The Thing is terrific. The horrific obscenity is quite cringing to watch, which makes for a great film. But I have to go with Alien. The story is involved, adventurous and horrifying all balanced quite well. I was a lot more captivated by Alien then The Thing. Still both great movies.

The Thing: 6
Alien: 8

Alien is a haunted house movie in space. Brilliantly done and has stood the test of time so well but The Thing is something else entirely.

We STILL don't know the ending of The Thing and throughout the film you haven't got a clue who is next, what the frig they will turn into or what the hell The Thing is in the first place. In Alien we eventually see what it is that's stalking and who is next.

I think that the production values and assured direction by Scott gives the film much more kudos than it deserves.

Alien 7
The Thing 7

unless I have got my figures wrong.

You do, Jackhammer. The voting is now...

Alien - 8
The Thing - 7

EDIT- BTW, are we starting up another war soon?

Ambiguity doesn't necessarily make for a better movie. A more suspenseful and scary movie perhaps, but not intrinsically better.

Production values and assured direction can (and do in Alien's case) make a film great.

Keep sending me suggestions!

In the mean time I'll throw in one of my own... modern war films.

I haven't seen Black Hawk Down in 10 years so I'll have to revisit it before I vote. The Hurt Locker was damn good, but something held it back from being great for me. I'll also probably revisit it just to be comprehensive.

I'm going to have to go with The Hurt Locker, although I do think Black Hawk Down is a brilliant movie, even if it is responsible for the whole "shaky cam" trope with action movies these days. I've got a massive boner for Kathryn Bigelow so that probably counts for a lot too.

The Hurt Locker - 1
Black Hawk Down - 0

The Hurt Locker because the story is much more personal.

The Hurt Locker - 2
Black Hawk Down - 0

Gonna agree for the same reason. Black Hawk Down is better visually, and is more action-packed, but it's nowhere near as personal or powerful as The Hurt Locker.

The Hurt Locker - 3
Black Hawk Down - 0

Another tough one to pick. I gotta get Black Hawk Down rolling with a pick though. I consider these two movies equal in just about every aspect. I felt BHD was a little more riveting in the edge of your seat aspect. I never felt any sense of urgency with The Hurt Locker, Renner was exceptional in the roll though and some of the explosions were epic and I really loved the sniper scene, very realistic.

Hurt Locker-3
Black Hawk Down-1