todd has identified the recognized unfortunate change in horror movies that has taken place over the past two decades or so. Alien is widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all time (and rightly imo) simply because for the vast majority of the movie there is buildup - and suspense, not scare is where viewers have the chase to get all worked up. the alien is infinitely less scary in the subsequent movies because we know whats there. because you never see the alien in the first movie, and its shape and size and teeth and claws are so undefined, the imagination is given free rein to identify with whatever the particular viewer fears (todds instance identification with claustrophobia for instance - notice that those with fear of the dark will be also affected, and so on. the lack of muscly clearly-soon-to-be triumphant-XYY men puts the viewer on unsure footing by denying conventional expectations. todds idea for a movie is so cheap and so on the money that it should be made... and it would be a success on the level of clerks or something like that im sure.
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