The Late Night, Early Morning Sci-Fi Laugh-a-thon

I've been staying up way too late on the weekends lately. In fact, you could say that the Langes are truly night owls, keeping Keith Richards-like hours.


We were honestly contemplating hitting the sack when the keen Eclectic Wife said, "They have It! Terror from Beyond Space coming up, but I think it starts [insert ungodly early hour here]." Well, I was still wide-eyed and ready for some old school B&W Sci-Fi terro-comedy.


It! The Terror from Beyond Space has been on my must-watch list for some time. I have gone into the senseless and silly fascination/nostalgia reasons for this in other posts, so I will not waste words here.


Well, the E-Wife went straight to the computer to do her usual browsing of department stores and I stayed right on the couch to watch this little beauty.



First, to give due credit, I must say that the people who produced Alien owe a huge debt to this film. It's exactly the same story. An alien, as stowaway, begins the one-by-one picking off of the crew. Except for some obvious details, this is the same story.

Ok, this little beauty is a howler. One of those so-bad-it's-good, ridiculous films of the 50's.


The crew have to be hailed as one of the most knuckle-headed ever to travel in space. They act more like they are chatting at a church social rather than being in space.


Being a product of the times, of course the women have secondary roles, serving coffee and food like dutiful drones and act as moral support for the extremely dull and daft manly men who try all sorts of absurd ways to kill the rubber-suited alien.

There is one scence that has to win the "Best Worst Acting During A Killing Scence." While his fellow astronut is being devoured by the unlikely villian in the air shaft, this one clown stands and listens, NOT doing a thing to help, but merely knits his brow. Oh, the drama! The humanity! The tears!


Funny stuff: these morons use a bazooka, poison gas, torch, grenades and even suggest turning off the air to kill the damn thing.
From the funny website review.
Ed: "You don't believe me do you?"
Sally: "I don't disbelieve you..."
[note sounds like someone I know...sheesh!]

Paul: "If we let all the oxygen out of the ship, it should kill the creature!"
Ed: "Yes! We can always turn the air back on for ourselves later!"

Sally: "You're not using your authority very well."
Ed: "I'm not doing it for kicks! Believe me, chicken, I'm just playing the odds."

Ed: "Our only hope is that this will be the last attempt we have to make to kill the thing."


[again, I tip my hat to .....]

Well, in short, I stayed up way too late, watched the whole damn thing, the sleep cycle was ruined, but I had many laughs. Truly something I would not want to purchase for the eclectic film library, but would watch again for the kicks.