Space Movies Part II -- Horror

[moviethinker]

Alien by Ridley Scott (1979) is probably the most perfect movie ever made that takes place in space. It is an intense and terrifying horror story. Scott and writer Dan O'Bannon give us astronauts who are not. They are not scientists or soldiers. The space crate Nostromo is a commercial vehicle, and the people onboard are basically space-truckers.

Comments

[4_eyez]

When Alien came out in the late 70s, it was a huge phenomenon. I don't think anyone had ever made a scary outer-space movie like that before. My mom actually saw the movie and was freaked out. She forbade me from ever seeing it, even though I had no interest. (I was only about 12 at the time.) Later on in life, when I had the opportunity to see Alien, my memory of my mom's reaction to it was so strong that I scared myself out of seeing it. I made do with the comic book adaptation (by Archie Goodwin & Walter Simonson), which was plenty scary on its own. And I caught an edited version of it on TV, which also scared the heck out of me. Finally, years later, like when I was in college, I finally got up the nerve to see the uncut version, and it lived up to its billing. By that time, I had been desensitized enough by our violent society that I was able to draw some kind of enjoyment from the experience.

Also, how can you talk about scary space movies and not mention John Carpenter's The Thing? I know it doesn't take place in space, but

[moviethinker]

Well, I've actually never seen "The Thing" Which is why I didn't write anything about it. I don't remember the first time I saw "Alien," but I do remember a few times in college watching it with people who had never seen it before and they sure did jump out of their skin a few times.

[4_eyez]

dude: go out and rent the thing right now! it's so good -- even the cheesy 80s sfx are scary.

i'd love to know what you think of it