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The Alpha Incident

  • 1978
  • PG
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
4.0/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
The Alpha Incident (1978)
HorrorSci-FiThriller

A microorganism from Mars, brought to Earth by a space probe, terrorizes passengers in a railroad office.A microorganism from Mars, brought to Earth by a space probe, terrorizes passengers in a railroad office.A microorganism from Mars, brought to Earth by a space probe, terrorizes passengers in a railroad office.

  • Director
    • Bill Rebane
  • Writer
    • Ingrid Neumayer
  • Stars
    • Ralph Meeker
    • Stafford Morgan
    • John F. Goff
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.0/10
    1.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Bill Rebane
    • Writer
      • Ingrid Neumayer
    • Stars
      • Ralph Meeker
      • Stafford Morgan
      • John F. Goff
    • 48User reviews
    • 32Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:20
    Trailer

    Photos38

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    Top cast10

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    Ralph Meeker
    Ralph Meeker
    • Charlie
    Stafford Morgan
    Stafford Morgan
    • Dr. Sorensen
    John F. Goff
    John F. Goff
    • Jack Tiller
    • (as John Goff)
    Carol Irene Newell
    • Jenny
    George 'Buck' Flower
    George 'Buck' Flower
    • Hank
    • (as Buck Flower)
    Paul Bentzen
    • Dr. Farrell
    John Alderman
    John Alderman
    • Dr. Rogers
    Ray Szmanda
    • The Official
    Lawrence Ripp
    • The Guard
    • (as Sir Lawrence Ripp)
    Harry Youstos
    • Alvin
    • (as Harry Youstes)
    • Director
      • Bill Rebane
    • Writer
      • Ingrid Neumayer
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews48

    4.01.1K
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    Featured reviews

    4ecto216

    Night of the Living dead gone sour

    If ever there was a movie worthy of criticism, the Alpha Incident is it. Borrowing heavily from Night of the Living Dead, this film is a complete bust. The story keeps the viewer somewhat interested, and the characters aren't that terrible, but nothing could save this film from its blatant, rip-off ending.

    Here's the scoop. A couple of average white collar types come into contact with an unknown substance (I gather that's the sci-fi part IMDB makes mention to, because other wise this movie is pure drama) and must remain cooped up in a train station, without sleep in order to survive. Each character is unique and different, but unfortunately, not very interesting. You have your smart mouth, your damsel in distress, your play-it-cool man, the nervous/shy guy, and of course, the complete moron. That may be the only saving grace to this film, the complete moron named `Hank.' Hank is a really funny character and is the only one who kept my attention, only because he's so innocent and dumb. Notables? The film has one, count it, one scene of true gore, but at least it's a goodie.

    I recommend leaving this one on the shelf if you're looking for a sci-fi film, because this really isn't a science fiction piece. Sure the cover art on the box might make you think it is, but looks can be deceiving. However, I still give this one a 4 out of 10 for it's classic portrayal of characters. The way the actors talk and move within their parts is perfect. The smart mouth always laughing, the damsel always worried; it's something out of a comic book gone wrong. Anyway, unless you want to see what an impact Night of the Living Dead truly had, don't bother with this.
    4cerealmon

    Try not to fall asleep!

    Another one from the 200 cult movies box set from mill creek.

    I guess if a unknown bacterial from mars breaks out on earth you should take speed, dance and screw. Maybe not in that particular order.

    Very plodding movie it seems to drag on and on. But the last 20 minutes or so are pretty good. Not a recommendation but there are a lot worse out there.
    Wizard-8

    Unsuccessful, but not THAT bad

    I think the previous posters were a little hard on this movie. Yes, it's not a very good movie - it's slow, with some bad dialogue, characters that are annoying and/or unsympathetic, and an ending that rips off NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Yet at the same time, I thought that the premise of the movie was intriguing, and I had to admire the fact that independent filmmakers on a really low budget were tackling something as difficult as a dialogue-driven movie, one that was intended for the drive-in crowd. True, it's not successful overall (to say the least), but occasionally there is something a little interesting, making you think that, with more time and planning, they might have been able to succeed. So while I "boo" the finished results, I will at least applaud the filmmakers intentions.
    6Red-Barracuda

    Cheap and likable virus outbreak movie

    A virus from space is released accidentally while in transit on a train. It results in a group of people in a remote train depot being subject to quarantine and left isolated, while the scientists try to work on a cure.

    The Alpha Incident is a paranoid sci-fi film in the same vein as The Andromeda Strain, with elements of George A Romero's Night of the Living Dead and The Crazies thrown in for good measure. It isn't a patch on either of those films although it's fairly decent, all things considered. It's admittedly quite badly paced, however, with a little too much talk to pad things out. Still, the set-up is good enough and the overall cynical 70's sci-fi vibe works for me. There's only one occasion when we see the effects of the virus on a human and it's actually surprisingly decent – they could really have done with using this a little more. The effect is basically the brain expanding and breaking out of the cranium of the unfortunate victim. This is the horrible death that the infected people are trying to avoid. For some reason this nasty scenario only kicks in when the victims fall asleep, so for most of the film the story seems to be about people trying to stay awake – a symptom that I'm sure some viewers of this movie will experience too funnily enough.

    But, for me, this isn't a bad effort overall. It's definitely one of director Bill Rebane's best. He operated in the Z-Grade side of the cinematic spectrum for sure but his films have an honest earnestness that is easy to get behind. And this is a relatively thoughtful narrative for Bill's standards. However, its cheap limitations are never truly averted, and it doesn't develop the space virus thread of the story as well as you hope and the film ends up being essentially about people in a room popping amphetamines. But, you know what, I kind of like this one anyway.
    2graduatedan

    Like watching paint dry.

    This very slight "thriller" has flashes of inspiration visually, but is weighed down by less than stellar acting and a wretched script. The story concerns an organism recovered from a space probe that-get this- is being transported by train guarded by one man. The crate containing the organism is tampered with and before you know it, complications ensue. There's very little action and long stretches of corny dialog delivered in a leaden manner. I 'm not sure if the director intended this film to be a character study or a thriller, but either way, The Alpha Incident fails miserably. Saved from a no star rating by interesting photography and occasionally effective editing.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      It is possible that the train station and train footage were shot in Tomahawk, WI, since there are no railroad tracks anywhere near Gleason. The studio The Shooting Ranch, where the interiors were shot, was owned by director Bill Rebane. It was torn down sometime in the 1980s. In the final credits it thanks the town of Tomahawk and Lincoln County for their cooperation.
    • Goofs
      There are no end doors on boxcars so the persons riding the caboose would have no way to enter the boxcar while the train is moving. In fact standard boxcars cannot be accessed while the train is moving.
    • Connections
      Featured in Trailer Trauma (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      The Gift
      Lyrics by Dale Kuipers (as Dale Kuipers), Bill Rebane

      Music by Tom Barnet

      Sung by Deanna Wynand and Don Lasee and The Ramblin Fever Band

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 24, 1978 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Gift from a Red Planet
    • Filming locations
      • Tomahawk, Wisconsin, USA(train station and train scenes)
    • Production company
      • Studio Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $200,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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