Delayed Reaction: Alien

The Pitch: "Jaws in space." "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in Space". Whatever actual pitch you want to go with, "in space" is apparently a requirement. Personally, I like "William Friedkin presents Star Wars".

Alien is another film in that murky realm of "I've either not seen it before, only partly seen it, or saw it long enough ago that I don't remember it." When in doubt, I like to revisit and give the Delayed Reaction treatment. I'll admit, probably the biggest thing pushing me to see it is a deisre to see everything on The Great Movie Ride at Disney World, and this is probably the best part of the ride.

I think the best thing about this movie is that it refuses to be what it should be. Everything about this has "B-movie Science Fiction" written all over it, and that's not what it is. It's a legitimate scary (arguably horror) movie. It's really not cheesy at all. It takes itself very seriously. The screenplay is patient. It's not in a hurry to put the Alien on the screen, which adds to the tension. There's a lived-in quality to the production design that works with the almost Blue-collar look of the actors. Best of all, despite decades of it being spoiled, the "John Hurt moment" didn't disappoint.

Aspects of the movie are a little dated, but it's clear why this is such a highly regarded and resiliant movie.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend