''The Alpha Incident'' (also known as ''The Alien Incident'', and ''Gift from a Red Planet'') is a 1978 American
science fiction horror film
This is a list of science fiction horror films.
0-9
*'' 4D Man'' (1959)
*'' 9'' (2009)
*'' 9'' (2019)
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E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
*''The Omega Man'' (1971)
*'' Outland'' (1981)
*''Outpost'':
**'' Outpost'' (2008) ...
directed by
Bill Rebane
Bill Rebane (born February 8, 1937) is an American horror movies, film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for low budget movies such as ''Monster a Go-Go'' and ''The Giant Spider Invasion''. Rebane also ran for the governor o ...
and starring
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of '' Mister Roberts'' (1948–1951) and ''Picnic'' ...
, Stafford Morgan, John F. Goff, Carol Irene Newell, and
George "Buck" Flower.
Premise
A
space probe
A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or ...
returns to Earth from
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, carrying with it a deadly organism which has the lethal potential to destroy all life on Earth. Being transported across country by train, the micro-organism is released when a nosy train employee inspects the cargo. This results in an entire train station being quarantined along with government biologist Dr. Sorenson.
Those who are trapped wait for other government scientists to find a cure while trying not to fall asleep―—sleep triggers the microorganism. because that's when the virus strikes. While asleep, the disease causes the brain to swell to the point the skull is fractured.
Although a cure is found, government agents begin killing those who survived the disease as part of a cover up.
Cast
*
Ralph Meeker
Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of '' Mister Roberts'' (1948–1951) and ''Picnic'' ...
as Charlie
*
Stafford Morgan as Dr. Sorensen
*
John F. Goff as Jack Tiller
*
Carol Irene Newell as Jenny
*
George "Buck" Flower as Hank (also as Buck Flower)
*
Paul Bentzen as Dr. Farrell
*John Alderman as Dr. Rogers
*
Ray Szmanda
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
as The Official
*
Lawrence Ripp as The Guard
*
Harry Youstos as Alvin
Release
''The Alpha Incident'' was released for the first time on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by Mill Creek Entertainment on August 30, 2005 as a part of its
''Chilling Classics: 50 Movie Pack''. On August 15, 2006 it was released by Digital 1 Stop, as a part of its
''Nightmare Worlds: 50 Movie Pack''. Mill Creek re-released the film on four separate occasions as a part of various multi-film packs in 2007 and 2008. On August 24, 2010, the film was released as a part of a multi-film pack by Tnt Media Group. On September 21, that same year it was released as a single-feature by Synergy Entertainment.
As of November 2021, the full movie is available on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
.
Reception
''The Alpha Incident'' received mostly negative reviews upon its release.
Alan Jones from ''
Radio Times'' rated the film a negative one out of five stars, calling it "
nover-talky feeble fable".
Dan Budnik from ''Bleeding Skull'' also criticized the film as being "overly talky", while also criticizing the film's underwritten, and unlikable characters, and sluggish pacing.
On his website, ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'', Dave Sindelar similarly criticized the film's unlikable characters, with character interactions being "repetitious and tiresome". Sindelar also criticized the film's poor acting, and dialogue.
Creature Feature gave the movie one star, citing many of the same issues in the above review and noting that Ralph Meeker is wasted in the movie and his death scene the only interesting part of the film. The
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction noted that director Rebane is known for his low budget movies, and this is neither his best nor his worst.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpha Incident
1978 films
1978 horror films
American science fiction horror films
1970s science fiction horror films
1970s adventure drama films
1970s English-language films
American adventure drama films
Films directed by Bill Rebane
1978 drama films
1970s American films