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Originally Posted by Wormius

I will have to go back and read original reviews for Alien and Aliens. I don't think either were regarded as much more than just cool action flicks, though Alien being more on the horror side of the spectrum.

From the wikipedia entry on Aliens:

The film had no official premier in the United States, yet moviegoers lined up for blocks to see it at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood where a number of models, sets, and props were displayed outside to promote it during its first run.[58][65] Religious zealots set fire to the model of the space jockey, believing it to be the work of the devil.[58] Alien did have a formal premiere in the United Kingdom at the Odeon Leicester Square on September 6, 1979, but it did not open widely in Britain until January 13, 1980.[58]
Critical reaction to the film was initially mixed. Some critics who were not usually favorable towards science fiction, such as Barry Norman of the BBC's Film series, were positive about the film's merits.[58] Others, however, were not: Reviews by Variety, Sight and Sound, Vincent Canby and Leonard Maltin were mixed or negative.[73] A review by Time Out said the film was an "empty bag of tricks whose production values and expensive trickery cannot disguise imaginative poverty"