外星恶客

《外星恶客》讲述的是什么故事？

《外星恶客》　　Out of the fifties 'B' Science-Fiction monster movies, this easily ranks as the best. It's most notable as the film that ALIEN is an unaccredited remake of, thus giving it a certain historical significance.　　The intriguing plot is about the rescue of the only marooned survivor (Col. Carruthers) of an ill-fated expedition to Mars. The authorities, pig-headed as usual, falsely assume that he murdered his fellow crew members, so that he'd have more provisions to survive hence he is being brought back to Earth to face court-martial for murder. (There is also a somewhat interesting plot reversal here: Most movies of this nature usually begin with the ship leaving Earth, enroute to its otherworld destination, while, in this case, the "story" is believed finished, and begins as the characters take-off from the other planet, returning to Earth). As the rescue ship is leaving Mars, a lurking, ominous shadow is seen in the lower compartment. (A frightening, atmospheric moment, accomplished through sheer economy and simplicity).　　Carruthers insists of his innocence to his fellow captors, claiming that his original crew mates were slaughtered by a hostile, unseen presence on the desolute red planet, but three-guesses as to their reaction to his unusual plea. Naturally, he can't prove it, and 50's space authorities were not very alien conscience at the time. (As a side-thought, "unseen menace" may remind you of that highly "original" BLAIR WITCH).　　As everyone sacks out, a hapless supporting charactor whose name is at the bottom of the casting list (guess what will happen to him?) hears something in the lower compartment. Despite your futile "don't go down there, you jerk!" pleas, he does just that, and is appropriately killed (more like thoroughly obliterated) by the shadowy figure with insatiable blood lust on its mind. In the victim's case, dereliction of duty and sheer cowardliness would have been the wise decision. The scene is actually well-directed (for a change) and develops much suspense, as the entire film surprisingly does.　　The crew finally catches on that they have an unwanted ship crasher on board, and try every possible means at their disposal to eliminate it, but the unknown creature seems to copping an anti-death attitude. Proving to be an even more clever, worthy adversary, 'IT!' also hides out in the ventilation shafts of the ship (now that should ring a bell). Cahn's forceful direction generates considerable tension as the malevolent stowaway works its way up from one level of the confined ship to the next, eventually leaving the remaining characters trapped at the top. The movie's suspense is blunt and right to the point: "IT!' has to kill them or starve, hence they have to kill "IT!" or die. Nothing like those "no two ways about it" choices. Rent it, or check for it on cable if you wish to know the outcome.　　For a low-budget quickie, IT! is quite impressive and memorable. The dreaded sense of claustrophobic tension, rendering the characters' helpless entrapment, is highly effective. This is a production in which the limited budget and small sets actually work in favor of the plot's scary ambience. The black white photography (Yes, it's one of those!) helps to enhance its dark, creepy mood, and the sense of apprehension is quite high. (Modern day color freaks never seem to take that into consideration). The plot is also somewhat cynically ironic: If the creature hadn't stowed away on the ship, Carruthers would have most likely been found guilty of the charges against him.　　The intelligent script (see what I mean about "rareity") was penned by noted Science-Fiction author Jerome Bixby (remember Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life")? The picture's taut editing eliminates any extraneous dross. (ALIEN tended to drag in its first hour with its sophomoric dialogue, and why did it have to include that stupid and ultimately counter-productive sub-plot of Ash being a robot, and further dragging the story down to another big bad conspiracy cliche? UNNECESSARY!!!)　　Director Cahn astutely keeps the rubber-suited monster off-screen and in the shadows through-out most of the proceedings, keeping your paranoid imagination on constant alert. Unfortunately, perhaps at the studio's commercial insistance, it is a little over-revealed at the climax, but I haven't claimed this to be the perfect masterpiece. The performances, though nothing award-winning, are nevertheless cool enough so that one becomes sincerely concerned as to their fates. Not many movies in recent times ever come close to achieving that. They can be over-produced from here to eternity, and usually only succeed in being gloriously annoying.　　This film's story is not really totally original (what is?), for it is based on A.E. Van Vogt's "VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE." All ALIEN fanatics should track down an old used copy to see where the initial influence came from.　　As long as you're not craving another CGI wind-ding, you may find it worthwhile. Just don't expect the women to be Ripley precursors. This was still the sock-knitting fifties, sad to say.

一、《外星恶客》是哪一年上映的？

《外星恶客》是Edward L. Cahn于1958年拍摄的一部经典恐怖片。此片开创美国当代恐怖片的先河，《外星恶客》上映时票房稳坐前三，创下当年纪录。当时Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding均为最佳主角，Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding以精彩演技和突出形象，奠定在美国影坛地位。Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding饰演角色造型多年后仍为人所模仿。Edward L. Cahn之前曾被人怀疑其能力，而《外星恶客》却奠定Edward L. Cahn恐怖片风格。《外星恶客》首映时曾获海外恐怖片和媒体广泛称誉，被认为其优秀程度，是足以与同时期（指1958年代）美国优秀恐怖片齐名。

二、被称为恐怖片的开先河之作的《外星恶客》，是Edward L. Cahn最好的作品吗？

从Edward L. Cahn斩获恐怖片最佳导演开始，很多观众就觉得这部《外星恶客》是他极具代表性的恐怖片。虽然Edward L. Cahn后来还拍出过评价很好的作品，但是《外星恶客》依然常被认为是他恐怖片创作中的重要代表。

三、《外星恶客》为什么可以成为经典？

提起美国，不少观众都会想到《外星恶客》的名字。这部由Edward L. Cahn导演，Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding主演的《外星恶客》，在当时凭借鲜明的人物塑造和紧凑的恐怖片叙事获得了不错反响。正是人物命运、情绪推进和故事节奏之间的相互配合，让《外星恶客》在同类型作品中具有较高辨识度，也让观众对其中的情节留下深刻印象。

四、如何评价《外星恶客》？

《外星恶客》口碑表现稳定，深受广大观众喜爱。不仅Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding的表演有看点，而且该恐怖片故事情节紧凑，影视8（8.hnttlq.cn）观看起来流畅，同时还能保持较强的剧情吸引力。虽然不同观众对《外星恶客》的评价各有侧重，但该片目前的受欢迎程度已经名列同类作品前茅。

五、《外星恶客》恐怖片的主要内容

《外星恶客》是一部恐怖片作品，由导演Edward L. Cahn执导，Marshall Thompson,Shirley Patterson,Kim Spalding主演。影片围绕主要人物的经历展开，通过人物关系、情节推进和情绪变化，呈现出一段具有观看价值的恐怖片故事。

《外星恶客》　　Out of the fifties 'B' Science-Fiction monster movies, this easily ranks as the best. It's most notable as the film that ALIEN is an unaccredited remake of, thus giving it a certain historical significance.　　The intriguing plot is about the rescue of the only marooned survivor (Col. Carruthers) of an ill-fated expedition to Mars. The authorities, pig-headed as usual, falsely assume that he murdered his fellow crew members, so that he'd have more provisions to survive hence he is being brought back to Earth to face court-martial for murder. (There is also a somewhat interesting plot reversal here: Most movies of this nature usually begin with the ship leaving Earth, enroute to its otherworld destination, while, in this case, the "story" is believed finished, and begins as the characters take-off from the other planet, returning to Earth). As the rescue ship is leaving Mars, a lurking, ominous shadow is seen in the lower compartment. (A frightening, atmospheric moment, accomplished through sheer economy and simplicity).　　Carruthers insists of his innocence to his fellow captors, claiming that his original crew mates were slaughtered by a hostile, unseen presence on the desolute red planet, but three-guesses as to their reaction to his unusual plea. Naturally, he can't prove it, and 50's space authorities were not very alien conscience at the time. (As a side-thought, "unseen menace" may remind you of that highly "original" BLAIR WITCH).　　As everyone sacks out, a hapless supporting charactor whose name is at the bottom of the casting list (guess what will happen to him?) hears something in the lower compartment. Despite your futile "don't go down there, you jerk!" pleas, he does just that, and is appropriately killed (more like thoroughly obliterated) by the shadowy figure with insatiable blood lust on its mind. In the victim's case, dereliction of duty and sheer cowardliness would have been the wise decision. The scene is actually well-directed (for a change) and develops much suspense, as the entire film surprisingly does.　　The crew finally catches on that they have an unwanted ship crasher on board, and try every possible means at their disposal to eliminate it, but the unknown creature seems to copping an anti-death attitude. Proving to be an even more clever, worthy adversary, 'IT!' also hides out in the ventilation shafts of the ship (now that should ring a bell). Cahn's forceful direction generates considerable tension as the malevolent stowaway works its way up from one level of the confined ship to the next, eventually leaving the remaining characters trapped at the top. The movie's suspense is blunt and right to the point: "IT!' has to kill them or starve, hence they have to kill "IT!" or die. Nothing like those "no two ways about it" choices. Rent it, or check for it on cable if you wish to know the outcome.　　For a low-budget quickie, IT! is quite impressive and memorable. The dreaded sense of claustrophobic tension, rendering the characters' helpless entrapment, is highly effective. This is a production in which the limited budget and small sets actually work in favor of the plot's scary ambience. The black white photography (Yes, it's one of those!) helps to enhance its dark, creepy mood, and the sense of apprehension is quite high. (Modern day color freaks never seem to take that into consideration). The plot is also somewhat cynically ironic: If the creature hadn't stowed away on the ship, Carruthers would have most likely been found guilty of the charges against him.　　The intelligent script (see what I mean about "rareity") was penned by noted Science-Fiction author Jerome Bixby (remember Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life")? The picture's taut editing eliminates any extraneous dross. (ALIEN tended to drag in its first hour with its sophomoric dialogue, and why did it have to include that stupid and ultimately counter-productive sub-plot of Ash being a robot, and further dragging the story down to another big bad conspiracy cliche? UNNECESSARY!!!)　　Director Cahn astutely keeps the rubber-suited monster off-screen and in the shadows through-out most of the proceedings, keeping your paranoid imagination on constant alert. Unfortunately, perhaps at the studio's commercial insistance, it is a little over-revealed at the climax, but I haven't claimed this to be the perfect masterpiece. The performances, though nothing award-winning, are nevertheless cool enough so that one becomes sincerely concerned as to their fates. Not many movies in recent times ever come close to achieving that. They can be over-produced from here to eternity, and usually only succeed in being gloriously annoying.　　This film's story is not really totally original (what is?), for it is based on A.E. Van Vogt's "VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE." All ALIEN fanatics should track down an old used copy to see where the initial influence came from.　　As long as you're not craving another CGI wind-ding, you may find it worthwhile. Just don't expect the women to be Ripley precursors. This was still the sock-knitting fifties, sad to say.