Classic Alien Movies
Alien Some people wrongfully cite James Camerons big budget sequel as the better of the two movies, but they are missing the point of the films. In Alien the fear is claustrophobic, it is a cosmic fear of the unknown and the fear of being alone and fighting for your life against unimaginable horror. In Aliens the fear is more about jumping frights and shootouts. In this original and best Alien film, Dan OBannon showed that a science fiction film could make money and be commercially and critically successful thanks to his stellar script and the directing by Ridley Scott.
Signs M. Night Shyamalan did a good job of evoking the fear of alien life in this science fiction film. What Shyamalan does best is to keep the focus on the human element of alien abduction and alien terror by showing how a small family in the form of a microcosm for humanity would react in such a situation. Mel Gibson does a good job playing the doubting ex-priest who finds his resolve and life spun on its head with the news of aliens arriving on earth. The film does not linger too much on the actual horror of what the aliens look like, but focuses on the feelings they evoke.
Cloverfield There was a lot of hype around this neo-Godzilla flick by Lost creator/director J.J. Abrams even before anyone knew anythinga bout the project. The idea of a giant, alien monster wrecking havoc on a city is a classic monster movie clich, but Abrams tried to put a new spin on it by putting the camera in a group of young peoples hands to show their viewpoint of the alien attack and how they responded. Many praised the design of the Cloverfield monster and its ability to destroy everything in its path. You might as well have been shooting it with a paintball gun for all the damage normal bullets did to it. Look for a sequel in late 2010 or early 2011.
