Out。of。the。fifties。'B'。Science-Fiction。monster。movies,。this。easily。ranks。as。the。best.。It's。most。notable。as。the。film。that。ALIEN。is。an。unaccredited。remake。of,。thus。giving。it。a。certain。historical。significance. The。intriguing。plot。is。about。the。rescue。of。the。only。marooned。survivor。(Col.。Carruthers)。of。an。ill-fated。expedition。to。Mars.。The。authorities,。pig-headed。as。usual,。falsely。assume。that。he。murdered。his。fellow。crew。members,。so。that。he'd。have。more。provisions。to。survive;。hence。he。is。being。brought。back。to。Earth。to。face。court-martial。for。murder.。(There。is。also。a。somewhat。interesting。plot。reversal。here:。Most。movies。of。this。nature。usually。begin。with。the。ship。leaving。Earth,。enroute。to。its。otherworld。destination,。while,。in。this。case,。the。"story"。is。believed。finished,。and。begins。as。the。characters。take-off。from。the。other。planet,。returning。to。Earth).。As。the。rescue。ship。is。leaving。Mars,。a。lurking,。ominous。shadow。is。seen。in。the。lower。compartment.。(A。frightening,。atmospheric。moment,。accomplished。through。sheer。economy。and。simplicity). Carruthers。insists。of。his。innocence。to。his。fellow。captors,。claiming。that。his。original。crew。mates。were。slaughtered。by。a。hostile,。unseen。presence。on。the。desolute。red。planet,。but。three-guesses。as。to。their。reaction。to。his。unusual。plea.。Naturally,。he。can't。prove。it,。and。50's。space。authorities。were。not。very。alien。conscience。at。the。time.。(As。a。side-thought,。"unseen。menace"。may。remind。you。of。that。highly。"original"。BLAIR。WITCH). As。everyone。sacks。out,。a。hapless。supporting。charactor。whose。name。is。at。the。bottom。of。the。casting。list。(guess。what。will。happen。to。him?)。hears。something。in。the。lower。compartment.。Despite。your。futile。"don't。go。down。there,。you。jerk!"。pleas,。he。does。just。that,。and。is。appropriately。killed。(more。like。thoroughly。obliterated)。by。the。shadowy。figure。with。insatiable。blood。lust。on。its。mind.。In。the。victim's。case,。dereliction。of。duty。and。sheer。cowardliness。would。have。been。the。wise。decision.。The。scene。is。actually。well-directed。(for。a。change)。and。develops。much。suspense,。as。the。entire。film。surprisingly。does. The。crew。finally。catches。on。that。they。have。an。unwanted。ship。crasher。on。board,。and。try。every。possible。means。at。their。disposal。to。eliminate。it,。but。the。unknown。creature。seems。to。copping。an。anti-death。attitude.。Proving。to。be。an。even。more。clever,。worthy。adversary,。'IT!'。also。hides。out。in。the。ventilation。shafts。of。the。ship。(now。that。should。ring。a。bell).。Cahn's。forceful。direction。generates。considerable。tension。as。the。malevolent。stowaway。works。its。way。up。from。one。level。of。the。confined。ship。to。the。next,。eventually。leaving。the。remaining。characters。trapped。at。the。top.。The。movie's。suspense。is。blunt。and。right。to。the。point:。"IT!'。has。to。kill。them。or。starve,。hence。they。have。to。kill。"IT!"。or。die.。Nothing。like。those。"no。two。ways。about。it"。choices.。Rent。it,。or。check。for。it。on。cable。if。you。wish。to。know。the。outcome. For。a。low-budget。quickie,。IT!。is。quite。impressive。and。memorable.。The。dreaded。sense。of。claustrophobic。tension,。rendering。the。characters'。helpless。entrapment,。is。highly。effective.。This。is。a。production。in。which。the。limited。budget。and。small。sets。actually。work。in。favor。of。the。plot's。scary。ambience.。The。black。&。white。photography。(Yes,。it's。one。of。those!)。helps。to。enhance。its。dark,。creepy。mood,。and。the。sense。of。apprehension。is。quite。high.。(Modern。day。color。freaks。never。seem。to。take。that。into。consideration).。The。plot。is。also。somewhat。cynically。ironic:。If。the。creature。hadn't。stowed。away。on。the。ship,。Carruthers。would。have。most。likely。been。found。guilty。of。the。charges。against。him. The。intelligent。script。(see。what。I。mean。about。"rareity")。was。penned。by。noted。Science-Fiction。author。Jerome。Bixby。(remember。Twilight。Zone's。"It's。a。Good。Life")?。The。picture's。taut。editing。eliminates。any。extraneous。dross.。(ALIEN。tended。to。drag。in。its。first。hour。with。its。sophomoric。dialogue,。and。why。did。it。have。to。include。that。stupid。and。ultimately。counter-productive。sub-plot。of。Ash。being。a。robot,。and。further。dragging。the。story。down。to。another。big。bad。conspiracy。cliche?。UNNECESSARY!!!) Director。Cahn。astutely。keeps。the。rubber-suited。monster。off-screen。and。in。the。shadows。through-out。most。of。the。proceedings,。keeping。your。paranoid。imagination。on。constant。alert.。Unfortunately,。perhaps。at。the。studio's。commercial。insistance,。it。is。a。little。over-revealed。at。the。climax,。but。I。haven't。claimed。this。to。be。the。perfect。masterpiece.。The。performances,。though。nothing。award-winning,。are。nevertheless。cool。enough。so。that。one。becomes。sincerely。concerned。as。to。their。fates.。Not。many。movies。in。recent。times。ever。come。close。to。achieving。that.。They。can。be。over-produced。from。here。to。eternity,。and。usually。only。succeed。in。being。gloriously。annoying. This。film's。story。is。not。really。totally。original。(what。is?),。for。it。is。based。on。A.E.。Van。Vogt's。"VOYAGE。OF。THE。SPACE。BEAGLE."。All。ALIEN。fanatics。should。track。down。an。old。used。copy。to。see。where。the。initial。influence。came。from. As。long。as。you're。not。craving。another。CGI。wind-ding,。you。may。find。it。worthwhile.。Just。don't。expect。the。women。to。be。Ripley。precursors.。This。was。still。the。sock-knitting。fifties,。sad。to。say.