Ridley Scott's original Alien is one of those rare movies that manages to get every single thing right. It has held up extremely well despite being almost 30 years old already.

The story seems like the run-o'-the-mill space monster...
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Ridley Scott's original Alien is one of those rare movies that manages to get every single thing right. It has held up extremely well despite being almost 30 years old already.

The story seems like the run-o'-the-mill space monster pictures of yore--and it kind of is--, but it is so expertly crafted and paced that it never feels derivative.

The characters are expertly written and acted, making them seem more realistic and drawing you into the movie even more. None of the characters feel wooden or cliched.

Due to their mainly abstract nature, the visuals have held up surprisingly well. You can't even tell this movie was made on a shoestring budget. We never get to see a full exposure of the alien (who may be the single coolest monster in the history of cinema) like in most of these types of movies, an expert twist that keeps the monster scary.

This film is one of the only horror films that actually manages to genuinely scare me. This may be due to the excellent pacing and set-up behind the scares. None of these scares feel forced at all. It may also be because of the frightening monster design. Either way, it's scary as hell.

Overall, Alien is my personal favorite movies of all time. It has aged rather gracefully and spawned one of the best franchises in movie history (if you ignore the crapfest that is Alien Resurrection and the entire AvP franchise). I also recommend seeing the sequel Aliens. It's one of the rare sequels that is just as good, if not better, than the original. Still, if you miss either one, you are missing out on a fine slice of movie history.