13 Movies That Only IMPROVE With Age

By Jack Pooley /

12. Alien

Fox

The recent 40th anniversary re-release of Ridley Scott's Alien has served as the perfect reminder of just how mesmerising the unassailable sci-fi classic continues to be.

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But beyond the stately nature of its new 4K remaster, Scott's film continues to endure as a taut, claustrophobic masterpiece even as both mainstream horror and even the Alien series itself have proven themselves maddeningly inconsistent in its wake.

Aside from the Nostromo's glaringly outdated CTR monitors, there are few hallmarks that Alien is anything approaching an "old" movie.

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And as contemporary filmmaking in a similar vein relies on oft-unconvincing visual effects - case in point, Alien: Covenant - the practical, stripped-down terror of the original continues to rein supreme.

Unencumbered by the excess plotting which defines most contemporary "Alien-esque" movies, Alien remains a breath of fresh air 40 years later, and remains a firm tonic for the tendency for modern genre fare to over-complicate itself while under-nourishing the audience in the process.

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The recent remaster, meanwhile, is the icing on the cake, underlining just how impeccable the overall production design truly is.