What's it about? Scientists (led by a grizzly Kurt Russell) in an isolated Antarctic outpost are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

Why's it better? John Carpenter's taut direction coupled with the fear and paranoia of not knowing who was affected tapped into the AIDS epidemic of its day. As brilliant as this claustrophobic horror is, it only just edges the original which was way ahead of its time.