THE ALPHA INCIDENT (1978)
In this low-budget ANDROMEDA STRAIN rip-off, an unknown, and potentially lethal, microorganism is accidentally set loose aboard the freight train that's carrying it through rural Wisconsin. As a result, the five people involved are quarantined at the nearest railroad depot. There's Dr. Sorenson (Stafford Smith), a biochemist who, for some reason, was the only person guarding the virus during its train ride; Hank (Buck Flower), a hayseed railroad worker whose tenacious curiosity led to the exposure of the virus; Jack (John Goff), a brash railroad laborer who resents being held at the depot; Charlie (Ralph Meeker), a subdued, pencil-pushing railroad clerk; and Jenny (Carol Irene Newell), his bookkeeper.
Though classified as a sci-fi movie, THE ALPHA INCIDENT really is not one. Most of it plays out in the railroad depot and features the characters bickering. The five are unique from each other, but not terribly interesting. By the halfway mark, Charlie has pretty much disappeared. He's still there, but melds with the background and barely says a word. Why did Meeker get top billing when he clearly did not play the main character? It's not like anybody would say, “Gosh, Ralph Meeker's in this film! I have to see it now.”
Jenny is supposed to be this classy seductress, but comes across as frumpy. When she changes clothes and emerges in a V-neck dress and high heels, she exudes the provocativeness of a little girl playing dress-up. Jack is a petulant child who yells when he doesn't get his way. Hank is the ostensible comic relief, but his bumbling manner suggests an acquired brain injury. And Sorenson handles his leadership role with the aplomb of M*A*S*H's Henry Blake.
A skilled director would have built up the tension to an excruciating level, but not here. Ultimately, director Bill Rebane does far too little with an interesting (if unoriginal) premise. THE ALPHA INCIDENT suffers from a weak script, spartan sets, uninspired acting, shoddy production values, and characters about whom one simply does not give a damn. It has a few good moments, but there is much mediocrity in between.
