FILM REVIEW: LIFEFORM (aka INVADER) (1996)

The Viking space capsule returns to Earth from its journey to Mars bringing with it something potentially dangerous in the film LIFEFORM (1996).  When the Viking lands within restricted military space Dr. Case Montgomery (Cotter Smith) brings in his most trusted colleagues Dr. Gracie Scott and NASA’s Michael Perkett (Deirdre O’Connell and Leland Oser, respectfully) to help him assess the authenticity of the capsule.  Just as Colonel Pratt (Robert Wisdom) and his men show up to take over the discovery, Montgomery and Scott learn that the capsule was carrying an alien creature that threatens the safety of them all and everyone on the planet.  The base is ordered quarantined and Montgomery & Scott have a limited time to find the alien and make sure it isn’t a threat to national security.  This is made more difficult as the alien is highly intelligent which makes finding it a problem especially when Colonel Pratt and his men have no idea the danger they have now find themselves in.

LIFEFORM is a fun science fiction film in the tradition of CREATURE (1985) and CRITTERS (1986) and the monster holds up fairly well even today.  Although it gets repetitive at sometimes and characters react in that “horror film” way, it’s charm is in the fact that it tries so hard to make the science in the film so believable.

The film is written and directed by Mark H. Baker and this is his sole directing credit although I am surprised that he didn’t continue to direct given that this wasn’t an entirely un-entertaining of a film.  

FILM REVIEW: WAVELENGTH (1983)

Bobby and Iris (Robert Carradine and Cherie Currie, respectfully) have stumbled across a government secret in the film WAVELENGTH (1983).  While exploring a seemingly abandoned property the two find themselves in an underground government lab where the military are experimenting on being from another world whom are being kept in a cryogenic state.  Soon, Iris realizes that the aliens are communicating to her through telepathy which makes her very important to the military and their experiment.  Now Bobby & Iris find themselves entangled in a mystery and government experiment until she realizes that they have to help the aliens escape before they all become victims of the government’s ultimate agenda.

Coming one year after E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL and one year before STARMAN, this is a film that marries the two concepts together but on a much lower budget.  This film features childlike aliens that want to go home but have psychic power.

Carradine does an admiral job as the boyfriend to Currie and has always been a dependable actor un genre films although this film doesn’t really give him too much to play with.  Currie also does a serviceable job but both actors can only do so much with the material.  The film is written and directed by Mike Gray, who oddly enough would only direct episodes of the short-lived television show STARMAN.

FILM REVIEW: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FLIGHT 412 (1974)

Glen Ford is Colonel Pete Moore who is in charge of the Whitney Radar Test Group in THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FLIGHT 412 (1974).  During a routine flight exercise to fix bugs in their program his men of top pilots encounter something in the sky that they cannot identify or clarify.  When two fighter jets that were scrambled to deal with the situation go missing, the men of Flight 412 are transferred to a secluded military base where they are questioned by the CIA.

As Colonel Moore searches for the whereabouts of his three missing men, the missing men come to the slow realization that the sole purpose of the CIA’s intrusion in this government exercise is to psychologically force people who have claimed to have seen a UFO to dismiss their claims (or beliefs).  Now it is only a matter of time for Colonel Moore to find his men and discover the truth before the government has the time to cover up the whole incident as nothing more than a simple accident during a routine training exercise.

The psychological thriller is actually quite well done even by ’74 standards as it is more concerned with the psychology of the soldiers than with actually discovering the alien menace.  This is a film about the government’s methods in regard to UFO sightings within their own ranks.  The film is written by George Simpson and Neal R. Burger and directed by Jud Taylor. Taylor is a regular of TV movies such as BROKEN VOWS (1987), THE OLD MAN & THE SEA (1990), FOXFIRE (1987), LICENSE TO KILL (1984), MURDER TIMES SEVEN (1990), KALEIDOSCOPE (1990), and WEEKEND OF TERROR (1970), to name a few, and this fits right in there with them.  The film is a competently made thriller which forces the audience to ask themselves a lot of questions about the way our government policies are implemented within their own ranks.

Movie review: 51 (2011)

Area 51 is probably one of the most famous locations in the world because of its association with UFOs and alien enthusiasts but now all will be revealed to the public.  This is the plot of 51 (2011) in which a reporter and TV personality are allowed full access to area 51 in order to finally dispel the rumors once and for all.  Bruce Boxleitner is Col. Martin who is in charge of escorting the civilians into the complex but everything does not go as planned as an alien shape shifter held in the underground secret labs of the already secret labs escapes and releases an even deadlier predatory alien and its offspring.  The aliens create havoc allowing the shape shifter to proceed with its ulterior motives all the while Col. Martin and his charges try to find a way out of the complex while not trying to be killed by the predatory aliens or allowing any of the aliens free to the outside world.

 

Along for the chaos is Sgt. Hannah (Rachel Miner) and her fellow soldier and friend Shoes Schumacher (Jason London) who are also trying to kill the predatory aliens before they get killed themselves.  The film is fun, gory and entertaining from beginning to end and works because the characters take their situation seriously despite the fact that it is an alien film.  London is hilarious from beginning to end and he has great chemistry with Miner.  The creature FX is extremely good and convincing for such a low budget film.  This film will appease horror fans.

51 is one of those rare low budget sci-fi-horror hybrid films that actually work and it continues to surprise up until the end.  The film is written by Lucy Mukerjee with story by Kenny Yakkel and is directed by Jason Connery.  They do an excellent job with the film creating one of the few low budget indie gems out there of this kind.