Sometimes they’re cute and cuddly, like ET (or Jeff Bridges), but not all aliens are nice as this weeks viewing shows…
The Thing from Another World
There is much to enjoy in The Thing from Another World and then there’s James Arness’”Super Carrot”. The character interplay sparkles, although I could have done without having a woman stationed at the Arctic base (does a horror movie of this type really need a love interest?), and the isolated setting adds greatly to the sense of unease but then they show us too much of the monster and it all falls apart. It’s not fair to blame Big Jim, you could have put anyone in the veggiesuit and it would have looked silly. Important rule of horror moviemaking – if you have a crap monster don’t show it anymore than you have to.
Body Snatchers
I don’t know the background to this adaptation of Jack Finney’s novel of alien invasion but there’s certainly an unlikely combination of talent involved. Genre veteran Larry Cohen gets a credit for screen story while ‘Master of Horror’ Stuart Gordon is one of the scriptwriters and Abel Ferrara handles directorial duties. It seems an odd choice for Ferrara, a director who’s not exactly known for mainstream horror, more so as it followed his most famous film, Bad Lieutenant. He does a good job though and certainly creates more tension than the latest big budget take on the story, last years Invasion. If there’s a complaint it’s that it fails to make the most of its cast in particular Forest Whitaker and R. Lee Ermey, but Meg Tilly’s very good in her alien-stepmom role. The military base setting makes sense – surely alien invaders would target military installations? – and adds to the central characters feelings of isolation. Not the best (or even second best) version, but certainly a worth a look on a classic story.
Signs
When I first watched Signs I saw it as just another alien invasion movie, albeit an unusual one, watched again now it’s more a film about loss – loss of faith, loss of a loved one – than it is about unfriendly aliens. Director M. Night Shyamalan is unfairly branded a one trick pony, but there’s far more to his films than just a twist ending, if there wasn’t there’d be little reason to re-watch them. He also knows how to get good performances from his stars, and not just the full grown ones either – Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin aren’t overshadowed by big names Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix. Damn creepy looking aliens too, and all the more effective for the little we actually see them.
Evil Aliens
Jake West is the Benny Hill of horror, not intelligent, not classy, but, if you’re in the right mood, he’ll provide you with some low brow laughs. He doesn’t so much tickle your funny bone as rip it out and beat you to death with it. The acting is pretty awful, including Zone Horror presenter Emily Booth, but that’s part of the films low budget charm, and West throws so much at you that some of the gore and jokes have to hit home. And any horror film that uses The Wurzels “I’ve Got A Brand New Combine Harvester” has to be worth a look for novelty value alone.
