B-movie material given highly suspenseful direction and imaginative
art design to materialise as a seminal sci-fi/horror fusion. The lack
of character interaction and emotion, often considered a failing, in
fact adds to the terrifying isolation of the Nostromo's crew as the pure
biology of the unknown creature they take on board makes mincemeat of
their own technological defences. Ian Holm and Veronica Cartwright
(originally cast as Ripley) are standouts in the perfectly selected
cast; Weaver gets better and better in the (decreasingly strong) later
outings.
