The Alpha Incident
- Css Darth-Sheol
- Jan 18, 2015
- 4 min read
The Alpha Incident is all about a Martian virus that comes to Earth. We don’t really know how or why (one summary says the Mars probe brought it back, but I must have missed that line in the movie) we just know that the govt. has it, and par for the course, an accident during transit causes an outbreak. The outbreak is small, though, only affecting a handful of people in a secluded location.
A single govt. agent must control the infected populace. It’s his mandate to keep them quarantined whether they want to be or not, and he’ll use lethal force to do it; yet he’s also doing all he can to keep them alive so that when the boys back at the lab come up with a cure everybody can get fixed up and go home.
Falling asleep is lethal. That's when the virus sets in moving unspeakably fast and causing gruesome damage. Lack of sleep can mess with the minds of a group of people that don't necessarily like each other in the first place and are cooped up against their will. Can they possibly stay awake long enough to get cured? Can they stay sane with so little sleep?
The movie is primarily the victims’ story - the struggle of innocent civilians vs. a lone agent just trying to do his job for control of the situation: what little control there is to be had that is. We do get a peek at the characters of the scientists working on the study of the virus, but they never develop much and feel underused even after what feels like a promise for more. Seeing more of them might have been interesting.
The movie does several things right. It’s doesn’t follow typical conventions. The characters don’t feel stereotypical yet don’t feel unnaturally different. Take the train conductor. He’s a simple-minded fellow you might take to be the typical country bumpkin, yet he’s smart enough in his own way – smart enough to not be taken in by a ruse for very long.
The story as a whole doesn’t necessarily go in the direction you might expect. Not that it’s anything you haven’t seen before, there’s far too much out there for this to be unique, but at the same time it doesn’t play out like a dime a dozen movie either. One complaint is that the unexpected ending (well theoretically unexpected maybe, some people will surely see it coming) feels too rushed, as if the director wanted to spring it on us to stun us without really having the emotional impact that it might could have had. It’s not a bad ending; it’s just not completely satisfying. There’s no real tie-up with the scientists. What I thought was a build-up with them fizzles, and there’s not enough of a mood established. More aftermath at the end would have helped.
If I were going to compare it to anything I would say it’s a lot like Night of the Living Dead (not as good, of course) though from a different perspective. The people have a different reason to be penned up and fearing for their lives (no zombies attacking, obviously). But it still has that theme of a group trying to survive with bad decisions costing lives.
Acting is pretty decent. There are some moments that don’t feel completely natural, but for the most part the actors made me believe they were the characters they were portraying. This helps when the pace gets slow.
And get slow it does. There are moments of tension and suspense, but there’s also a lot time spent watching the people trying to keep themselves awake by doing things like playing cards which doesn’t provide a whole lot of excitement.
Atmosphere is probably what the movie is most lacking in. I did enjoy watching the characters, but might have really gotten pulled into the story with a darker, more X Files-y atmosphere about it.
MORALITY:
There’s a fair amount of strong language.
There’s some sexual suggestion and a short shot of bared breasts.
Violence is tame and infrequent but we do see splattered mouse brains and a grotesque human death.
SPIRITUALITY:
When is it appropriate to mistreat one person for the good of another? That's a tough one to call because we know that God allows things to happen so that others may benefit. None is a better example of what happened to Christ. God allowed him to be put to death so that salvation might come to the rest of us. Of course, Jesus was a willing sacrifice; the people in the movie aren't. If the govt. doesn't sacrifice the infected populate, though, what will happen to everybody else? It's not an easy situation.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is an enjoyable movie to some degree. If only it had a stronger atmosphere... Some technical issues (which I'll detail in the buying guide) further drag down the viewing experience. The final result is that it is one most viewers will be just as happy to leave as to take.
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