8: Aliens (1986)

8: Aliens (1986) - Punch it, Bishop!
Ridley Scott had not only ended the original Alien with a huge explosion, but likewise lied about the film being over at that point, arguably inventing 'the fourth act' when Ripley discovers that she has an unwelcome shipmate. In this much, James Cameron stuck to the template, as Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop fly out of the blast-zone of the reactor on LV-421. Some effects out-takes on the Alien Quadrilogy documentary for the film show the nuclear mushroom cloud to be a semi-transparent model being pushed up with a strong light-source underneath it.

Impact: James Horner's rousing score caused him so much stress that he injured his back during the composing sessions, and that tension really comes out to deliver the full punch of this last-second escape from terror. Additionally we have only just found out that Ash is not going to betray Ripley and Newt, a source of tension that has been hanging over the narrative for two hours. One of the most exciting cinematic escapes of the 1980s,and it all seems to have been done with cotton wool, good editing and great music.

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