Dir: James Cameron, 1986 (9*)
Cameron’s best-paced film, eons above the first Alien film, which even star Sigourney Weaver calls "basically And Then There Were None, in space". [This was an Agatha Christie book, later a good b&w film, in which each character dies until there's one left, who must be the murderer, right?]

In the sequel, Weaver reluctantly returns to the planet that started it all in order to help The Corporaton save its endangered colonists when all communication has been cut off; she realizes she's the only one experienced with whatever's out there. Paul Reiser is a corrupt corporate stooge, looking for a possible profitable weapon, Bill Paxton is hilarious as a marine who knows "we’re getting our asses kicked!". The creatures, created by artist H.R. Giger, are truly terrifying. The action is almost non-stop, yet entirely believable, and is sped along by a 'countdown' plot device. Never have horror and science fiction been merged so well, becoming a classic of each genre.
Quote:
Paxton: We're doomed, game over, man!
Weaver: This little girl survived.
Paxton: Then why don’t you put her in charge?