Night 7: ‘It Came from Outer Space’ (1953)
This is part of the ’31 Nights of Horror Classics’ series, which I’ll be doing for Halloween 2017. Every night of this month, I’ll be watching a horror film made before the 90s and I’ll be posting a short review here.
A standard tale of outcasts helping each other…with an alien spin!
It Came from Outer Space follows John Putnam (Richard Carlson), an amateur astronomer who witnesses a meteorite crashing to Earth. Only, it’s not truly a meteorite but a spaceship filled with otherworldly creatures. And unfortunately for him, no one but his beloved Ellen (Barbara Rush) believes him.
The first week of this little project of mine could not end without some extraterrestrial action! And although light on this last element, It Came from Outer Space really delivers in other aspects.
The movie lends itself to a lot of interesting commentary. Like I mentioned at the beginning, it’s a tale of outcasts at heart: a struggling writer, a woman, and creatures who are only interested in exploring. All of them are ignored, and to some extent they must work together in order to avoid catastrophe.
The film provides interesting ideas about how people respond to the unknown and to loners and forward-thinking individuals. And yet, the tension of what should be done remains with the main character throughout the tale. John originally distrusts the creatures, and at the end he must kill one of them in order to mediate with the rest. Similarly, I was apprehensive throughout the movie: are they lying or telling the truth about not wanting to harm humankind?
As a viewer, I appreciate the lack of a straightforward answer. The choice of making the creatures detached and mysterious also helps with fueling our distrust. It’s an interesting pick that keeps us from attaching to these characters and sympathizing with them immediately. It’s not black-and-white, as they also do some reprehensible things like kidnapping and harming humans.
The last line of the film, when John states that in the future we might be better prepared to deal with these encounters, is also hopeful, inspiring and oddly relevant to today’s world. It’s also refreshing to watch a movie that doesn’t end with the destruction of the ‘other’. Despite having problems understanding and trusting each other, both humans and aliens are safe by the end. An alternative is, apparently, possible.
Surprisingly, I have little to say regarding the film’s shortcomings. Perhaps the progress from not believing and mocking to full-on gathering a mob to kill the aliens seems a little rushed for my taste.
Also, it’s somewhat shocking that the death of two of their peers is never addressed by the creatures. Are they truly that emotionless and without strong ties to each other?
Even so, it’s not enough to diminish my enjoyment of this film. My recommendation? Get over the dated effects, and prepare to relish in a movie with a very timely message.
Grade: 7/10. Thought provoking.
Scare Factor: creepy creatures. A few eerie frames.
Gore/Violence: almost non-existent.
Nudity/Sexual Situations: none.
Previous Night: ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (53)
Next up: ‘The Wolf Man’ (41)
