The Alpha Incident

The Alpha Incident
The Alpha Incident
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bill Rebane
Written by	Ingrid Neumayer (original screenplay)
Produced by	Herbert L. Cohan (associate producer); Michael D. Graves (executive producer); Woody Jarvis (associate producer); Barbara J. Rebane (executive producer); Bill Rebane (producer)
Starring	Ralph Meeker; Stafford Morgan; John F. Goff; Carol Irene Newell; George "Buck" Flower; Paul Bentzen
Cinematography	Bela St. Jon
Edited by	Bill Rebane
Music by	Richard A. Girvin
Production; company	Studio Film Corporation
Distributed by	Studio Film Corporation
Release date	May 24, 1978 (Mandan, North Dakota);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Alpha Incident (also known as The Alien Incident, and Gift from a Red Planet) is a 1978 American science fiction horror film directed by Bill Rebane and starring Ralph Meeker, Stafford Morgan, John F. Goff, Carol Irene Newell, and George "Buck" Flower.^[1]

Premise

A space probe returns to Earth from Mars, carrying with it a deadly organism which has the lethal potential to destroy all life on Earth. Being transported across country by train, the micro-organism is released when a nosy train employee inspects the cargo. This results in an entire train station being quarantined along with government biologist Dr. Sorenson.

Those who are trapped wait for other government scientists to find a cure while trying not to fall asleep―—sleep triggers the microorganism. because that's when the virus strikes. While asleep, the disease causes the brain to swell to the point the skull is fractured.

Although a cure is found, government agents begin killing those who survived the disease as part of a cover up.^[2]

Cast

Ralph Meeker as Charlie
Stafford Morgan as Dr. Sorensen
John F. Goff as Jack Tiller
Carol Irene Newell as Jenny
George "Buck" Flower as Hank (also as Buck Flower)
Paul Bentzen as Dr. Farrell
John Alderman as Dr. Rogers
Ray Szmanda as The Official
Lawrence Ripp as The Guard
Harry Youstos as Alvin

Release

The Alpha Incident was released for the first time on DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment on August 30, 2005 as a part of its Chilling Classics: 50 Movie Pack. On August 15, 2006 it was released by Digital 1 Stop, as a part of its Nightmare Worlds: 50 Movie Pack. Mill Creek re-released the film on four separate occasions as a part of various multi-film packs in 2007 and 2008. On August 24, 2010, the film was released as a part of a multi-film pack by Tnt Media Group. On September 21, that same year it was released as a single-feature by Synergy Entertainment.^[3]

As of November 2021, the full movie is available on YouTube.^[4]

Reception

The Alpha Incident received mostly negative reviews upon its release. Alan Jones from Radio Times rated the film a negative one out of five stars, calling it "[an] over-talky feeble fable".^[5] Dan Budnik from Bleeding Skull also criticized the film as being "overly talky", while also criticizing the film's underwritten, and unlikable characters, and sluggish pacing.^[6] On his website, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar similarly criticized the film's unlikable characters, with character interactions being "repetitious and tiresome". Sindelar also criticized the film's poor acting, and dialogue.^[7]

Creature Feature gave the movie one star, citing many of the same issues in the above review and noting that Ralph Meeker is wasted in the movie and his death scene the only interesting part of the film.^[8] The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction noted that director Rebane is known for his low budget movies, and this is neither his best nor his worst.^[9]

References

^ "The Alpha Incident".
^ "SFE: Alpha Incident, the".
^ "The Alpha Incident (1977) - Bill Rebane". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
^ Jones, Alan. "The Alpha Incident – review". RadioTimes.com. Alan Jones. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^ Budnik, Dan. "Alpha Incident, The (1978) – BLEEDING SKULL!". BleedingSkull.com. Dan Budnik. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^ Sindelar, Dave (14 September 2018). "The Alpha Incident (1978)". FantiasticMovieMusings.com. Dave Sindelar. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^ Sanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature:3rd Edition
^ "SFE: Alpha Incident, the".