-grade horror films that are barely remembered weeks after they are released to the public.
Everything about this film is great. ALIEN is a horrifying, beautiful piece of art that will be remembered forever, and still holds up to this very day. There's so much passion bleeding throughout this film, and it shows. Despite some people not liking where other filmmakers (and even Scott) took the franchise, it's important to always remember where it began, and WHY it began. Rewatching this film just makes me appreciate it more. ALIEN is a film that just gets better and better with every rewatch, and feels like you're watching it for the first time every time you press play. 10/10