Reviewers generally agreed "Aliens" was a worthy successor to "Alien". "Variety" and Walter Goodman said it could not replicate the novelty of "Alien", but "Aliens" compensated with special effects, technique, and a constant stream of set-piece thrills and scary scenes. "Variety" added "Aliens" was made by an expert craftsman, implying its predecessor was more artistic endeavor. Sheila Benson said "Aliens" was clever and ironically funny, but lacked "Alien" pure horror. Benson attributed this to an overabundance of creature effects in the intervening years, particularly the 1982 science-fiction horror film "The Thing" (which, Benson said, took alien monstrosities to an extreme).