IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE [1958 / 2016] [The Cult Movie Collection] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] One of the Best Sci-fi Flicks of the 1950! The Revelation Shocker of Things to Come!
Too terrifying to even have a name, “IT” is a seemingly invincible monster that is hell-bent on killing everyone on a mission to Mars. ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ stars Marshall Thompson as Col. Edward Carruthers, Shirley Patterson as Ann Anderson, Kim Spalding as Col. Van Heusen and Ray Corrigan as “IT.” For the first time available in the UK on Blu-ray.
A rescue ship travels out to Mars to retrieve the only survivor of a space probe that has experienced some sort of cataclysm. That survivor, Col. Edward Carruthers [Marshall Thompson] is accused of murdering his fellow crewmen. But Ed claims that the killer was a Martian monster, and hopes to prove his assertions by signing up for a second journey to the Red Planet.
Before long, the crew members of this second expedition are being systematically killed off, and it looks as though Col. Edward Carruthers is up to his old tricks. As it turns out, however, Col. Edward Carruthers was telling the truth: there is a monster on board, the savage descendant of the once-mighty Martian civilization, who snuck on board when an irresponsible crew member left the door open. The monster stays alive by absorbing the vital body fluids of its victims, and there seems to be no way to stop this parasitic creature! Will they be able to destroy the monster before it manages to feed on them all?
FILM FACT: ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ was financed by Edward Small and was originally known as ‘IT! The Vampire from Beyond Space.’ Principal photography took place over a two-week period during mid-January 1958. ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ was the last film of actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan, who was set to play the creature, but during pre-production, he did not want to travel all the way to Topanga in western Los Angeles County where Paul Blaisdell, the film's makeup artist, lived and operated his studio. Therefore, Paul Blaisdell could not take exact measurements of Ray "Crash" Corrigan's head. Consequently, there were final fit problems with the creature's head prop: "[Corrigan's]... bulbous chin stuck out through the monster's mouth, so the make-up man painted his chin to look like a tongue."
Cast: Marshall Thompson, Shirley Patterson, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer, Paul Langton, Robert Bice, Richard Benedict, Richard Hervey, Thom Carney, Ray "Crash" Corrigan (IT The Monster), Alex Ball (uncredited), Stuart Hall (uncredited), Mike Morelli (uncredited), Monty O'Grady (uncredited), Bert Stevens (uncredited) and Pierre Watkin (uncredited)
Director: Edward L. Cahn
Producers: Robert Kent and Edward Small (uncredited)
Screenplay: Jerome Bixby
Composers: Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell
Cinematography: Kenneth "Ken" D. Peach, Sr. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
Subtitles: None
Running Time: 69 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: United Artists / 101 Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: An alien Martian monster manages to find its way onto a spaceship and then kills off the crew members one by one. It hides its victims in the spaceship’s air ducts and practically nothing the crew tries to kill it with has any effect on the creature. ‘ALIEN’ it is not; instead it is this 1958 Black-and-White Sci-Fi film which has long been considered to be an “influence” for director Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 classic film ‘ALIEN.’
It is instructive today to watch both of these classic Sci-Fi films and perhaps as a double bill, to see how much Sci-Fi film-making technique, as well as societal attitudes has changed in the 20 or so years between the two Sci-Fi films. The ‘ALIEN’ film is simply light years removed from this unintentionally funny low-budget ‘Fifties effort. “Mars is almost as big as Texas,” one character thoughtfully muses at a point. “Maybe it's got monsters.”
‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ was made in an era in which science fiction was relegated to B-movie status as Hollywood was unwillingly to lavish any big bucks on it, whereas the 1956 Sci-Fi film ‘Forbidden Planet ‘was a rare exception. Compare this to the millions lavished on Ridley Scott’s post Sci-Fi horror film. In the 1958 Sci-Fi film ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ where the two women spaceship crew members seems are on-board only to serve the men coffee and nurse them. In Radley Scott’s post-feminist Sci-Fi film, the hero is a woman. In both Sci-fi films everyone smokes, not a very clever thing to do on a spaceship, especially with all the inflammable rocket fuel.
The crew constantly attempt various plots and ploys to destroy the marauding monster without much luck. Bullets, burning, electrocution, hitting it with radiation and blowing it up all don't work on the monster. The method by which the creature is finally disposed of is also kind of similar to the fate of the xenomorphic in Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi/horror classic ‘ALIEN.’
Unintentionally funny, and especially with some very bad acting and a really hilarious rubber suit for the monster, and I suspect ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ will most likely please male viewer types of this genre, who want something to poke fun at while downing beers or ‘Fifties science fiction aficionados. Dedicated ALIEN fans would probably also want to check it out for mere curiosity’s sake, but some people might want to stay clear of it, which is their choice. But I am quite pleased to add this Sci-Fi genre to my Blu-ray Collection. But what is totally amazing and something they never checked out before hand with being confined in deep space is that for a rescue mission to a supposedly dead planet like Mars, the crew in this Sci-Fi film genre is packing some serious heat! Especially with a bazooka! Pray tell what exactly were they expecting?
Paul Blaisdell, the creator of some of Hollywood's best “B” movie monsters, designed the intelligent reptilian menace donned by stuntman, serial actor, Ray "Crash" Corrigan. He brings a lot of ferocity to the brutal beast which adds to the suspense level of the film and there's a lot of that to go around.
What makes ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ works so well and is surprisingly adept and smart script from ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘Star Trek’ screenplay writer, Jerome Bixby. Compared with other similar alien films such as ‘The Angry Red Planet’ [1959], Edward L.Cahn's Sci-Fi film doesn't totally follow conventions and Jerome Bixby's script allows the proceedings to stand out amongst a horde of by-the-numbers productions. It is a far much darker than most of these types of Sci-Fi films and this is no doubt due to Jerome Bixby's contribution.
Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of United Artists and 101 Films with an encoded 1080p encoded image transfer with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The transfer looks surprisingly crisp and well detailed, despite the signs of age related damage, including a lot of both white flecks and scratches. Generally speaking, the contrast is really excellent and grey scale is crisp and decent. But despite some anomalies, I doubt if they will ever get an upgraded special edition. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ features a perfectly serviceable 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sound mix, one which faithfully recreates the low hi-fi sonic ambience of the original soundtrack. There are surprisingly few weird space sound effects in the film, with sonic punch achieved more through unlikely elements such as gunfire or electrocution. Dialogue is cleanly presented, and the at times the bombastic score by genre stalwarts Bert Shefter and Paul Sawtell sounds are very nice and full bodied that one expects with this typical 1958 Science Fiction/Horror film.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: Sadly 101 Films has not even been able to include a Theatrical Trailer.
Finally, even at a brisk 69 minutes ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ [1958] is essential viewing for fans of the golden age of Science Fiction/Horror films. It's one of the most memorable of its kind to come out of the atomic age era of 1950's Hollywood fright Science Fiction/Horror films. ‘IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE’ is a highly amusing Science Fiction/Horror classic films that ushered in a new type of suspense. It’s a wonderful feature that offers a classic creature monster and more than enough thrills to make for a delightfully fun time watching. Keep in mind, if it were not for “IT” the Martian monster, you would not have been able or even got to view one of the best ever sci-fi/horror film of all-time, which of course was director Ridley Scott’s film ‘ALIEN.’ Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
