The Alien Factor - A Prequel to Nightbeast?? - Once again, attention to Ivan Ronald Schablotski and John D Lindsey Jr! And to Derrick Ferguson, Gordon Long, and the rest of the crew! My research into the work of low budget filmmaker auteur Don Dohler, the man behind Nightbeast in 1982, uncovered yet another, even more fondly remembered MUST-SEE of a gem: The Alien Factor, released between 1977 and 1978. This indie cult classic can also be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, and its linked below! It was clear as reported that Dohler and his usual crew - which includes a cast of low tier but reliable troupe of thespians, like John Griffith - composed Nightbeast directly from the script for The Alien Factor. Right to the extent that Griffith plays a big-haired sheriff in both films, and the mayor is played in both films by the same guy, and his name is Burtie in both movies. And the concerns of the mayor regarding publicity was the same in both films! But the aliens and overall series of events are different enough that these can be considered two entirely separate incidents of alien intrusion that are nevertheless related to each other as per my developing theories. Beware of my SPOILERS down below, so you may want to watch this film - and its more than worth the time to do so! - before delving into my mini-analysis. S P O I L E R S The three alien creatures who were said by Benjamin Zachary to be acquired by his people from different worlds across the galaxy seemed to be quite robust in Earths unfamiliar environment. This leads me to surmise that these beings were actually genetically enhanced creatures that were developed for survival on myriad alien terrains. They were quite aggressive, and the most advanced of the three - the energy creature that could absorb the life force from other living beings - seemed as psychotic as the alien killer from Nightbeast. Why did the advanced craft driven by that unknown alien cargo pilot, supposedly a member of Zacharys own race, crash land on Earth circa mid-1970s in the boonies (Perry Hill) of Maryland? My theory is a typical culprit weve previously discussed on the Google group: The Gordian Anomaly, first fleshed out in some detail by our Master Theorist (and thus named after him!). For those coming in late, the Gordian Anomaly is our name for an apparent rift in the space/time continuum in the near-vicinity of the WNBUs Earth that appears suddenly and without warning in the presence of various space vessels, both of Earth and alien origin. It can cause even the most advanced space craft approaching the area of space where Earth is situated to suddenly suffer a full systems malfunction and crash to the planet, or at other times thrusting the craft into other dimensions or alternate future time periods. Ive conjectured that the Gordian Anomaly may be responsible for at least a portion of the numerous crash landings of alien vessels as recorded in many of the sci-fi films from the 1950s and 60s, as well as the Earth astronauts in the original Planet of the Apes film being thrust into that particular alternate future. Other examples from other sources abound as well! Ive also surmised that the Gordian Anomaly may be used - both deliberately and accidentally - by various zany aliens existing in pocket universe versions of the Sol system that appear to have strangely inhabitable iterations of Mars, Venus, etc., and inhabited by often advanced humanoid alien races (note the Martians from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians; those from Mars Attacks!; and those from Mars Needs Women, etc.) to travel to the mainline Earth of the WNBU. This may also be the means by which the Sarmaks traveled from Barsoom in the ERBU (Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe) to the Earth of the WNU. Now back to the movie at hand. The alien who took the guise of Benjamin Zachary was clearly benevolent, and he belonged to a race who had developed advanced psychic abilities as well as advanced technology. Did he really die as appeared to happen at the end of the movie? Im thinking that if he could survive a battle with the energy being, he could recover from a shot gun wound to the gut, but if so, what became of him after this film remains unknown. Could MONSTAAH possibly have records of these incidents, and maybe even a specimen in storage? Could Zachary have functioned as a member of some monster hunting org for a time? At any rate, its my current theory that the killer alien being from Nightbeast was another escapee of this menagerie of enhanced alien beings, only this one was intelligent enough that he pilfered a small escape craft and fled on his own. And this time, he was defeated by the local humans sans any help from Zachary or any other member of his race. Any thoughts on this, crew? https://youtube/watch?v=chOKdLyUPXQ
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:50:42 +0000