Yeah, don't get me wrong, I liked the sequel. It's a classic, however, it took away the fear factor. Essentially it went from a horror/science fiction film and turned it into a blockbuster/adventure/sci-fi franchise minus the horror. I think what made John Carpenter's The Thing and Alien work was, having multiple intelligent characters being confronted with something beyond both their and the audience's imagination. It's suspense in the classic sense of the horror genre. Not to mention the sexual innuendo that goes beyond teasing at times. I think that the sequel opened a door that should have never been opened. There was no gradual progression, as the sequel pretty much gave you everything so that its now difficult to shock the audience or provide something new to the story. That's why Ridley was stuck trying to reproduce the magic from the first film. Listening to his interviews I'm under the impression he's still attempting to chase it with the Prometheus followup. On the other hand, the Alien: Xenomorph film in production from what I gather is going back to the basics with one creature, one cast. Which sounds more like a horror movie than an action film.
