Aliens & Galaxy of Terror

James Cameron’s Aliens: Theatrical Cut
(R, 1986, 137 min)
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind’s first encounter with the monstrous alien. After floating in space for 57 years, her shuttle is found by a deep space salvage team. Upon arriving at LV-426, the marines find only one survivor, a nine-year-old girl named Newt. But even these battle-hardened marines with all the latest weaponry are no match for the hundreds of aliens that have invaded the colony. 

Followed by:

Bruce D. Clark’s Galaxy of Terror
(R, 1981, 81 min)
This sci-fi horror is not technically co-directed by James Cameron—but is basically co-sculpted by James Cameron, who assumed production/costume/SFX design duties and made it a very dry run for techniques later used in “Aliens.” An intergalactic salvage crew is called to a barren planet to check on the survivor of a previous mission, but in the process after discovering a foreboding space pyramid, each crew member is picked off by a completely different monster ranging from a space werewolf to a dude’s own maggoty severed arm!