There are a number of classic movies I have yet to watch. In my defense… a lot of these movies came out decades before I existed (simpler times one might say). So I’ve been slowly but surely trying to watch these movies that can sometimes still have Pop Culture in a chokehold.

One of those movies happened to be on Peacock the other night while I was looking for a throwback — 1979’s “Alien.”

I already was familiar with the film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. (I’m a big fan of Weaver ever since I saw her portray the villainous Warden in “Holes.”) And I’ve certainly seen my fair share of references to the titular monster in this sci-fi film.

However, I really did go in relatively blind to just how the Alien came to be and what Weaver’s character — Ripley — would go through.

“Alien” follows a typical space crew that are woken from their stasis sleep due to a potential distress signal coming from a nearby planet.

Protocol dictated they go to this planet to determine the source of this signal. And, of course, the crew is hit with bad luck from the start.

First, their ship breaks down and a major storm seems to be raging on the planet’s surface. Not to be deterred, ship captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) insists he and Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt) and Navigator Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) head out in search of the distress signal.

What they find is a crashed spaceship and alien corpses… normal space stuff I’d assume.

While exploring a tunnel within the ship, Kane comes across a cropping of eggs — one of which begins to move. Before we know it, Kane becomes host to what’s commonly known today as the Face Hugger.

Dallas and Lambert rush an unconscious Kane back to the ship where Ripley, who serves as Warrant Officer, refuses to let them back on the ship. THIS is where we learn to just listen to Ripley.

Ripley emphasizes protocol, which states the three would need to remain confined for 24 hours due to Kane’s potential contamination. However, she’s overruled when Ash (Ian Holm), the ship’s science officer, opens the doors and lets them in.

From there, it’s a slow and often terrifying journey to the alien creature many of us could recognize even without the movie.

I won’t go into details much more, just in case some of you — like myself — haven’t watched the movie yet.

Suffice to say, this movie had really great pacing and quite a number of jumpscares.

At first, I felt it was moving at a bit of a glacial pace. I’m glad I withhold that as my final judgment. Those slow, quiet moments are what really emphasized the spine tingling jump scares and gore that often went with it.

Through my research I learned that Scott was very calculated in how often he let the alien be seen. In past interviews, he explained he cast the creature in shadow as a way to create a fear of the unknown. Which… he’s right. I’m often more afraid of what I can’t see rather than what I CAN.

I also can’t give enough credit to the special effects crew — in particular the practical effects. For a movie made in 1979, it really, really holds up well. I genuinely never felt pulled out of the story due to any of the effects.

In particular, the face hugger scenes and the chest burster scene were done extremely well. I learned in my research that, during the chest burster scene, the cast wasn’t forewarned there’d be fake blood. The cast’s reaction was genuine when the alien creature burst forth from Kane’s chest. The puppet itself also looked very realistic.

Overall, and as I’ve said repeatedly in my other reviews, movies really need to get back to practical effects. CGI and green screens can be helpful, but sometimes you need that physical set and costumes to really make it feel more tangible. CGI can age really badly, but special effects — when done right like in “Alien” — can really stand the test of time.

Practical effects aside, one thing I learned from this movie — Ripley was right. Had Ash not ignored her orders, and she’d been able to keep her three crew members separated… the majority of the crew could have survived.

Instead, Ripley and the ship’s feline companion, Jones, were the only survivors of a terrifying massacre.

I’m planning on eventually diving into the entire “Alien” universe. I know Ripley’s story is far from done after she manages to escape the alien, and I’d be curious to watch her develop over the films. If I do get the opportunity, I might bring you readers along for the ride!

“Alien” was definitely a 10/10 film for me and I’d recommend it to any sci-fi or horror fans. I can clearly see why it’s such a classic and well known film.

“Alien” is rated R and may be watched on Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV and Fandango.

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Laura Jameson is Managing Editor of The Express.