It! The Terror from Beyond Space – Galxy Spotlight
In our first Galxy movie spotlight, we’re taking a look at Edward L. Cahn’s It! The Terror from Beyond Space from 1958. In this indie science fiction space horror, a reconnaissance crew is the second team sent to Mars, scoping out the fate of a previously sent crew who had perished. All but one—Col. Edward Carruthers (Marshall Thompson), whose own account of events contradicts the general consensus. Widely believed to have been the reason for his crew’s passing, Col. Carruthers insists someone else—someTHING else—is to blame. Quickly, the second crew learns there’s more truth to the colonel’s words than anyone had thought.
The large ensemble cast playing off each other keeps the stakes in It! high without making the film feel like any other desolate space horror. Quite the opposite, with the lively nature of characters like Ann Anderson (Shirley Patterson), Col. Van Heusen (Kim Spalding), and even It (Ray Corrigan) itself keeping the rhythm of the film flowing from one beat to the next. This film marked Corrigan’s final role in a theatrical release.
In the cut of It! available on Galxy, the set pieces by Herman Schoenbrun still shine all these years later, right alongside the costume design work by Jack Masters. Retro-futurism as a style still holds up even in newer films as we’ve seen with Fantastic Four: First Steps, but this is a great example of the aesthetic in action in its prime. The light greys of the ship’s walls stand distinguished as the crewmates hide in the shadows from It, the gentle fade into each other emblematic of the very unknown the crew has delved into.
If you’re looking to check out one of the earliest, most affective space horrors in the medium, check the film out! Even in black and white, the film is anything but devoid of color. Whether in its cast, design, or narrative, there’s something lurking in It! that keeps people coming back a century later.
It! The Terror from Beyond Space is now available to stream on Galxy.