10 Horror Movies That Prove Less Is More
6. Alien
It is impossible to discuss less-is-more filmmaking in the horror genre without foregrounding one of its pioneers - Ridley Scott's Alien.
Though on paper its premise isn't any different from a typical slasher film, Scott's understated approach focuses less on the man-in-suit Xenomorph than it does the cavernous, H.R. Giger-designed ship, and the anxious hum of isolation as the Nostromo's numbers get whittled down.
Its few brief bursts of violence aside, Alien is notable for barely giving the audience a full glimpse of the Xenomorph at all, intentionally cloaking it in shadow, keeping its complete profile hidden, and providing only fleeting flashes of its brutal blood-letting.
Alien is far more concerned with stomach-knotting suspense and sheer atmosphere, in turn creating an unforgettable genre masterwork which has aged like a fine wine in the forty-plus years since.
Unsurprisingly, not a single Alien sequel has managed to recapture that same sense of gut-wrenching anxiety - and quite sensibly, James Cameron's Aliens didn't even try, opting instead to fashion itself as a brilliantly exhausting, full-throttle bug hunt.