Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
4/6/09
Most films are designed in
the hope that either through action, comedy or emotional connection, they'll
contain at least a little something for everybody. On the other hand,
once in a while you see a movie designed more or less exclusively for a
tiny group of people who're likely to take it in as one of their own while
the rest of society looks on in confusion as to why the film even exists.
Alien Trespass, the feature debut of veteran TV director R.W. Goodwin
(best known for his work on The X-Files), is such a movie, a methodical,
light-on-its'-feet attempt to create a new sci-fi movie in the style of
1950's classics like War of the Worlds and It Came From Outer
Space. Intentionally, relentlessly cheesy, it shares with its'
inspiration a pace that would be charitably described as deliberate.
But it's also filled with conviction and high spirits, creating a retro
thriller sci-fi buffs like me will find both sweet and adorable.
The year is 1957. In
the middle of a meteor shower being closely watched by astronomer Ted Lewis
(Eric McCormack) over the objections of his wife Lana (Jody Thompson),
another celestial body falls to Earth: a spaceship piloted by silver-clad
alien Urp (Roy Campsall). The ship cracks open and releases a tentacled
one-eyed alien called a Ghota which immediately starts killing locals,
reducing them to gooey puddles of muddy water. Ted goes to investigate
and turns up the following morning acting VERY strangely. He now
speaks of Ted in the third person and in fact is Urp inside Dr. Lewis'
body. Lana seeks medical help, assuming he fell and hit his head,
leaving Urp to wander off toward the crash site where he gets a ride from
local waitress Tammy (Jenni Baird). He explains to her that the Ghota
will consume every lifeform it can get its' tentacles on before dividing
and beginning a cycle that can only end with the destruction of the planet
unless he stops it first. Meanwhile, three local teens, straitlaced
couple Penny (Sarah Smyth) and Dick (Andrew Dunbar) and goofball Cody (Aaron
Brooks), have seen both the spaceship and the Ghota and struggle to convince
law enforcement, led by soon-to-retire Chief Dawson (Dan Lauria) and smarmy
Officer Vernon (Robert Patrick). As the body count rises, can an
alien, a waitress and three crazy kids save our world from total destruction?
Alien Trespass isn't
really a spoof or even a satire: it invites us to laugh along as
it recreates the stilted dialog, cheesy special effects and bad editing
that at one time were cutting edge, but stops short of actually making
fun. As such, you'll need at least some tolerance/affection for the
weaknesses of 50's drive-in sci-fi. Example: when the Ghota
claims its' first victim, we see quick cuts to a close-up of its' eye,
a close-up of its' tentacle and a close-up of the puddle left behind.
That cracked me up, but if you haven't logged the time watching the work
of filmmakers trying to edit nothing into terrifying action, you might
think it's merely lame rather than gloriously lame.
The Ghota itself is a masterpiece
of rubbery crappiness, a 7-foot phallic tower of tentacles with a big ol'
red eye in the middle. Whenever struck or disturbed, the costume
flops and shakes in a glorious display of fakery. While some
of the other special effects (the rays emitted by Urp's weapon and the
look of his spaceship when in flight) are too good for the time period,
the movie's colorful look (kuddos to cinematographer David Moxness) and
score (by Louis Febre) are spot-on, as are the hair, makeup and costumes.
Where Alien Trespass
wisely diverges from its' inspirations is in providing stronger female
characters (in a “I can relate to this woman” way, rather than the “I am
woman, hear me roar that I'm always right” direction most movies set in
the past err in) and better character arcs than you'd expect to see 50
years ago. Tammy's a budding artist itching for the liberation meeting
a real live alien provides. And while the Chief won't stand for any
back-talk about the quality of Planet Earth, his might just learn to get
to know his neighbors from another world before shooting at them.
Even Urp experiences a few more of those strange Earth emotions than he
expects.
While some of the supporting
players are the wrong kind of broad (deputies Lloyd and Bubba would be
more at home in a Larry the Cable Guy vehicle than a movie from 1957),
the lead performances are spot-on.. McCormack in particular hits
just the right notes as the awkwardly heroic Urp and the cheerfully square
Ted. Thompson lives large as woman who couldn't possibly enjoy being
a 50's housewife any more than she does. Lauria grumbles his way
though a role that includes a whole lot of one-sided telephone conversations
and an amusing temper tantrum when he can no longer deny what's in front
of his face. Baird takes the unusual dimension the script provides
her and runs with it: if Tammy had actually appeared in a movie made
in 1957, she'd be a genre icon. Truth be told, the teens in movies
of this time were always both unconvincing and ridiculously old for their
roles: by being good old-fashioned movie teens, Brooks, Dunbar and
Smyth seem a bit out of place. Patrick has a smarmy good time as
an officer begging to become a puddle of goo.
Alien Trespass isn't
without its' unintentional flaws. The movie gets off to a slow, slow
start, in part because of an unnecessary opening series of newsreels, the
oddest of which lays out a backstory contending that this is a genuine
unreleased
flick from the time period. But why would a newsreel about all prints
of a movie being destroyed precede a showing of that same movie?
And once the film is underway, the period-appropriate slow buildup gets
a little old. But once the Ghota starts piling up victims, Alien
Trespass finally hits its' stride, building to a climax that would
have passed for awesome and relentless in its' day.
I pity any undiscriminating
souls who see the word “Alien” on a marquee and enter Alien Trespass
expecting anything other than what they're getting: this is a movie
for a very narrow niche audience of sci-fi and nostalgia buffs. If
you fit that niche, I highly recommend that you seek it out: it's
not like you've got a lot of fake 50's sci-fi movies to choose from. |
