William Bibbiani Reviews Alien Trespass!
Today, science fiction films of the 1950’s are usually remembered for their many flaws. From low production values to inexperienced actors to “charming” political incorrectness, there are many obstacles that prevent younger viewers from appreciating these movies for their sincerity, ingenuity and often impressive social relevance. The best entries in the canon almost uniformly used their fantastical ideas to explore the social and political paranoia of the time, from established classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still (in which American xenophobia led to the near destruction of mankind’s would-be savior) to unestablished classics like Invaders from Mars (which brilliantly used impressionistic production design to tell the story of an alien invasion from the perspective of that other oppressed minority of the era, namely children).
While Alien Trespass, the new film starring Eric McCormack and directed by former X-Files producer R.W. Goodwin, was clearly inspired by these genre classics, it unfortunately retains few of the admirable qualities that made them worth paying homage to in the first place. The result is a film with many charms but limited entertainment value, best suited for the hardest of core genre fans or anyone who may still be in withdrawals after the cancellation of Will & Grace. McCormack (Will & Grace, Free Enterprise) stars as Ted Lewis, an astronomer who investigates a crashed UFO only to be possessed by an alien named Urp. Urp is on a mission to stop the Gota, a large, veiny, one-eyed monster devouring the residents of a small desert town and leaving only little puddles in his wake. Along the way Urp will encounter Ted’s understandably confused wife Lana (Jody Thompson of The 4400), a liberated waitress (Jenni Baird of The 4400), a randy police officer (Robert Patrick, not, surprisingly, of The 4400) and a bunch of clean cut but slightly rebellious teenagers (Aaron Brooks, Sarah Smyth, Andrew Dunbar, of various films and TV shows, respectively).
Capable though they may be, the large cast of Alien Trespass almost proves the film’s undoing as cutting between so many characters prevents the audience from developing much of a rooting interest in any of them. Eric McCormack in particular disappears for extended lengths of time, which becomes frustrating as his performance is one of the film’s few genuine highlights. As a result, Alien Trespass, though amiably produced, feels unfocused throughout much of its lean 86 minute running time, and despite the walking sexual joke that is the Gota it has little in the way of subtext to carry our attentions throughout. The few special features on the technically proficient DVD try to convince the audience that Alien Trespass is a “lost” film from the 1957 starring Eric McCormack’s grandfather, but aside from general historical accuracy within the narrative (well, The Blob is featured in the film even though it was released in 1958, but that’s an exception) it never feels like a production of the era. Not that the movie needed to be in Black & White, but the wildly inaccurate color timing, not to mention the obvious CGI in the opening credits, prevent the illusion from ever truly convincing.
So without anything to say, or any intention of actually satirizing the conventions of the genre (like the slightly more entertaining Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), we’re left with just a story about people and their fictional, but science-related, problems… and that story isn’t particularly funny, dramatic or scary. Alien Trespass is a watchable film, but the earth isn’t likely to stand still for it.
Alien Trespass, directed by R.W. Goodwin and starring Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird and Robert Patrick, premieres on DVD and Blu-Ray August 11th, 2009, from Image Entertainment. (Blu-Ray disc not made available for review.)
