Alien movie from late 70s early 80s...I think

[tallulah99]

I've been trying to figure this movie out for years. I thought for the longest time that the male lead was Robert Hays, but I've IMDBed that guy up one side and down the other and have to conceded that maybe it wasn't him after all.

I am going on the vague memory of seeing this on television when I was fairly young so it was probably a movie from the late 70s early 80s.

So there was a guy (a journalist maybe? Robert Hayes-esque?) and I'm pretty sure he had a woman with him at least for part of it. There were aliens, which I think were being held at some government facility that everyone thought was abandoned. I remember an external shot of the building with a close up on one of the windows that had a live plant in it (so clearly not abandoned *insert mysterious music here*). The aliens were white or gray and fairly short with the big black eyes - your quintessential alien basically. I know they could kill people by touching them, either like a shock or a burn or something like that.

I think the man and the woman help the aliens escape and in the process the man gets hurt. I remember the man and the woman and several of the aliens were in the bed of a pickup truck and one of the aliens goes to touch the man (of course he kind of cowers back because hey, they burn people with their touch!), but ultimately the alien's touch heals him...or at least doesn't fry him to a crisp.

Okay, that's it. That's all I remember. I know it's not a lot and now that I know the lead isn't 'that guy from Airplane' like I've been thinking for the last 20 years or so, I'm at a complete loss. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

[akiratubo]

I can't think of the title, but the box cover had a man and a woman looking at three or four aliens in iron-lungs.

Ah-ha!

Wavelength.

Here's some pictures from the movie and a review.

http://theggtmc.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-wavelength-1983.html

[Mofo Rising]

I agree with akiratubo.

You were close with the actor. It was Robert Carradine, the guy from Revenge of the Nerds.

I remember the first part of this movie being very eerie and intriguing, with a great score by the ubiquitous-in-the-'80s Tangerine Dream. Then the second half was goofy kids dressed up as aliens.

[tallulah99]

I've been trying to figure this movie out for better than a decade and you figure it out in under ten minutes.  Where you been all this time? Lol.

That is definitely it.  The shot of them in the back of the pick up truck seals the deal.  At least I got the Robert part right!

Thanks so much for chiming in.  I'll sleep better now.  Now to figure out how to actually WATCH this movie again since it isn't available on DVD.  Sigh...

THANKS!!

T