--- title: "Alien: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/alien/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/alien" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 6 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Alien (1979): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 6 reviews: 5 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics praise Alien for the patience of its suspense and the conviction of its physical world. The strongest agreement concerns the production design, H.R. Giger’s creature and Ridley Scott’s ability to make a confined spaceship sustain an atmosphere of dread. The performances also draw praise, with Radio Times singling out Sigourney Weaver. Across the favourable reviews, the combination of gothic horror and science fiction remains effective despite the familiarity of the monster-story ingredients. The disagreement concerns how much those ingredients can support. The Guardian admires the technical control and shocks while finding little plot development or characterisation. The New Yorker is the sharp dissenter, finding the crew uninteresting and the plotting repetitive, with impressive effects insufficient to relieve the boredom. The spread is therefore wide, though heavily positive: most critics find the atmosphere persuasive enough to outweigh reservations about familiarity and dated elements. ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 5/5. The critic calls it a bona fide classic and a seamless blend of gothic horror and science fiction. They single out the top-notch acting, especially Sigourney Weaver, and the imaginative bio-mechanical production design with HR Giger's alien. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-u45wo6/alien/) ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1979. The critic praises the film's groundbreaking visual design by H.R. Giger and Ridley Scott's direction, highlighting its tactile world and influence on sci-fi horror. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-alien-review/) ## Total Film Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2003. The review celebrates the opportunity to see the original Alien on the big screen, emphasizing its masterful build-up of tension and timeless quality. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/alien-the-directors-cut-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Jeremiah Kipp Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2003. The critic praises the film's enduring atmosphere of dread created through production design and H.R. Giger's creature, calling it one of the most artfully directed and well-acted slasher movies. They note it remains effective despite some dated elements and single out the late-1970s distrust of corporate authority as a welcome thematic edge. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/alien/) ## The New Yorker — Brendan Gill Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 June 1979. The critic dismisses the film as boring and unconvincing, criticizing the crew as uninteresting slobs and the alien as not worth serious attention beyond a few scares. He notes the special effects are impressive but ultimately fails to engage due to repetitive plotting and dated elements. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1979/06/11/flying-high) ## Sight and Sound — Philip Strick 6 September 1979. The critic sees the film as expressing a British xenophobia through its invasion nightmare theme. They single out the luminous photography, production design and Giger creature for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/alien-archive-review-spectacularly-british-xenophobia) ## The Guardian — Derek Malcolm 13 October 2009. Ridley Scott's Alien delivers profuse cinematic shocks and masterful technical artifice in a confined spaceship setting, but its story is a familiar mix of older monster films with little plot development or characterization. It deserves its success for expertly manipulating a cynical audience through sheer theatricality and atmosphere, even if it falls short of great art. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/13/derek-malcolm-alien-review) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby 25 May 1979. The critic finds the film an effectively eerie Gothic tale set in space, with strong buildup of tension aboard the Nostromo as the crew encounters an alien life form. Praise is given to the elaborate production and the cast's performances in building suspense. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/25/archives/screen-alien-brings-chills-from-the-far-galaxya-gothic-set-in-space.html) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez Rating A+. 14 May 2010. The critic calls it still Scott’s greatest film, an exercise in minimalistic terror with the most unknowable, terrifying extraterrestrial creature ever seen on screen. It retains its power to terrify even after years of homages, rip-offs and sequels. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/ridley-scott-neccesary-reevaluation-20100514/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/alien.md