Ridley Scott’s ALIEN will always be the blueprint for human vs alien films as most designs seem to resemble closely to that of the amazing H.R. Giger creature. There have been sequels, prequels, and spin-offs now made after this classic, but the original stands out as the one who kept things simple in order to terrify audiences. ALIEN is legit one of my all time favorite movies and am always excited when a new one comes out, but seeing it at the Chicago Critics Film Festival was my first time seeing it on the big screen.

Projected on 35mm, everything just looked that much more scary on the big screen. It’s one of the few films I’ve seen where I was in awe of the surroundings and the set pieces still stand as some of the best. In the sold-out crowd, there were a few who had never seen the movie, which made their screams when a dead face hugger falls on Ripley’s shoulders that much more fun. Sometimes, I forget that this is the movie that launched Sigourney Weaver’s career and she still is one of cinema’s biggest badasses. The everyday blue collar worker approach to this concept makes it feel more real and the characters feel like people we’ve all met or worked with.

This special screening had Tom Skerritt in attendance who seemed just as excited as the audience to be there. He loved how timeless the movie has become and came off almost like one of us geeks sitting there not believing that Dallas was really standing in front of us. Watching the movie with a theater full of Xenomorph fans, Skerritt said it best to us: “I’m one lucky son of a bitch!”

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Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

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