

#Movie it terror from beyond space movie#
It! The Terror From Beyond Space is frequently considered as the inspiration for the hugely popular science fiction movie Alien (1979.) Edward CarruthersĪnn Doran was James Dean's mother in the American Film Institiute's class Rebel Without A Cause.
#Movie it terror from beyond space series#
To be fair to Scott, O’Bannon, and Giger, the sheer amount of backstory and inventive additions made to the Alien series since 1979's original make it clear that Alien wasn’t a movie lacking in inspiration, even if it did borrow some elements from an earlier, cornier sci-fi horror movie.Home | Ray Harryhausen | Creature Features | Chiller Theatre | Million Dollar Movie | Sci-Fi MoviesĬast: Marshall Thompson as Col. Not only is the original Alien monster a lot scarier than the '50’s movie monster-and far better than its Newborn offspring from Alien Resurrection-but Scott's titular creature also came laden with a byzantine backstory that has kept the franchise going through multiple sequels, prequels, and crossovers. It's unlikely that later body horrors such as Galaxy of Terror or John Carpenter's classic, The Thing, would exist without this gruesome innovation that came from Alien's daring foray into extraterrestrial depictions. Not only did Alien alter the ending, but it also featured the first appearance of the xenomorph, a memorable movie monster whose uniquely horrifying use of human bodies as a gestation chamber is a far scarier, gorier, and more inventive than anything that It! The Terror From Beyond Space was able to throw at audiences during the more demure 1950s. Of course, Scott’s movie is undeniably an original despite the apparent influence tha t It! The Terror From Beyond Space seems to exert over the basic outline of its action. That said, both movies do feature the crews picking up an alien interloper and not knowing about the addition until it's too late for some unfortunate cast members. There’s no survivor to warn Alien’s crew from venturing into the rocky planet they land on, although one might think common sense would be enough to put them off poking around inside the creepy Xenomorph eggs. In Alien, the monster takes a more direct route aboard the ship, famously hitching a ride inside the ribcage of John Hurt’s unfortunate crew member before making a memorable entrance mid-meal via his chest cavity. It’s only after they take him aboard their vessel for questioning that the crew discovers he was not only telling the truth, but they’ve accidentally allowed the alien on board with them. The movie’s crew initially encounters a lone survivor of its attacks, who they are certain killed his crew mates, and is lying about the existence of a killer alien. For one thing, the monster of It! The Terror From Beyond Space takes a while to appear, in classic monster movie fashion.

Sound familiar? Both movies are undeniably jarringly similar at the level of log-line premise, but to be fair to Alien, the two movies do diverge in how the plot plays out. Alien and It! The Terror From Beyond Space Share The Same PremiseĪ gang of ordinary workers accidentally allow an alien stowaway onto their ship, prompting the monster to pick them off one-by-one until the surviving members eventually hunt it down and toss it in an airlock to rid themselves of the beast. Some of the influential Alien’s similarities from It! The Terror From Beyond Space could reasonably be a case of parallel thinking, but some of them are simply too egregious to ignore. However, there’s an earlier, mostly forgotten sci-fi movie with a surprisingly similar premise which seems to have served as an uncredited inspiration for the creators, as outlined below. Meanwhile, the premise of a crew of everyday working stiffs-instead of the idealistic sci-fi heroes of Star Wars and Star Trek alike-who encounter the titular threat on a routine job was devised by O'Bannon.

The tense chase sequences set aboard the cramped Nostromo spaceship were shot by Scott, who is credited with Alien’s oppressive, dread-inducing atmosphere.

Giger, who created the eponymous xenomorph as well as its creepy home planet and the bizarre chamber viewers see early on in the film. Related: Why Alien Vs Predator Is The Best Predator SequelĪlien's unique look was credited to designer H.R.
