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Alien
- Review Date: February 23, 2005
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 1979
Common Sense Media says
Dated, but still scary. Not for younger kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that, while the demonic space monsters at the center of this 1979 classic shocker have since been overexposed via inferior sequels, video games, parodies, and comic books (even Superman battled them!), some of the best minds in cinema tried to ensure this movie would be a nightmare-inducer. Keep that in mind. Indeed, small kids are better off with E.T. Teens can take it for the thrill-ride that it is, and perhaps even discuss why they think it works so well (or doesn't) in evoking elemental terror.
What's the story?
The Nostromo, a cavernous and ill-lit interstellar mining ship, is manned by a miniscule crew of seven. They are awakened out of hibernation by an order from faraway Earth to investigate a mysterious distress signal on a dark and stormy planet. There the miners find a huge, grounded spaceship from an unknown civilization, with a long-dead alien pilot. A parasite, apparently the same type that took down the other craft, affixes to the face of a Nostromo crewman. After the crewman seems to recover, a hostile newborn alien bursts out of the doomed man's chest in front of the rest of the crew. The crew struggles to kill the fast-moving, fast-growing, unwelcome visitor before it gets them.
Is it any good?
Kids like scary movies. And being scary, in new and disturbing ways that hadn't been done before, was the mission of ALIEN. For a generation of moviegoers, Alien was a state-of-the-art shocker, even though it basically has a second-hand monster plot and characters that behave like cliched horror-movie victims, wandering alone in the dark or waiting like sitting ducks to be picked off. Alien did defy stereotypes of its time in the brilliant move of making the ultimate survivor a vulnerable-looking young woman, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who in the intense finale is literally paralyzed with terror, yet manages to fight back against the alien marauder.
The 25th-annivesary DVD of Alien includes a few minutes of restored footage of what the alien does with captured prey -- stuff that was once considered too grim for 1979, but no surprise for anyone who saw the sequel Aliens, or any of the later follow-ups. Most of the violence here, in fact, is suggested in quick edits rather than directly shown, just like the skittering, skeletal/serpentine alien parasite itself. While this once-shadowy monster species has since been exposed via inferior sequels, video games and comic books (even Superman battled them!) some of the best minds in cinema tried to ensure this movie would be a nightmare-inducer, and parents should keep that in mind. Small kids are better off with E.T. Adolescents Teens can take it for the thrill-ride that it is.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why the movie was so effective (or not) in evoking fear.
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Kid, 12 years old
July 27, 2011
AGE
The Greatest Movie Ever!!!
Alien is the greatest movie of all time. It's 1 for kids of all ages. It appeals to 7 & 8 year olds & it was even marketed to them. I have no idea whether kids would find it scary or not. I watched it when I was about 7 & I didn't find it scary, but I'm already very used to Horror Thrillers at that age. It isn't very violent, it's very tame by today's standards. There's hardly any swearing. Nothing else is an issue. & now I can finally start my real review. Alien blends the perfect amount of suspense with the Sci Fi Discovery element. The 1st few scenes introduce the universe, time frame, environment & characters. Ridley Scott demonstrated the height of his directing ability in these scenes. Suspense is once again perfectly combined with The Sci Fi Discovery Aspect. They then slowly advanced the storyline into the point of the S.O.S. Signal & they begin to investigate the planet. The scene where Kane discovers the Alien eggs is 1 of the greatest shots in movie history, perfectly executed by Ridley Scott. That scene is only bettered by the chestburster scene that comes up a few shots later. This is the point of change in pace & the feel of the movie. It shifts from a slow-paced exploration & discovery feel to a suspense rollercoaster. The movie gets significantly faster in pacing. The 1st few scenes might be too slow for some people, but the key to liking them is appreciation & paying close attention, especially to detail. The ending is a legendary landmark in Sci-Fi, just like how the whole movie is a landmark in Sci-Fi Thrillers & Sci-Fi Horrors. Alien is the greatest movie ever, & it's for the whole family. I give it what would be the equivalent of a PG-13 in America & 6 stars
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AGE
Has anybody relised that this website likes any movie that has a good female role, and has even gone out of the way to metion it. Also, who cares about connsumerism? Any product placment in any movie gets instantly flagged along with any kind of kissing. Since when has kissing been considered sexual content. Every time I read this website it makes me angry! Parents, you need to know how to govern your kids and not have some idiotic website tell you how.
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AGE
A classic Horror
This movie is very suspensful and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole movie. Suprisingly there was not much blood and gore. You should see this movie it's very good.
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AGE
One of the best sci-fi/horror flicks of all time!
My rating: PG-13 for frightening and tense situations, a scene of alien violence and gore, and some language.
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AGE
pretty intense
The movie had a pretty violent scene, but only once and it was pretty short. The rest wasn't too violent, around a PG-13 level.
There are a few jump scenes but it isn't that scary.
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AGE
reat but gory
This movie is very violent and it is for teens and up there is some language and a scene where sigourney Weaver is in her underpants but it isn't sexual so wait to watch this till the day you turn a teen
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Kid, 11 years old
November 26, 2010
AGE
This is a great movie. If it had been made this year it would have been PG-13. There was one use of f****r and more language like that. The violence was not for younger kids. There is blood and gore. It had a good message that good overpowers evil and that you should use teamwork.
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Kid, 12 years old
January 11, 2011
AGE
FUNNY!
this film is not as scary as i expected it to be, it was really funny when a alien came out of a mans stomach LOLOLOL
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AGE
A must see!
Very gory, but also very exciting. It's a classic for a reason; it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Everyone who loves horror films should see this at least once. It's one of the best!
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AGE
Great classic, but sometimes boring.
A very good classic.
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| Studio: | Fox Searchlight |
| Director: | Ridley Scott |
| Cast: | Harry Dean Stanton, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 124 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 24, 1979 |
| DVD release date: | January 1, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | sci-fi violence/gore and language |
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