Alien

Obviously, the predecessor to “Aliens,” which I liked, so I was curious to see what might have spawned it. Different kind of picture altogether. Ridley Scott directed. I'd heard it described as a haunted house picture in outer space, and that's not a bad characterization. The monster is lurking, and the characters go poking around in dark places looking for it, and usually they find it... or vice versa. Not usually my genre (I'm more the “Aliens” type--you know, shoot-'em-up) but this is quite well done. It really sets the mood and the tone, and you can't get away from it. The whole environment is superbly constructed; you really feel like you are there, and you don't want to be. This is one of the earlier depictions of the future as grimy and messy, not neat and shiny, and the tradition is carried on in the sequel. Anyway, it's kind of a tiring movie to watch, because you realize at the end that you have been half holding your breath throughout the entire thing. Which I guess is a pretty strong endorsement.