A surprisingly solid, engrossing and reasonably tense $1.98 one set wonder drive-in sci-fi thriller in the same strange, deadly disease from outer space medical chiller vein as "The Andromeda Strain." The Viking space probe returns from Mars with an unwanted guest: a weird, fatal, positively unknowable plague which kills its victims when they fall asleep, causing their heads to expand until their skulls crack open and their brains come seeping out. A motley assortment of five people at a remote Wisconsin railway station get the lethal bug and must do their best to stay awake while scientists work around the clock to whip up a cure before it's too late.
Directed, produced and edited as a true labor of low-budget love by Bill Rebane, whose largely awful cinematic track record includes the laughably horrible "The Giant Spider Invasion," "The Alpha Incident" comes across as a most pleasant surprise. Granted, what we have here is very little money, a minimal set, a small cast, strictly elementary music and cinematography, but plenty of ambition and a welcome smidgen of genuine film-making ability. It's the rare movie where its paltry five-and-ten cent production cost and tight, pared down, stripped-to-the-bare-essentials look and feel actually work in its favor; the total lack of potentially credibility-killing high gloss razzle dazzle ensures that the picture's gritty, no-frills style retains an oddly arresting and utterly convincing sense of plain, everyday, true-to-life mundane plausibility which in turn both heightens and strengthens the steadily escalating suspense. Ingrid Neumayer's uncommonly well thought-out script is another substantial plus, scoring points for its increasingly bleak, pessimistic tone (the dark, downbeat ending is especially potent), hard cynical attitude towards secretive, sinister military operations, barbed dialogue ("Don't look at me like I'm crazy -- I'm trying to stay alive!"), clearly drawn and distinctive characters, and an intriguing air of general mystery.
The cast of dependable B-movie vets come through with capable performances: frequent bit player and occasional screenwriter John ("The Witch Who Came from the Sea," "They Live") Goff in a rare meaty leading role as breezy, feisty, antagonistic blue collar hothead Jack, Stafford ("The Stunt Man," "The Forest") Morgan as enigmatic, levelheaded biochemist Sorenson, Ralph ("The Food of the Gods," "Without Warning") Meeker as weary, doddering train depot manager Charlie, Carol Irene Newell as perky secretary Jane, softcore sexploitation film regular John ("The Black Godfather," "This Is A Hijack!") Alderman as coldly rational researcher Dr. Rogers, and, best of all, the always entertaining and invigorating George "Buck" Flower as gabby, gregarious railroad worker Hank, a lovable ol' slob who unwittingly first catches the maleficent contagion when his curiosity gets the best of him. Truth be told, this feature sure ain't no earth-shattering major work of cinematic art, but for a down'n'dirty spare change grindhouse quickie "The Alpha Incident" is fine of its type and packs an unexpectedly strong wallop.
Directed, produced and edited as a true labor of low-budget love by Bill Rebane, whose largely awful cinematic track record includes the laughably horrible "The Giant Spider Invasion," "The Alpha Incident" comes across as a most pleasant surprise. Granted, what we have here is very little money, a minimal set, a small cast, strictly elementary music and cinematography, but plenty of ambition and a welcome smidgen of genuine film-making ability. It's the rare movie where its paltry five-and-ten cent production cost and tight, pared down, stripped-to-the-bare-essentials look and feel actually work in its favor; the total lack of potentially credibility-killing high gloss razzle dazzle ensures that the picture's gritty, no-frills style retains an oddly arresting and utterly convincing sense of plain, everyday, true-to-life mundane plausibility which in turn both heightens and strengthens the steadily escalating suspense. Ingrid Neumayer's uncommonly well thought-out script is another substantial plus, scoring points for its increasingly bleak, pessimistic tone (the dark, downbeat ending is especially potent), hard cynical attitude towards secretive, sinister military operations, barbed dialogue ("Don't look at me like I'm crazy -- I'm trying to stay alive!"), clearly drawn and distinctive characters, and an intriguing air of general mystery.
The cast of dependable B-movie vets come through with capable performances: frequent bit player and occasional screenwriter John ("The Witch Who Came from the Sea," "They Live") Goff in a rare meaty leading role as breezy, feisty, antagonistic blue collar hothead Jack, Stafford ("The Stunt Man," "The Forest") Morgan as enigmatic, levelheaded biochemist Sorenson, Ralph ("The Food of the Gods," "Without Warning") Meeker as weary, doddering train depot manager Charlie, Carol Irene Newell as perky secretary Jane, softcore sexploitation film regular John ("The Black Godfather," "This Is A Hijack!") Alderman as coldly rational researcher Dr. Rogers, and, best of all, the always entertaining and invigorating George "Buck" Flower as gabby, gregarious railroad worker Hank, a lovable ol' slob who unwittingly first catches the maleficent contagion when his curiosity gets the best of him. Truth be told, this feature sure ain't no earth-shattering major work of cinematic art, but for a down'n'dirty spare change grindhouse quickie "The Alpha Incident" is fine of its type and packs an unexpectedly strong wallop.