inky i think it's pretty cool that you got that reaction, even though you probably didn't enjoy it at the time.
i watched it again recently and i still think it breaks some sort of boundary, but what's weird is that my perception of that boundary changes as i get older. it's still pretty frightening, but right now i'm more impressed with the detail of the universe it creates.
for the timeframe, and the budget, i'm pretty sure it stands out as an evolved object?