The following is one of Rabid Doll’s Top 13 horror films of all times picks. We highly recommend this flick for excellent Halloween viewing.  "Alien," the 1979 blockbuster that spawned three-and-a-half sequels and countless parodies, held its own in a year "The China Syndrome" became the movie to see. Most horror movies paled in comparison to the real-life horror of the March 28, 1979, accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, which sent so many people flocking to the movies to see the Jane Fonda/Jack Lemmon flick about an accident at a nuclear power plant. The movie had premiered 12 days before to a modest audience. Then, the TMI accident occurred and people flocked to theatres to see it for months after that. Despite this, "Alien," which premiered in May 1979, distinguished itself as it did, not only because of the slick, taut, smartly executed sci-fi/horror story it presented, and not only because of the sheer terror created by one of the most frightening creatures in sci-fi or horror movies, but because it depicted first real kick-ass female hero to grace the big screen. It made Sigourney Weaver an actress who soon was on the "A-list" as a feminist icon on easily a par with Fonda. Nobody could predict that Weaver's Ripley would emerge to be the one character among a crew of gruff, tough men, and a killer android, who survived the deadly cat and mouse game played by the tentacled menace. After all, her character was female. She was third in command, and with the likes of Tom Skerritt , Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt, and Ian Holmes in the cast, the pretty unknown actress seemed certain to be alien food in no time. The story presents Nostromo, a commercial towing spaceship returning to Earth from a job, towing a refinery and mineral ore and carrying its crew in stasis. A transmission from a nearby planet causes the ship's computer to awaken the crew. On orders from the corporation that employs them, the crew lands the Nostromo on the planet, which results in damage to the ship. Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt), and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) leave the ship to investigate the source of the signal. They find that the signal is coming from an abandoned alien spaceship. Inside the ship they discover the corpse of a giant alien creature. While they investigate the body, Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who is still on Nostromo, determines that the transmission is a warning. Kane discovers clusters of eggs on the figure. One of the eggs bursts open, and a creature jumps out of it and plants itself on his face. Despite all efforts, it is impossible for anyone to remove it. Eventually, the creature detaches itself. In his apparent recovery, Kane gives birth to the much-parodied scene. He suddenly writhes in pain, spurting blood from his abdomen, which bursts open as a sharp-toothed, serpentine creature emerges, and quickly escapes into bowels of the ship. The hunt begins, with the alien as the predator (not to be confused with Predator), and the crew as the prey. One-by-one, each character is picked off by the creature, leaving Ripley and an over-indulged cat as the last surviving inhabitants of the ship. After many attempts to destroy the creature, Ripley sets Nostromo on self-destruct, and escapes with the cat in a space shuttle. She puts herself and the cat into stasis, and that's where she remains until someone comes up with the idea to do an award-winning sequel seven years later. "Alien" was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and directed by Ridley Scott. It remains a classic film in both science fiction and horror genres, and is still as intense a movie today as it was almost 30 years ago. For more information about Rabid Doll's Top 13 horror movies, click here. Express yourself and be part of the news! Leave a comment below or join our rabid discussions on the SyBoards.