The Sci-Fi Horror Classic That Inspired ‘Alien’

“It! The Terror from Beyond Space” is the kind of sci-fi horror entries from the 1950s that manages to feel both old-fashioned and surprisingly ahead of its time.

This small, low-budget classic from 1958 contains seeds of ideas that would later grow into iconic movies like “Alien” and, to some extent, John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” It’s a film that operates squarely within the B-movie mold, complete with a rubber-suited monsters. Yet, somehow the movie rises above its limitations through its claustrophobic setting.

Set in the far future of 1973, the story centers on Colonel Edward Carruthers, the lone survivor of the first manned expedition to Mars. When a rescue crew arrives to bring him home, they’re immediately suspicious: all his fellow crewmembers are dead, and it’s hinted that Carruthers himself may have murdered them.

The reality, according to Carruthers, is that a terrifying life form on Mars was responsible, stalking and killing his colleagues during a dust storm. The rescuers, naturally skeptical, pack him up and begin the journey back to Earth, confident that his explanation is just a desperate alibi. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Martian monster that haunted Carruthers has managed to sneak aboard the spaceship, turning what should have been a routine trip back home into a struggle for survival.

Watching “It! The Terror from Beyond Space,” you’ll immediately notice elements that would later be polished to perfection by other filmmakers. Decades before “Alien” terrified audiences with its relentless Xenomorph lurking within the claustrophobic corridors of the Nostromo, “It!” established a similar premise: an extraterrestrial stowaway relentlessly preying on an unsuspecting crew. The film’s cramped spaceship interiors, constructed as sets stacked with pipes and grated floors, had that same sense of confined vulnerability. While the special effects and set designs might appear dated now, the idea that you cannot escape a predator because you are trapped in a tin can hurtling through space is front and center here.

Likewise, fans of “The Thing” will recognize the paranoid atmosphere and the sense of isolation that the story creates. True, “The Thing” perfected that atmosphere by playing with trust, because anyone could be the creature but “It!” hints at similar paranoia in more rudimentary ways. The crew’s disbelief in Carruthers’s story reflects the difficulty of confronting something truly alien and deadly. As the tension mounts and a couple crew members disappear, the group dynamics shift from skepticism to collective desperation. Even without the shape-shifting uncertainty that made Carpenter’s film such a masterpiece, “It!” manages to generate a similarly uncomfortable mood: the feeling that you’re stuck in an enclosed space with a foe you barely understand.

Of course, this is still a 1950s sci-fi B-movie at heart. The monster itself is clearly a dude in a lumpy rubber suit. Audiences today, accustomed to elaborate CGI creatures or more lifelike practical effects, might find the creature silly rather than terrifying. But for its time, the monster must have been a fearsome presence. Interestingly, the film doesn’t shy away from showing the creature quite frequently, unlike later films that used more subtle, partial glimpses. In a way, this unabashed exposure of the monster reduces mystery but increases the pulpy fun, giving “It!” a distinct vintage flavor.

Clocking in at a brisk 69 minutes, “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” doesn’t waste much time. The story leaps into its tension almost immediately once the ship takes off and quickly escalates as people start vanishing. There’s some philosophical tangents about the nature of the alien threat. But the plot is largely dedicated to the crew’s attempts to combat the monster using the limited resources aboard their ship. Guns, fire, grenades, chemicals, and even attempts to smoke the creature out ensue, none of which worked.

In terms of storytelling, the film is straightforward and direct, much like other genre entries of the era. The characters are painted in broad strokes. There’s the heroic survivor, the doubting authority figures, the increasingly frightened crew members, and the basic female characters, who, while not given much complexity, at least participate actively in the crisis.

In many ways, the archetypal approach to character also paves the way for future films like Alien. Alien would similarly feature a close crew of professionals, though it would give them more depth, personality conflicts, and some personal quirks.

“It! The Terror from Beyond Space” created the monster onboard subgenre that would later be refined. Through its claustrophobic, streamlined action and focus on survival against an unknowable predator, this little 1958 movie laid down a blueprint that filmmakers would later use to craft some of the greatest horror and science fiction cinema ever made. Watching it now feels like peering into the blueprint of future nightmares.