Alien Trespass Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It came from another galaxy. A creeping, crawling, nightmare of terror!
She was a waitress - he was a space alien.
Terror - the whole family can enjoy.
They! Have! Arrived!
The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above California's Mojave Desert. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis, who is preparing a special dinner for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana to celebrate their wedding anniversary. In another part of town, Tammy, a waitress at small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams. But, what Dr. Lewis and Tammy assume is a shooting star, is really an alien spaceship. The fiery ball hurtles toward earth and crash-lands on a butte in the desert. The only witnesses are teens Dick and Penny who are necking in a nearby lover's lane. A tall, metallic alien named Urp emerges from the craft unharmed, alarmed to discover that the monstrous Ghota, who was also on board, has escaped. The menacing one-eyed creature's unquenchable appetite could mean the end of civilization as we know it. Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extra-terrestrial, but to do so he has to take over the body of Dr. Lewis and enlist the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police - including Chief Dawson and Officer Vern - are confirmed skeptics and offer little help. Together, Urp and Tammy must hunt down the Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world!
| Eric McCormack | Ted Lewis, Urp |
| Jenni Baird | Tammy |
| Robert Patrick | Vernon |
| Jody Thompson | Lana Lewis |
| Dan Lauria | Chief Dawson |
| Aaron Brooks | Cody |
| Sarah Smyth | Penny |
| Andrew Dunbar | Dick |
| Sage Brocklebank | Stu |
| Jonathan Young | Lloyd |
| Michael Roberds | Bubba |
| Tom McBeath | Wilson |
| Jerry Wasserman | Sam |
| Vincent Gale | Styles |
| R.W. Goodwin |
7.50 out of 10 (156 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Watch The Skys! Great Sci-Fi Homage to the Fifties!
posted on 31 Aug 2009Watch the Skys! The BEM (Bug Eyed Monster) is on the loose!
[The Alien Trespass website is constructed like a news broadcast, lots of fun and trivia.]
This film is a direct to DVD special made by X-Files director R. W. Goodwin The X-Files - The Complete First Season (Slim Set) . The DVD is great because it has mockumentary interviews with the "stars" of the "long lost" archived film from 1957, with your host, Edwin R. Burroughs (five points for a correct guess as to whom they're mocking).
Several points are made that do not make this a parody, but more a laugh out loud commentary on the period of the 1950s (if you ignore the Korean War, nuclear threat or teenage rebellion) as an optimistic time.
The movie is a homage of sorts, written to emulate such classics as It Came from Outer Space, The Day The Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds.
The professor/astronomer (played by Eric McCormack Will & Grace: The Complete Series) and his buxom wife are about to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Suddenly, A spaceship comes sailing out of the sky, all sparks flying wrong-way to. What the heck was that?
"Well darling, you have to get your anniversary present first," she coos, and leads him to the bedroom. The next scene, they're fully clothed in their pajamas when the prof sneaks out and meets the spacecraft.
His body is taken over by Urp, a sort of Federal ranger of space (he claims), where the rest of the movie involves capturing the BEM before it divides and turns mankind into so much goo.
As the puddles of goo multiply and the town becomes panicky, only a plucky, blonde waitress stands in the way of preventing the bumbling small town police from screwing up the rescue attempt.
The features reveal a story within a story, where the directors in 1957 are in a contract dispute and destroy all the prints. One is found though, as we see in a recent "news broadcast."
The attention to detail right down to the '57 Chevy's and the teenage kids is funny and downright laughable, in a fun way.
There is the theater scene, right out of The Blob, where The Blob is actually being played in the theater. The BEM reaches his tentacle on a girl's shoulder. She thinks that's her date's arm and bats the tentacle away. [Except The Blob was released in 1958 and this film "release" is 1957, but don't worry about that.]
The alien is trying to explain his mission to the waitress, and she says his name is "Urp." She says, Oh, I got a Rolaids for you!"
The whole package is cute and is appreciative of the wacky 50s sci-fi of the time.
Must-watch.
To appreciate this film, you should watch:
It Came From Outer Space
The Blob - Criterion Collection
The Day the Earth Stood Still (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The War of the Worlds (Special Collector's Edition)
Nothis is Ever as Good as Homage Pie
posted on 31 Aug 2009A wonderful, insightful, homage to the ol' creature from beyond the stars films of the 50s. Our whole family enjoyed this dvd. The kids liked the humor and the weirdness of it and we parents enjoyed the winks, nod, and humor.
The framing and sound editing are extremely well done.
The bonus features just add they icining on the cake to the feel of the film.
Kudos to all involved!
Enjoy It Coz We Won't See Many More Like It.
posted on 31 Aug 2009Alien Trespass is a fun movie. It's a quirky film that playfully tries to pass itself off as a "lost" sci-fi epic from 1957 that has recently been discovered. Well, the bright color and limited use of computer effects blow that out of the water. Not to mention a character saying, "I gotta take a whiz". But this movie isn't trying to replicate a 50s film to the letter, instead it's done in the same style as far as the storyline goes, as well as the acting style.
The plot takes elements from classic 50s sci-fi films and puts them in a blender for an entertaining story. In the film, an intergalactic "federal marshal" named Urp lands on Earth to apprehend a Ghota, which looks like a large pickle with tentacles and one eye. Temporarily using the body of a pipe smoking astronomer, Ted Lewis, the spacecop clumsily makes his way through town, knowing practically nothing about how to interact with human beings. Meanwhile, the dreaded Ghota is going on a killing spree, eating everyone in it's path and leaving only slimy puddles behind. The disappearances get the police thinking the culprit may be Lewis, as his new and bizarre behavior is suspicious. Plus, there are various people including two teenage lovers, who have seen the Ghota and are trying to convince people. The only one who seems to believe the incredible story is a waitress at the local diner who teams up with Urp for the big showdown with the Ghota.
This film is a tribute and an homage, but it is not a parody or spoof exactly. I've never been all that fond of spoofs of this kind of material as they seem unnecessary. After all, you're trying to spoof something that was already funny to begin with. Since the acting and writing style here are in the vein of the 50s, the laughs don't come from wink-winks and nudge-nudges to the audience, but instead come from the same things that made you laugh at those old movies. The acting is impressive(especially from lead Eric McCormack) considering that trying to learn the acting style of this time period and genre can't be as easy as it looks.
It's not perfect by any means. I feel it should have been done in Black & White and eliminated the scarce computer graphics altogether, as it tends to go against the overall cheapness the movie is going for. Oh, well.
The disc has some nice extras with "vintage" interviews with the cast as well as legitimate interviews with director Goodwin and Eric McCormack.
Many folks are gonna walk away from this thinking it's terrible, especially if they have no clue what the whole thing was supposed to be. But to us oddballs that adore the schlocky sci-fi films of the 50s, Alien Trespass is a real treat.
Great send-up of classic sci-fi!
posted on 31 Aug 2009Absolutely hilarious send-up of 1950's monster movies. If you ever watched Creature Double Feature as kid, or loved movies like 'The Blob' and 'Them!" as much as I do, then you'll love this flick as well. It looks great, and I love all the nice little touches (i.e. separate twin beds for the married couple; or how the husband has one foot on the floor when they do sleep together).
Why This Film Is NOT for Everybody
posted on 31 Aug 2009 "Homage" has become an over used term, often interchangable with rip-off. Comedy is by far the most difficult form of film to pull off. Looking at the other reviews ahead of this one I see I am in the minority here so far.I suspect this may be generational. One Boomer's opinion.
If you don't read any further, remember this. It is always easier to tare down or lampoon something someone else did than to create something yourself. Cheep shot comedy is only one step above porn. Practically anyone can do it badly. Alien Trespass is THE perfect example.
With glaring parallels to "It Came From Outer Space" this company set off to create a mythological Ed Wood back story to help lead you into this deliberately bad movie. Then they shoot it in impossibly good color hi-def video, destroying their 50s look. The saucer and other SPFX suffered the same problem, over simplistic in design only. Even the big rubber monster was so clean and slick it was impossible to create back in the 50s. It looked too good and was over shown in full daylight. Worst of all was the acting. It was ment to be bad. It is nausiating. But it was not funny. Totally missed the mark.
The people who watch Attack Of The Crab Monsters,The Killer Shrews, or the original Invaders From Mars just to laugh at them are missing the point. These low budget, drive-in dandies were not ment to be sloppy cheap bad movies. They were not comedies either and the actors never treated them that way. If they got unintentional laughs,so be it. But at the time these modest productions were all there was. Universal was the best with United Artists not so great in production values. But none of these films were deliberately bad by pretending to be funney.
Two hideous exeptions are the original Little Shop Of Horrors which was knocked off on a bet. And there was a creature or monster or thing "---- From the Haunted Sea" (sorry). Both of these Roger Corman (gag) classics were pawned off as horror comedies. The Little Shop has it's moments. The other film is as unwachable as it is forgetable. There are dozens of cheep, incompitant flics out there to jeer at. These stand out only because they totally failed on every point exept making money. Nothing is as unforgivable as a boaring flop of a comedy.
So wat's your point, man?!!
The Sci Fi and horror of the 50s and early 60s are invaluable object lessons in something out of nothing dream movies. Film makers should be watching those oldies learning what they did with thousands of dollars in stead of millions of dollars, writing solid stories using real talent. Not more half stoned nobodies swapping trash talk with any bimbo who will take her shirt off.
"That was then and this is now. The market has changed."
BUNK!!! Familier excuses to sell junk to a jaded market.
"No body really takes that stuff seriously anyway. It's just an old movie." Right.
Just an old movie like the original King Kong, Frankenstien, Dracula, The Wolfman, Them, The Creeping Unknown, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, 7nth Voyage Of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, and oh yeah, Star Wars.
Look Mah! No CGI! With today's tools there is no excuse for worthless crap movies.
Want a perfect 50s spoof? See Mars Attacks! Again. And again......
Alien Trespass is an insult to everything imaginative fiction is about. And it just plane stinks!
In my opinion. JPF
Five stars for what it is, a sendup
posted on 31 Aug 2009Five stars for what this movie is, a humorous, tongue-in-cheek sendup of the sci-fi films of the 1950's. To its evocations of other films that other reviewers have mentioned I would add "The Day The Earth Stood Still."
If you're old enough to remember the 1950's you will love the verisimiltude in this movie. The cops' car is a 1953 four-door Model 210 Chevrolet (6-cylinder Blue Flame engine, 115 hp., 6-volt electrical system). The professor's car is a 1956 Buick Special Hardtop, 220 hp. My family in Boston had both those models when I was a kid. You can recall some of the sloppy production on those 1950's beasts when U.S. automakers were on top of the world and let their quality control slip. If you look closely at the side trim on a scene of a '57 Ford you will see that the pieces don't quite match up. That was frequently so true back then.
The set dressing of the cafe is delicious. Look at the signs and the prices! Also some of the house-interior scenes. Brought back memories.
All and all this film is a light, good and nostalgic evening's entertainment.
LOOK TO THE SKIES
posted on 31 Aug 2009
There is a certain member of movie fandom that loves old movies. And each genre has its own devotees. Classic musical fans love the MGM musicals. Horror fans the Universal classics. And science fiction fans love those bug eyed monsters invading earth from the stars. The film ALIEN TRESPASS pays homage to those films while placing a tongue firmly in cheek.
The story begins (in the extended version) with the grandson of the film's producer and the grandson of the film's star introducing the picture. Of course they carry on the fight that began with their grandfathers over the film and then allow it to begin. The film had been shelved for years and now they'd decided to release it.
The story begins with astronomer/professor Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack) watching the skies while cooking on the grill as a meteor shower begins. But when a large meteor lands nearby, he abandons his wife at home to investigate.
As we already know, the meteor was actually a spaceship crashing. And while we watch, an alien in space gear exits the ship and wanders about. When Lewis shows up, his mouth opens to scream but before we can hear the scene changes.
Cut to lovers lane where teens Dick and Penny are parked. They have seen the crash as well but think it was just a meteor. As Penny pushes away Dick's advances and encourages him to leave the area, they are confronted by a 6 foot tall, one eyed, tentacled creature. The care starts and they escape. But who to tell? No one will believe two teens in the 1950's.
The local police think it's all a prank when people begin missing and the teens tell their tale of a monster on the loose. But all the while Lewis, now possessed by the alien, hunts down this monster. With the help of waitress and aspiring artist Tammy, he tracks down the alien and explains what is going on.
It turns out the alien's name is Urp and he was transporting the Ghota to a prison planet when it forced his craft to crash. Now they have just a few hours before the Ghota divides and begins a quest for world domination based on its hunger. They only have a small amount of time to save the planet, but how can they do so with no help from the local law?
The movie plays it straight as if this actually was a film made during the science fiction craze of the fifties. Everything from the sets to the styles to the acting screams low budget B-movie cheese. The people who made those films truly thought they were making something special, which we now can recognize that they did. At the same time they were making some of the campiest messes ever placed on celluloid.
The movie doesn't knock those early films though. Instead it is paying tribute to the films that came before, giving a wink and a nod to film buffs along for the ride. The actors actually act as we recall the actors from that time period acting in these films. The monster is extremely low budget looking but functional. Amazingly enough the only thing that doesn't look lifted from that time period is the cinematography.
McCormack does a great job as grandfather/grandson. While the elder of the two spoke as if he was the greatest actor alive, McCormack shows his pompous side as is that of his grandson. Robert Patrick shows up as an obnoxious sheriff who takes the teens in town to task just for being young. Dan Lauria turns in a steady performance as the town sheriff who doesn't believe but begins to do so as the body count rises and pools of goo are left in the wake of the Ghota.
Directed by R. W. Goodwin who wrote several period piece episodes of THE X-FILES, the film shows his love of movies like THE BLOB and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE with a touch of I MARRIED A MAN FROM OUTER SPACE tossed in. You get the sense he has a true admiration of the genre and perhaps can encourage a new generation to seek them out.
ALIEN TRESPASS isn't a perfect film. It also might not be for certain tastes. But it does offer an entertaining evening for rental that the entire family can watch together. Fun, homage and the confrontation between man and alien make for a film worth watching.
Outstanding Blu, fun movie
posted on 31 Aug 2009I was quite interested in seeing this film after the ads started a few months ago, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Amazingly, I just watched one of the clearest Blu titles since this format started, and regardless of the retro content (both supplements and film) the modern BD clarity was perfect.
The whole made-in-the-50s feel, acting and effects (love the Flash Gordon-esque sparkler effect on the falling ship) were a great homage to the industry. Funny as it sounds, Robert Patrick was performing the best I have seen (for him in a film) in years - he also manages to acknowledge that twice in the supplement interviews. We have a small 1950s town besieged by a crash-landed alien, played by Eric McCormack (an interesting change from Will & Grace). One of his critters manages to turn people into water, and the sheriff, played by Robert Patrick, tries to save the day.
Picture quality and DTS sound - wow. Supplements are more a mixed bag but still fun. The Burrows interviews are split into two film stock degraded segments (10:30 and 8:00 minutes) showing retro interviews of the actors still in character as if they were from the 50s. The Breaking News and Live news clips last a few minutes and are equivalent to being trailers with a quick news feed feel. The interviews with Goodwin and McCormack total eight minutes and cover some of the back story and character material. Goodwin stated he wanted to make something fun that people would laugh at, and he has succeeded. Two more trailers round out the extras.
I would have liked to see more on the actual making-of and how they got the picture to look so good, but this film can easily stand as a five star Blu on content alone. No shortage of great cars and props either.
A very good homage to 50's sci-fi
posted on 31 Aug 2009When I saw that this movie was playing at a old time theater that my wife and I used to go to when we were first married in the 70's, sounds fun, lets go see it. Popcorn, drink, a real balcony and a 50's style sci-fi movie, what could be better. And for the actors, real "B" quality. For the most part, a real homage to sci-fi. Blob and It Came from Outer Space comes to mine. Unfortunately, Eric McCormack in trying to act like a 50's B actor, over acted his part. He seems to be posing. Look I'm Richard Carlson, no I'm Hugh Marlowe, no I'm Grant Williams, etc. Lot of fun at the theater. You can go back. Not sure if the prerelease price is worth it ($19.49).
Oh. For the story line see "It Came from Outer Space".
What a movie!
posted on 24 Aug 2009I just watched this movie at the Palm Springs Film Festival Premier screening and I recommend you all to watch, it is a great movie and I had the pleasure to see the Director and Erick McCormick talking about the movie and the making of this fantastic work. I will see it again when is on the movie circuit! The scenes really takes us back in time and the Cast did work their part really well too, the costumes. It's funny, entertaining and everyone in the Theater had the were really pleased and voiced out on their comments.Worth Seeing everyone!Yara
April Is the Cruelest Month
posted on 20 Aug 2009April is the cruelest month. Get all excited by trailers for X-Men (May 1), Star Trek (May 8), Terminator (May 21), Night at the Museum (May 22), and Ice Age (July 1), and then THIS is the "feature"?This is the quintessential "up to you" movie. While Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse tried to recreate the 1950s double-feature movie experience (complete with bad framing, scratched pictures, and missing reels), this 2009 release tries to recreate an actual 1950s alien-invasion movie. And it does a fine job of it, if that's your cup of tea, right down to the chintzy crashed UFO and the monsters in rubber suits.There's a scientist, of course. There always is. This one has his body taken over by Urp, a marshal from outer space, who's trying to track down the monstrous, tentacled, sometimes invisible, huge-eyed alien ghota before it can start reproducing. After a bit, even the astronomer's dolled-up, perpetually hot-to-trot wife notices something amiss. Meanwhile, the local teens continue their running feud with the cops, who continue to doubt the odd things they claim to have seen. Many of the scenes take place in the local diner, whose PM- shift waitress becomes the unlikely heroine.The best use of a scientist I've seen in such a film was the tongue-in-cheek Tremors, in which we get the standard scene of all the townspeople standing around speculating where the giant worms might have come from. Space aliens? Radioactive mutants? Evolution run amuck? They all turn to look at the scientist, who says "How should I know? I'm a geologist!". And that's that!The only bit in Alien Trespass that comes close to this is when the young hot-rodder wants to go scope out the new cars and his friends try to persuade him to go alien-hunting instead. "Edsels will be around forever", they reassure him. Of course, that line might very well have occurred in an actual 1957 film.Aside from that 1 bit, they play it absolutely straight. And, if I were reviewing it straight as well, it would share a 2 with this week's other miscarriage (Dragonball Evolution). But I admit to a certain nostalgia for this kind of thing, so it ends up smack in the middle.
Loved the movie
posted on 16 Aug 2009I attended the premiere of "Alien Trespass" last night and I wanted to share a thought or two. Authentic is the first word, which comes to mind. The sets, the period pieces, the language, the automobiles, everything was beautifully realized, developed, researched to create the "authenticity" of small town America in 1957.Humor, well, it goes without saying. The script was superb. "Great Dick" "The Goata is a biomorphic being cable of making itself invisible" "Paranoid camera" " The Edsel will be around forever" " I had a pipe"Execution, Direction, Lighting, Timing, all superbly done, top notch and professional. It was crafted beautifully.I left the movie theatre with a sense of delight and chuckle. My older sister remarked how she remembers playing on the Electrolux when we were kids skidding around the living room like a sleigh. The colorful jackets, the housewife, the pipe, The 3 holed Buick (not a four holed Century) all fond memories as a kid growing up. The illusion of a better time, innocence, naivety, which we fondly look back on, but it never really existed, the lack of knowledge but the pursuit of greater understanding of space, star ships, time travel, aliens, far off planets and the unknown. I walked out thinking "I loved that movie" it brings back so many good memories. But the movie does more. With all its authenticity, humor, superb production, scoring, timing, lighting, acting, writing and direction, all necessary ingredients to establish quality, continuity and credibility, the movie makes us laugh at ourselves. This was best realized when we, the audience, were seated in the theatre watching a movie about a movie. It was during the "Blob" segment that we in fact became part of history.The Blob segment was woven brilliantly, right down to the original chief of police. Instead of hearing Steve McQueen shouting CO2, CO2, I kept saying to myself, NaCl idiots, NaCl. The audience was experiencing three movies at once and we were laughing at all three simultaneously. So, it was more than a period piece, but also contemporary in its ability for us to see ourselves over a 50 year stretch of time and simultaneously, ponder if the human race will evolve in the coming 50 years.It was simple in its complexity like Little Miss Sunshine, nothing pretentious, just accessible and wonderful for everybody. It makes us feel humanly vulnerable and gives us an opportunity to laugh at ourselves in the process. To ponder complex ideas in simple human terms and concurrently laughing out loud at our naivety and silliness, is well, very tough to pull off successfully…………. I loved it, thanks for making it.An avid movie goer.
I guess we've seen it a dozen of times
posted on 14 Aug 2009I really don't get what the idea behind this movie is supposed to be. Its not really funny or a spoof as one might expect. Basically what you get is a homage to 50ies/60ies alien movies with all clichés I could think of. You got the flying saucer, you got the diner, you got the kids going out into the desert looking for the saucer, you got a cranky cop, a scientist, a heroine waitress and an alien changing into human form as well as another one reducing people into puddles. The whole thing has a pretty trashy look and the alien looks pretty ridiculous. Throw in a ridiculous love story and off you go... So what you get is the viewing experience of a dated alien movie with no new ideas whatsoever presented in modern Technicolor (the whole thing is flashy and over saturated). If "Alien trespass" was supposed to be funny I didn't get the joke unless its funny to remake a 60ies movie without adding anything new to it except for higher production values. Avoid unless you are into trashy 60ies Sci-Fi movies.
I highly recommend Alien Trespass
posted on 04 Aug 2009I must say I loved the movie Alien Trespass. I saw it at a test screening in LA recently and because my parents are from the 50's I really didn't think I'd like it. However it's a movie that's intelligent yet innocent, vintage yet state-of-the-art, thrilling and also heart-felt. I thoroughly enjoyed the Gold-a-Vision concept; the colors were so vibrant! Alien Trespass is the best trapped-with-a-monster-right-behind-you movie I've seen in a long time. Wait until you see the Ghota! It's actually scary in a really creepy way.Tammy (Jenny Baird) is a heroine like no other in 50's sci-fi films. She thrills you, she is strong yet she is also soft. Tammy is a real woman who does what she can (and then some) to protect herself and the people around her. Of course, the better known Eric McCormack, Dan Lauria and Robert Patrick all dole out superb performances; but keep in mind that this film is stocked with new-comers who are perfectly cast in their believable characters.Alien Trespass is a perfect movie for both young and old. You won't see any nudity or hear any cussing - just a smart, clever script and a well-done storyline. A great sci-fi ride in a time machine. It's really a classic from the 50's (back to the future) and who knows - maybe it even could have happened . . .
A wonderful revisit of the 50's Space Monster Movie
posted on 02 Aug 2009It's not really a Spoof. They are playing their lines EXACTLY as they would had it been 1950. The difference is that now in the 21st century-- we can do Spaceships and Monsters MUCH better.But it's all there-- the sleepy midwest town. The Scientist and his wife. The Town Sheriff and his Deputy. The Teen lovers sneaking a smooch at 'The Point'. The Town 'Bad Boy'. . . and all the rest. Except now it's all in brilliant HD color. And in the dialogue and sets you can catch the little winks at the Manufactured Mores of that time.Think "It Came from Outer Space" re-Mastered and you'll have fun watching it. Especially if you're old enough to remember!This one is Best for a Saturday Night. And Oddly enough, this movie isn't for the Kids. It's for Us.Have some chilled wine and pull the girlfriend close. Even She'll have a hoot!
A gentle, funny movie; gets the spirit right, if not the details.
posted on 31 Jul 2009I started watching Alien Trespass with some reservations: I'm definitely a fan of the "source material" for this movie, but I haven't really enjoyed many of the handful of retro/homage/pastiche 50s-style genre films I've seen in the past decade.In the early going, if you're inclined to be suspicious of the movie's intent (and I was), you may find some technical details that are sort of jarring: "cheap" CGI substituting for the papier-mâché-string-and-sparklers school of SFX, matte paintings and studio backdrops that somehow don't feel period-authentic (might be that the compositing is too good, even when it's intentionally "bad?"); that sort of thing.However, once I was introduced to the excellent and very likable cast, and allowed myself to settle into the rhythm of the dialogue, none of that mattered. There's a gentleness in the style and humour that just felt right to me. Of course "right" is completely subjective, and all but useless in determining if you will like the movie; I'll say instead that if you're not in a technical-nitpicking frame of mind (or if you are, but you're willing and able to get past that), it's a very easy movie to enjoy, especially if you're relaxing with it on a lazy Sunday afternoon.There's a lot of sharp, caustic humour to be found on TV and in movies these days, and that's not a criticism - I guess I enjoy ironic detachment, sarcasm, and "snark" as much as the next guy - but if you come to this movie expecting that kind of experience, I think you're going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you genuinely like the source material, and you're willing to enjoy something pretty much on its own terms, without the broad safety net of winking self-awareness that most "retro" films seem to employ, then I think you'll have a good time with Alien Trespass.
Loving tribute to 1950s scifi, somewhat hampered by its very sincerity
posted on 31 Jul 2009Let's be clear right from the start -- "Alien Trespass" is not a spoof. Nor is it a parody, satire, sendup, lampoon, or pastiche. It may be presented as a spoof and most ticket buyers will likely go in expecting one, and the makers of the film may even have set out to produce a spoof.But what they achieved instead is a meticulous recreation of a film from the 1950s, earnest and straightforward. The period detail is truly impressive, with costuming, sets, and locations all note-perfect. Even the casting is to be commended, especially for the younger actors -- it is actually difficult to find actors who can convincingly portray people outside their era, but these folks do a great job. There are a few minor anachronisms, but overall the period recreation is staggering, right down to the feel of the film stock and even the lighting.The film's accuracy is actually its greatest problem, in terms of success. Instead of the "Airplane" type treatment many will expect, the film instead gives us just what it pretends to: a film made in the 50s but only recently unearthed. But this means it has only the camp factor inherent in those films; the audience with which I shared the preview screening wanted it to be a spoof, laughed at some parts, but the things they were laughing about were accurately rendered from that time -- they were laughing at period "quaintnesses" only gently exaggerated. The film is too straight-faced and sincere to get the average viewer laughing.I am surprised this movie got made, but near-astounded that it is getting a theatrical release. The production values are high, and Eric McCormack has some name draw, but I am still not sure how they sold it for distribution.Let's put it this way: If you know who Wade Williams is, if you and your friends trade dialogue from "Forbidden Planet" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still", or if you ever saw the original Blob in an actual theater, this movie will give you a warm feeling and a nostalgic smile as a love letter to the movies from that time. Just about everyone else, I am afraid, will feel perplexed and disappointed.I enjoyed "Alien Trespass", and I feel like they made it just for me. But really, how many of me are there out there?
if you love 50's sci-fi, then see this
posted on 15 Jul 2009First, this is not a comedy. It's clear that the filmmakers were sincere in making this movie and tried to recreate a movie with the feel of a 1950's sci-fi, including the same kind of humor (for the most part). Sure, a comment that Edsels would be around forever, but there's not even a whole lot of that.This film was made for people who enjoy watching the monster movies made 50 years ago. This has it all; small town in the desert, unusual goings-on in the hills; teenagers that adults won't believe; even the local scientist. It's an homage in the finest tradition.As such, if you can't stand watching old '50's sci-fi, then don't bother with this. But if you catch yourself at the video store looking for some forgotten red-scare flying saucer thriller, or if your copy of This Island Earth is in regular viewing rotation, then Alien Trespass is intended for you, and you should see it.
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Cute ... But is that good?
posted on 31 Aug 2009This film is well acted and beautifully filmed. It is a very nicely done modern look at 50's retro sci-fi. It's cute. Many folks will enjoy it. Here is my problem with this and other "modern" re-makes of the 50's sci-fi films: 50's sci-fi films were never trying to be cute. Those old 50s and 60s films were trying to be frightening, controversial, while exploring the edges of science and the imagination ... and be entertaining at the same time. Cute was never in the mix. We look back at them now in the light of today's mind numbing, high budget special effects and find those old films "cute" and "quaint". Go wateh or re-watch the 1954 UNCUT version of "The Thing" ... you'll see what I mean. Still, Alien Trespass is cute, very well done and many folks will have fun watching it.