Rating: 
Summary: Maybe a B movie..but it's a serious one
Review: Darned if this movie didn't turn out to be a taut, suspenseful, atmospheric movie that really does appear to be the basis for "Alien." The plots are essentially the same: alien monster hitches a ride on a spaceship and picks off the crew one by one. The monster, obviously, isn't up to modern special-effects standards: it's a guy in a rubber suit (they did a really good job of hiding the zipper, though.) There are some pretty icky scenes: the monster can bend rifles in half, one guy gets his head caught between the creature's dinner-plate-sized claws and gets shaked, rattled and rolled to an early grave. Another guy gets trapped in a corner and has to keep this fanged terror at bay with a torch (will it run out? I'll never tell.) Even you don't watch it just as a precursor to "Alien" it's still a pretty good film in its own right.
Rating:
Summary: Big Ugly Martian Runs Amok on Space Ship!
Review: Do you ever yearn for the days when the Million Dollar Movie would scare the bejesses out of you? Well, turn down the lights, get your popcorn and Bosco, and watch this classic from the 50s.A rescue mission to Mars is bringing back the sole survivor to stand trial for killing his commrades in order to survive. Unfortunately, they bring something else back too - one big ugly nasty creature intent on sucking every drop of moisture out of the unsuspecting crew. As the plot unfolds, they try everything to kill this thing off, but to no avail. A thrilling climax tops it all off. This film is pure 1950s, and [many suggest] was the model for the film, Alien, because of the many similarities (including the infamous "C" deck and air duct fiasco). Although dated, it's great fun - a must see for all affectionados! Bax
Rating:
Summary: Great Story - Nutty 50's Effects and sets
Review: Hey, this is, I am told the precursor to Aliens and that whole series of monster movies on spaceship. Well it is a fun story, crazy sets, typical to the 50's, and so dated. It kept making me just a bit crazier than usual and I was glad when the monster grabbed the nut opening the carton of cigarettes. For the Gods sake, even Jules Verne had more sense than that. All those glass bottles and open everythings... Jeeze mareez this ship was a death trap before it got off the ground. But, anyway, the movie is a classic and is really well worth the time to rent first and then decide to buy. It matters because it is absolutely a good story. Just remember it was a really scary movie for its time and damn good one now days. Worth a late night, munch some popcorn and laugh at the sets but still shiver at the concept type movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting little Sci Fi effort not well known today
Review: I am surprised at how little known this Sci Fi effort is today. It definately served as the basis for the more recent effort "Alien" and for it's time was a good effort.
There is no point in going on about how amateurish the special effects are etc etc. View it in the context of the time it was made and you will enjoy it. It has for that period a fairly original and well constructed story line that slowly builds suspense. Sure tha actors involved do lack a bit of charisma but within the confines of the setting they perform well under the circumstances moving from the disbelieving stance in the first part of the story to sheer terror as the Mars creature closes in and begins to kill the crew members one by one. The creature in question I feel has a good scary appearance and the way it is slowly brought into the story from being just a shadow to being a full on killer is very effectively done
What's all this nonsence by other reviewers of mentioning "The female crew members serve the men coffee"!!!! So what! They are depicted in the story as medical professionals or scientists so really why is that supposed to be an issue?? Quite a lot of these great 50's sci fi films often show women in non traditional roles as researchers or scientists not that that really needs to be something that even needs to be mentioned anyway I feel.
The overraul look of the film is good and I think you will enjoy the film at under 70 minutes. I always feel these 50's films have a real charm and interest about them and dont rely totally on special effects for their entire running time like some of the dreadful modern sci fi films like the cinema version of "Lost in Space"
I recommend "It, the Terror from beyond Space" for a trip down memory lane and as a unique look into how Sci Fi films used to be made
Rating:
Summary: A Personal Favorite
Review: I first saw the movie as a midnight show on a local network in late 1978. It was the first thing I ever taped with a VCR, and I admit I was 9 at the time. This was before Alien had been released so I didn't have anything to compare it too. I didn't notice the similarities until years later when I re-taped it. A spaceship was sent to Mars, and something went terribly wrong so a rescue ship was sent. When they discover a single survivor, the mission changes to that of transporting a prisoner to Earth so he can stand trial for the murder of the rest of the crew. After they leave Mars, members of the crew begin to be killed one by one. It! was mentioned in the January/February 1997 issue of Cinescape. The main article was "Not Of This Earth: The Most Influential Science Fiction Movies of All Time," and there was a side article "The Last Word" on page 33. Bob Burns makes some comments about It! since he was the Production Assistant. He stated that Dan O'Bannon admitted that Alien was based on it. He also reveals that Crash Corrigan (who plays the monster in It!) was drunk during most of the filming. To me, I'd also say that It! has something else in common with Alien. It doesn't have the typical alien design used for the time it was made. The costume may not be as groundbreaking as Giger's design plus a couple of other movies had similar monster designs - but it still was not a common presentation for an alien. Even the method for killing the alien is a bit original. Although I enjoy most of the old sci-fi movies, I feel this one is better than most made at the time. Perhaps because it's a little different. The acting is not the best. The special effects aren't either. There are better quality sci-fi films like Forbidden Planet, The Day The Earth Stood Still, or The Thing From Another World. (The last two are not on DVD at the time of this writing. The remake of The Thing is.) The story moves along at a reasonable pace. You don't have to wait too long before something happens. It doesn't plod along. For the most part, there's not really any unnecessary moments. Not too many extras on the DVD beyond the trailer. It's interesting that the trailer seems to use subliminal titles flashing at points instead of the usual promotional information sweeping across the image like many movie trailers made at the time. They have black text flashing on screen saying things like "See IT." In the trailer, the movie is simply called It.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: I hate to disagree with the majority here but I was disappointed with this one. It relied too much on the guy in the monster suit rather than trying to build mystery and suspense, which is so important to a low budget sci fi like this one. I found the acting to be sub-par, even for a 50's sci fi. Definatley obvious that this film inspired the now famous Alien, though. If you're looking to build a 50's sci fi section in your video library it would be wise to start with the other 'It' movie, It Came From Outer Space. This one also had a low budget but the acting and suspense make it far superior.
Rating: 
Summary: I know it was made in the '50's, but. . . .
Review: I know it was made in the '50's, when sci-fi films were made on shoestring budgets, but this movie is horribly disappointing. I really expected a lot more, especially since screenwriter Jerome Bixby wrote some memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. The story does little to hold your attention, and the acting is pathetic. A lot of other movies from this era did a much better job of holding audience attention without necessarily having a better budget (see the original version of The Thing). It could have easily been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype-- This is badly scripted.
Review: I know the man who scripted this movie is also credited with Twilight Zone episodes. Maybe he had a better editor while working in televison. This feels like it could have been a decent half hour episode-- but it is extended-- until it becomes a chore to watch-- Something I've noticed about the early sci-fi movies-- The movies about space exploration are not usually as well done as the movies about alien invasion. You need a certain budget to make spacecraft and alien worlds look believable-- You don't need a really big budget to make an alien invasion look good-- just enough money for a UFO and an alien costume. Forget this movie and check out INVADERS FROM MARS or IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. Both are very well done.
Rating:
Summary: Stands apart and above most of its 50's Sci-Fi peers
Review: I saw this movie at a Saturday Matinee theater when I was ten years old in 1958. As a particularly astute viewer of monster movies, I left with a great sense of satisfaction that I had seen a grippingly good movie. Imagine my surprise when I saw Alien for the first time on the big screen some 35 yrs later and told everyone that it was a remake of a movie that I enjoyed in my youth. No one recalled seeing the movie except me, and I think they seriously doubted that such a 50's science fiction flick could have been so good. Now I can't wait for some imaginative producer to come up with a superb remake of something like "The Tingler."
Rating: 
Summary: The progenitor for "ALIEN" and many other films
Review: If you can get past black & white, if you can get past cheap effects and slow pacing this is a very scary film. Put yourself back in time and remember when this film was released, this was some serious stuff back in the day. Although it is pretty sad that back then they felt even in the future female scientists would only be good for cleaning up the dinner plates in space, oh well what are you gonna do. But if you liked "ALIEN" and any film that followed in it's footsteps why not try this one, you will have to admit it is scary how close it comes to alien, also see "PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES" if you watch both of these films you will see what I mean.
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