IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE II

US, 1995, 89 minutes, Colour.
Brian Kerwin, Elizabeth Pena, Jonathan Carrasco, Bill Mc Kinney.
Directed by Roger Duchovny.

The first It Came From Outer Space was a small-budget science fiction from the 1950s. It was a success and talked about as a b-budget sci-fi classic. It took another forty years for this version to come – an updating and a remake. The screenplay is based on the original story by Ray Bradbury and the original screenplay by Harry Essex.

The film is well done as regards the drama. However, the special effects are minimal and look like effects rather than anything credible. The cast is strong, Brian Kerwin a genial presence, Elizabeth Pena a good performance as a single mother and Jonathan Carrasco as an enthusiastic young lad.

The film takes its time but builds up its atmosphere quite well. It reserves going into the spaceship until the very end of the film for a final rescue.

1.The popularity of this kind of film? The origins in the b-budget films of the 1950s? The original film?

2.This version as updated, remake? Based on the originals? Reworking them in a late 20th century context?

3.The desert locations, the mountains, the town, the motels and shops? An authentic atmosphere? The musical score?

4.The special effects – minimal? The explosions, the spaceship? The interiors?

5.The focus on the town, Stevie Fields and his bike, meeting Jack Putnam, interested in photography, needing a father figure? Jack’s response? His own photography, friends with the people in the town? His house? The encounters with Stevie? Giving him the camera? Their experience of the crash-landing?

6.The spaceship, no explanations given? The seeming electrical storm? The crash-landing? The rain? The crater? The coyotes and their sinking into the ground, absorbed into the spaceship? Roy Minter and his attacking the coyotes, his being dragged into the spaceship? Ellen and Stevie and their finishing up in the ship?

7.the mystery of what happened? The photos? The further exploration? The build-up the crisis, Jack going into the spaceship, the final rescue? The spaceship departing?

8.The human drama, Jack on his own, enjoying being in the desert? His friends, their wanting him to stay? Ellen, her husband leaving her, the motel, her hard work? Looking after Stevie? Her suspicions about their photography? The bonding with Jack?

9.Stevie, genial young lad, cleaning the windows, his relationship with his mother, memories of his father, wanting attention, wanting a father figure? The photos? The discussions with his mother? The capture?

10.The characters around the town, the Minters, the Grants? Alan Paxon? Genial people? Interactions?

11.The plausibility of this kind of UFO space story? Popular in the 50s – and continuing popularity? Audience credulity?