Who doesn't like a good old alien abduction every once in a while?
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| "Alright!!! Everybody have a marshmallow before the anal probe!" |
Released
in limited theatrical venues (easily available on-demand however) via IFC
Midnight, Matty Beckerman's “Alien Abduction” is another entry in the seemingly
endless found-footage genre, or to put it more precisely, a long form version of
Jason Eisener's short segment 'Slumber Party Alien Abduction' from the
anthology horror film “V/H/S 2”.
The plot should be no secret to anyone
familiar with this genre and the title itself is a dead giveaway. Interest in
this kind of science fiction horror film captured cinema verite lies more in
how it happens than what happens. But how does it all gonna look? With 'Alien
Abduction', it looks pretty cool.
Not
unlike Andrew from the found-footage masterwork “Chronicle”, we're given the
point of view of an autistic boy using his hand held camera to broach the
outside world as his family on vacation purvey the countryside. As expected, we
get the shaky camera as well as the glitches in audio and video whenever an
alien attack is near. For the most part it's well directed and the characters
aren't insufferable imbeciles deserving of death but a real family with
problems and quickness to self sacrifice. The sound design mixes deafening ship
roars with blinding lights to terrifying effect, although the aliens sound like
they walked off the set of M. Night Shyamalan's “Signs” with their chirping and
clicking noises. Save for an effects heavy finale, 'Alien Abduction' exploits
the notion of less amounting to more as far as it can go, opting for
implication and jump cut glimpses rather than anything clearly visible.
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| "Look!!!! Sasquatch prints!" |
While
overtly a B-movie, those keen on alien abduction movies should check it out as
soon as possible. Not a film that aims high for greatness, but of the kind of
mindless thriller entertainment it aims to be, it's a lot of fun. As a found
footage film, yes it suffers from the cliches found within the genre, notably
the video distortion which occurs on the camera, signaling whenever an alien
attack is on the horizon. That said, it's a popcorn horror flick that proved to
be exactly as I expected it to be. It's worth a look at the very least!
-Andrew Kotwicki