The year is 1979. It’s been 10 years since Kubrick showed, with 2001: A Space Odyssey, that big blockbuster Sci-Fi films were possible and two years since Star Wars blitzed the box office in 1977. Audiences went to watch Alien with a Tattooine induced, intergalactic blockbuster expectation and came away with something new, different and scary. Alien emerged and made sure that no sci-fi film would be the same again.
The eerie confined spaces of The Nostromo created a new claustrophobic feel to space that was absent from the epic galactic blockbusters that preceded it. Never has a tagline (“In Space No One Can Hear You Scream”) been so fitting for a film. However, that is not to say that jumpy sci-fi was a revolutionary concept; what set Alien apart from its contemporaries was its unique ability to unite the suspense of horror and the narrative of sci-fi into a blockbuster epic. It also effectively used visuals as a terror-inducing device. Films such as Day of the Triffids had the ability to spook audiences, but were often tacky and more focussed on entertaining than terrifying. Scott’s artistic vision, a strong element in all of his films 
(even those such as Robin Hood, that struggled with lukewarm plots) was supplemented by Swiss surrealist and VFX supervisor H. R. Giger, creating a darkness, claustrophobia and emptiness not embodied by any film before. Alien was the first true sci-fi horror film and its impact at the time was best conveyed by Editor Terry Rawlings, who claimed the preview of the film was the “most incredible” one he’d ever been in and “people were screaming and running out of the theatre.”
So why does this mean you should see Prometheus? Well, Sir Ridley Scott is back for the first time in 30 years to the genre he pretty much revolutionised, and he’s back with a punch. The trailer conveys what seems to be an intelligent plot with Ridley-esque beautiful visuals. The only worry is that one of the writers is Jon Spaihts who crafted last year’s terrible Darkest Hour, but everyone deserves a second chance, right? Regardless, it’s clear that Ridley is a visual Director. Even if the dialogue is substandard, you can be sure Prometheus is likely to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing releases that will hit cinemas this year.