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| Images courtesy of Slasher Films |
“They look like us, but they’re not:” It’s the basic premise of many classic horror and sci-fi films, and it delves into some of our most primal fears. In the instance of Zach Clark’s The Becomers, the concept behind Invasion of the Body Snatchers is tackled in a more playful way, and what it wins in quirkiness, it loses in plot, but it’s not without its merits.
An extraterrestrial with the ability to assume the body of any human comes to earth after its own planet becomes increasingly uninhabitable. Hopping from host to host, this alien life form ends up reconnecting with its alien lover, who has the same ability to snatch human bodies as its own. Taking on the visage of a seemingly run-of-the-mill suburbanite couple, this otherworldly pair does its best to blend in, but everyone who knows the original couple realizes something is amiss. One day, their ability to be chameleons among the humans is put to the test when they realize the couple they currently embody is part of a cult-like group of fanatics who have kidnapped their governor with some grim intentions.
Most of The Becomers seems enamored with the concept of a “fish out of water” trying to adapt to new human customs and successfully assimilate to the world in which it’s forced to live. It’s sometimes approached comedically, at other times, grotesquely — and that feels like the majority of the film until the cult plot twist comes into play. Sure, the alien couple has some arguably humanistic traits that make the story seem interesting or even relatable to an audience, but there isn’t enough substance for the multiple actors who play these otherwise fairly flat characters to hang onto and make the storyline entirely engrossing.
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While this film depicting intergalactic lovers has its redeeming qualities, there’s a lingering sense that more could have been done to amplify the messages this plot dips its toes in. At times, it feels whimsically aloof; during others, it feels like ham-fisted social commentary that ever-so-slightly misses its mark. The film never achieves a poetic balance between these two extremes in its approach, and that makes its brief moments of inspiration get lost in an idea that never explores its full potential. It has the essence of a 1950s paranoia film without the substance or cleverness to utilize that genre effectively.
Nevertheless, The Becomers has charm enough to win some specific audiences over with its unique selling points. For instance, Russell Mael, the lead singer of the prolific musical duo Sparks serves as the voiceover narration for the main character we follow throughout the film, educating the audience more about what they’ve stepped into at the film’s commencement. Fans of body horror might also revel in the way these aliens choose to dispose of bodies once they’ve exhausted that shell, dissolving them in an acidic, neon-colored substance, favoring extreme closeups of the carnage during those shots. Perhaps more standout than anything is its noisy, industrial score by Fritz Myers, punctuating all of the chaos underneath the surface of a seemingly benign situation to passersby who don’t know the disturbing secrets of the unfortunate humans these aliens embody.
That said, what could have been sharp satire settles for acceptable mediocrity in The Becomers. It has a wit, vision, and heart about it that explores the cliches of modern human existence, but don’t expect anything ground-breaking going into it. — Andrea Riley