

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scramble to a secure laboratory and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.
Production
That underground lab set is pure 70s sci-fi perfection.
Direction
Wise makes test tubes and computer screens genuinely thrilling.

Director
Robert Wise
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Michael Crichton was still in med school when he wrote the novel; the film's clinical authenticity comes from real lab consultants.
Released during Apollo missions, this fed genuine NASA contamination fears—Project Scoop was fictional, but planetary protection protocols became very real.
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