Mackey.PA@PARC-MAXC.ARPA@sri-unix.UUCP (08/31/83)
A few months ago on Creature Features (S.F. Bay Area SF/Horror/Fantasy late night TV show) aired the movie "It! The Thing from Beyond Space." With a title like that, I expected a very poor movie. But the host, Bob Stanley, who is a local film critic, assured all us viewers that this movie was worth seeing, and that we might find some parallels to "Alien," since this movie inspired it. Sure enough, there were strong similarities. The story takes place on a ship which has rescued the sole survivor of a mission to Mars. The survivor doesn't know what happened to his ship and crew, and the rescue party suspects he went crazy killing them and destroying the ship. But soon the same accidents begin to take place, and the crew finds themselves in a battle to survive. The good special effects, acting, and serious tone all make it believable. It had few silly things like people walking alone into dark rooms, and the characters intelligently thought-out their plans of attack and defense, reminding me of the classic "The Thing." I was surprised at how frightening it got for a 50's (?) SF movie, though not at all like "The Thing." Look for it. ~Kevin