Like Mystery Science Theater 3000 without the wisecracking robot commentary, Alien Trespass is a comic retro spoof of bad ‘50s era sci-fi movies (think The Blob and It Came From Outer Space). Fun at first, the movie quickly wears thin. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but if that’s your choice, you better be sure the thing you’re imitating is worthy of it.
Our story begins in 1957. Noted astronomer and all around buttoned up guy Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack) and his pin-up, sexpot model wife Lana (Jody Thompson) are celebrating their anniversary when a fire ball slams into the desert butte behind their house. Down the road, Tammy (Jenni Baird), a small town waitress with big city dreams, witnesses the sight as well. None of them realize that the assumed meteorite is, in fact, an alien spaceship ferrying dangerous cargo: the monstrous Ghota, a tentacled, one-eyed monster with a ravenous appetite for human flesh and a pesky penchant for ending civilization as we know it.
Alarmed to discover his prisoner has escaped, Urp, the pilot of the flying saucer, steals Ted’s body and, enlisting Tammy’s help, scours the town in search of his escaped convict while dodging necking teenagers, skeptical Barney Fife police officers and a town in general pandemonium.
The campy Alien Trespass starts out well enough — intentionally bad effects, fun costumes, an iridescent palette evocative of Technicolor, spooky Theremin music, overblown dialogue, lots of exaggerated acting (this is one of the few instances where bad acting helps instead of hurts) and plenty of punny innuendo and entendre — but soon makes the mistake of thinking it needs to tell a plausible story rather than keep us laughing. From that point on it enforces rather than skewers the very things it set out to mock.
Inexplicably, the film parades its monster around in a perfectly ridiculous rubber suit, but uses CGI to fashion its flying saucer. Have we really reached a place where computer generated effects are cheaper than the pie plates on a string that were used half a century ago and frankly, should have been used here?
Rather than spoofing its source material, Alien Trespass comes to resemble it. A true spoof exaggerates pre-existing material for comic effect, not simply reflects it. If the thing you’re reflecting is dim-witted and ridiculous, so is the reflection. In the end, Alien Trespass is a waste of comic opportunities, more homage than parody despite its obvious tongue-in-cheek nature. Better to watch the real thing and laugh at it rather than with this.
© Copyright 2009 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.
4 responses so far ↓
1 50s Sci-Fi Fan // Apr 3, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Wow, I have never read such an ignorant review in my life. Whoever wrote this obviously hasn’t actually seen a single sci-fi film from the pre-Star Wars era. If he had actually seen them, he would have known that The Blob and It Came From Outer Space are both good movies, much better than modern day crap like Death Race or Alien Vs. Predator, and there were at least a dozen other films which were even better or equal to them. The critic seems to be one of those people who has a knee-jerk bias against any movie made before he was born.
2 admin // Apr 4, 2009 at 9:00 am
Not exactly sure you read the review there, 50s Sci-Fi Fan. Last I checked I didn’t say anything bad about the campy and fun “The Blob” and “It Came From Outer Space.” You and I both love those old movies and hate ones like “Death Race” and “Alien vs. Predator.” Last I checked I was talking about “Alien Trespass.” A movie that came out in 2009. Check it out, it’s right there in the title.
3 50s Sci-Fi Fan // Apr 6, 2009 at 9:42 am
Oh man, you’re right! I meant to respond to a completely different review (in a major national newspaper). That’s what happens when you leave too many tabs open at once!
4 admin // Apr 7, 2009 at 9:03 pm
No problem. Been there, done that! You can always check back here, where sci-fi gets more than a fair shake!
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