THE ALPHA INCIDENT (1978)

A strange substance has been brought to Earth from a Mars probe. Doctors Farrell and Rogers study it, noting in conversation that scientists already know a bit about its potentially dangerous properties and that it's akin to a virus. We see them inject hamsters and rats with the substance. The next day, the animals are found dead, their brains having exploded, leaving the scientists to assume that sleep is what triggers the virus to become active. Meanwhile, the rest of the substance is being shipped by train to an underground storage facility in Colorado, accompanied by government man Sorenson. On the train, Sorenson is pestered by Hank, a nosy bearded redneck employee who can't stop yakking and wants desperately to know what's so secret and important about the vials they're carrying. When Sorenson falls asleep, Hank steals his keys, unlocks the container and accidentally breaks one of the vials, cutting his hand on the glass and, as we know but he doesn't, probably getting infected. In the morning, the train stops at a small station in Moose Point, and when Sorenson realizes what's happened, and that Hank has possibly infected everyone in the station office, they are put under official quarantine, unable to leave until they get more information from the scientists. We spend the rest of the movie with the quarantined folks: Sorenson, secretive while trying to be the patriarchal voice of reason; Hank, who remains a gabby pain in the ass; Charlie, the slow-talking older boss of the station; Jenny, the chirpy young secretary; and Jack, a train mechanic who hates authority figures. The rest of the movie takes place in the office as tensions rise and fall. Jenny claims to have a date with a guy named Ted, but the slimy Jack senses she's lying and soon seduces her. Jack also tries to escape but Sorenson shoots him in the arm to stop him. Some National Guardsmen are called out with orders to shoot to kill if anyone gets away, and Hank, the only one of the group known to actually be infected, runs off into the woods, is wounded by Sorenson, and will presumably die from the infection or be shot down—we never find out his fate. Amphetamines are dropped off to help them stay awake, but eventually, poor shambling Charlie falls asleep; sure enough, his brain explodes and one of his eyes pops out (a good effect for a low-budget production). In the morning, antidote pills are dropped off, but … I’ll save spoilers for the next paragraph.

This low-budget local Wisconsin production from cult director Bill Rebane has a reputation as being an Ed Wood-level movie, but though the production values are threadbare (there are basically two sets: the train station office and the scientists' lab) and the middle of the film is slow and too talky, I found some pleasures here. I like Ralph Meeker (Charlie), the only star name present, but he's stuck playing a passive old guy with no personality and is given almost nothing to do, until his brain explodes, by which time Charlie is not Meeker but a special effects dummy. George 'Buck' Flower, something of a minor cult figure, is scuzzily effective as the obnoxious Hank. I appreciate the actors who play the scientists (Paul Bentzen and John Alderman, pictured top left) for trying their best to sound puzzled and concerned. My discovery here is Stafford Morgan (at right), a handsome character actor whose face will be familiar from dozens of TV and movie roles. He almost succeeds at creating a character out of Sorenson. Morgan is very good at being the authority figure who may or may be trustworthy. He never loses his temper despite the asshole behavior of Hank and Jack. If I had been stuck in that office, I would have totally trusted him, and maybe even flirted a bit. [Spoiler:] The film is sometimes criticized for its downbeat ending, stolen from Night of the Living Dead, but it was the paranoid 70s and, though the movie doesn't prepare us well for the finale, it's effective, partly due to Morgan's acting. This is almost by accident a decent Z-grade sci-fi thriller. It would be even better if cut down by fifteen minutes or so. [YouTube]