ALIEN TRESPASS (2009)

ALIEN TRESPASS (2009)

Tagline:  Terror - the whole family can enjoy.

(Sci-Fi, Goofy Horror, Comedy) [PG]

Note – No I didn’t make up that tagline, it’s one they actually used. 

You don't have tired blood, you have lazy blood. There's a difference.

This one starts out in 1957 where an alien spaceship crash lands and a one-eyed monster named Ghota escapes. Its mission is to basically suck the life out of anyone in its path. The only other survivor of the ship is an alien named Urp who pretty much takes over the body of this dude named Ted Lewis (played by Eric McCormack most famous for the streaming show TRAVELERS). Urp is pretty clear that he needs to be the best Ted he can, but aside from trying to keep his marriage together while navigating the advances of a waitress named Tammy (played by Jenni Baird most famous for the TV show THE 4400), his biggest problem is that the town is in danger from Ghota. 

First off, this movie is completely intended to be a veritable time machine back to the old sci-fi flicks of the 1950s. It is heavily influenced by THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, WAR OF THE WORLDS and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. One difference is that unlike director Christopher R. Mihm who did another fantastic send-up THE MONSTER FROM PHANTOM LAKE, this movie is shot completely in color. I am not a huge fan of that and think this would have come across better in black and white given what they were going for. 

What works – The cast for this thing is awesome. Not only can Eric McCormack act, but they surrounded him with the likes of Robert Patrick (from TERMINATOR 2) who plays Vern, and Dan Lauria (best known as the father from THE WONDER YEARS) who plays Chief Dawson. Jody Thompson is also good as Lana (Ted’s wife). She was actually in KINDERGARTEN COP 2 but only had a small role. Yep, KINDERGARTEN COP 2. The alien is also just fantastically goofy (I mean oh man…this thing is great) as well as the multiple nods to the older films that drove the genre like THE BLOB. 

What doesn’t work – While the script is funny in places, the story itself feels a bit like it’s dragging, and overall there just isn’t enough going on to keep things interesting for the entire running time. Too much of the focus is on Tammy and Ted. 

I think the film accomplishes what it set out to do and for achieving that and getting some fun humor in here, I have to give this movie credit. However, if I am going for an updated trip to the past for these types of flicks at least right now anything Christopher R. Mihm is involved in is king. Duckduckgo this dude and you won’t be disappointed if you are looking for a bit of nostalgia with new and crazy ideas. Getting back to this thing, it’s still a solid flick, and has enough moments for me to say it’s worth checking out at least once. 

ALIEN TRESPASS gets a 4 out of 7.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF RANGELAND PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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