Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. It is the first movie in what became a large Alien franchise. The film’s title refers to a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature that stalks and attacks the crew of a spaceship.