Alien (1979)

 

After a space merchant vessel receives an unknown transmission as a distress call, one of the crew is attacked by a mysterious life form and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun. 

Superbly directed and highly suspenseful sci-fi thriller, the decrepit spaceship design and especially the truly abhorrent creation of the alien still influence sci-fi and horror movies to this day.

On re-watching: a classic of its genre that reveals new details on every new viewing.

Halliwell****: "Deliberately scarifying and highly commercial shocker. On its own terms, a classic of suspense - and art direction."

Maltin***1/2: "Space-age horror film reverts to 1950s formula, but unfolds at a deliberate pace, populates the story with interesting, colorful characters, and plants its (genuine) shock moments with exceptional skill. Imitated but seldom equaled." 

Screamers (1995)

 

A military commander stationed off planet during an interplanetary war travels through the devastated landscape to negotiate a peace treaty, but discovers that the primitive robots they built to kill enemy combatants have gained sentience. 

Superior sci-fi action drama successfully translates Philip K. Dick's dark imagination into a suspenseful and atmospheric thriller.

Halliwell*: "Paranoid science fiction, bleak in tone but interesting in its speculations about intelligent machines and violent people; judging by the soundtrack song, rock music will regress in the future."

Maltin**1/2: "Intelligent sci-fi action thriller is undermined by a bad ending." 

Dead & Buried (1981)

 

In a small coastal town where, after a series of gory murders committed by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses begin to come back to life.

From memory: Above-average zombie horror movie has creepy atmosphere and some good (gory) effects.

Halliwell (no star): "Cheap horror movie along familiar and predictable lines."

Maltin**1/2: "Gory but well-made chiller..."

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.

Dark Star (1974)

In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.

Amazingly entertaining and funny low-budget sci-fi spoof that deservedly became a cult hit in the 70s.

Halliwell***: "A semi-professional film turned out to be one of the screen's neatest low-budget entries in the pulp science fiction genre. That doesn't make it wholly entertaining, but its credentials are impeccable."

Maltin**1/2: "Satiric, spaced-out comedy...Enjoyable for sci-fi fans and surfers; stretches its shoestring budget pretty well."