Great Scott

After months (you could argue years or even decades) of buildup, Ridley Scott's new science fiction film Prometheus is arriving in theaters in the U.S. this Friday. He has tried to play it coy as to how much of a true prequel it really is to his original 1979 film Alien, perhaps juggling an artistic desire to not be seen as repeating himself with the private thrill of revisiting some of his earliest work after a long career of experience.

Meanwhile, the marketing of the film has been something I've tried to actively avoid as much as possible. From what I hear (and have, unfortunately, seen snippets of on too many occasions), increasingly spoiler-filled and lengthy commercials and trailers have been giving away too much of the game. It feels like the studio, once frightened that no one would be interested in seeing a prequel to a three-decade old movie, are now instead simply terrified that no one will go to see their movie.

As I recently noted, Alien is one of my favorite films. Ridley Scott's spectacular directing there is enough to make me want to see Prometheus no matter what it is. And with the new film just around the corner, I felt compelled to watch Alien again, no matter how strong or weak the connection is between it and the new film.

Alien still works marvelously. It's a near-perfect blend of respecting several tried and true horror conventions while turning others on their ear.

The pacing is purposefully slow, just fast enough to keep your interest, but slow enough to ratchet up the tension and make you start anticipating scares that aren't even there. Too many horror movies are too quick to get to the massacre, dispensing with any true anxiety and going straight for revulsion.

The concept of the movie is truly horrifying too -- a monstrous creature that cannot be reasoned with, wants nothing but to kill you, and can't be killed itself without endangering you. Just when you think you understand it and how terrifying it is, it transforms itself into a whole new horror, from something that will knock you in a coma and feed off you, to something that will gestate inside your body until it fatally bursts out of your chest, to a giant two-mouthed menace that will impale and crush you all at the same time. And to top it off, the hapless characters find themselves facing this monster to begin with because they were twice betrayed from within -- once by a heartless corporation looking to profit by any means, and once by a member of the crew itself who isn't at all what he seems.

The characters aren't typical teens lined up for the slaughter, nor are they heroic bad-asses equal to the threat. They're decidedly blue collar workers whose main concern before this is simply to get paid. They're more honest and real people than most horror movies get. And they defy stereotypes even in the way they die; the male captain you expect to be the hero is supplanted by a female protagonist who makes it through the crisis.

The acting is wonderful throughout. Particularly good are Veronica Cartwright as Lambert (so weak and emotional you can't stand it, even if realistically speaking, you can understand it, given the circumstances), Ian Holm as Ash (unnervingly cold, a psychopath at the core without any of the typical histrionics), and of course Sigourney Weaver as Ripley (believably vulnerable and strong at different moments throughout the film).

The musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is phenomenal. Before his death, he admitted in interviews that his work had been compromised by the editor and by Ridley Scott, with many moments "dialed down" in the mix, and two major cues replaced entirely -- once by work he'd done for another film entirely, and once by work from a completely different composer. But not only does the music still work in context to augment the already tense proceedings, the soundtrack album of the film reveals his intended composition in all its glory.

If Prometheus turns out to be even half as good as Alien, it will be a truly good movie indeed. Alien remains a grade A film in my book.