Back in the day before Sir John Hurt took to being little more than a highly paid cameo-man, he was a great actor and here is a prime example. His merchant ship is travelling through space when it receives a distress call. They stop to help and one of their number becomes infected with a... well, now you have to watch it. Sigourney Weaver is superb as the feisty, no-nonsense "Ripley" who leads the defence against a beastie that has brute strength, determination, intelligence and an astonishing ability to move at speed through the corridors and conduits of the ship. Ridley Scott allows the tension to rise gently and violently, by degree, and the clever use of sound and light; Jerry Goldsmith's tense score and excellent supporting performances from Tom Skerritt and a wonderfully seedy ian Holm make this a seminal sci-fi horror film that still makes you want to hide behind the sofa - 40 years on!
