Alien

On The Structure of Tension in Alien

written by

confettigirl

The pacing of the movie reminds me of the concept of Nishikado Motion, the steadily increasing and decreasing challenge in a video game named for it's inventor, the creator of Space Invaders. Specifically in that the movie is constantly escalating in tension, while still providing a buildup and release to make it feel freshly scary the entire time. In combination with rich, detailed sets and human, natural dialogue the movie is adept at drawing you in and scaring the shit out of you. Quite possibly my favorite horror movie (yet). Also, Sigourney Weaver is possibly one of the most beautiful women ever put to film.