Alien Abduction (2014)

Alien Abduction

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

(Liked It) 

Netflix Synopsis:  A real-life phenomenon inspired this horror tale about a family camping trip that becomes a nightmare when a wrong turn leads to an alien encounter.

The Peeps:  Matty Beckerman (Director); Robert Lewis (Writer); Katherine Sigismund, Corey Eid, Riley Polanski, Jillian Clare

Quick Run Down:  Occasionally Tense, Nice Visuals, Kinda Dragging and Repetitious

Worth the Watch: Yeah

Alien Abduction follows a family of five as they are making their way through the North Carolina hills.  Hills that are notorious for blue mountain light phenomenons that the locals chuck up to UFO's.  This is unbeknownst to the family, however, and they find a spot to lay down camp and hang out for the night.  Some of the said lights are seen that evening, and this visual - caught on handheld camera by the autistic, youngest son - carries the family through conversations the following morning when they breakdown their tents and head deeper into the mountains.  On there way though, they get lost - or something GETS them lost - and they eventually wind up in a tunnel where a slew of SUV and sedans have been abandoned and their respective owners nowhere to be found.  That's when strange shiznit starts happening, and those lights finally reveal their true selves!

Abduction starts us off with a note, a trembling forewarning, a knee-knocking precaution... a reason to shake your head and think, 'Yeah, right.' Before the movie even starts, a single sentence types across the screen in small, concise letters: "The following footage was leaked from the U.S. Military."  Or something like that.  I don't remember exactly what it reads, but I do remember exactly what I thought when I read it:  Really?  Are filmmaker's still using that? Aren't audiences - wait: before I jump the gun, I'll just say that, though I probably shouldn't have, I liked  Alien Abduction.  It has a couple of nice little family moments in the first act, which moves pretty quickly, and the end of the first act, opening of the second, is tense and well put together.  The rest of the movie tends to do the same thing over and over, just in different locations, but it still maintains an element of suspense and fear, namely in a few particular scenes.  There are about three jump scares -  the best of which is predictable and you know it's gonna happen but it still works when it does - and, all throughout the movie, there are some really pretty visuals using unique lighting, quick cuts, and off-center arrangement.  The acting's surprisingly good too.  Corey, the eldest son, holds up well under duress and a minor character arc, and a random side character isn't great but he has some good dialogue.  The mother's kinda worthless, but she serves her point in the end.  Despite all of this though, as mentioned before, the movie tends to repeatedly milk the same teet and wander aimlessly from one location to another to try and squeeze out yet another drop.  The scares and tensions induced often work but for just a short period of time.  You ultimately find yourself waiting on the end by about 45 minutes in (which is okay because the actual movie barely runs 80 minutes).  So, long story short - the second half of the film drags.  But, getting back to my opening point, are filmmaker's still trying to sell the whole 'this really happened' idea?  I like found footage stuff, but when the filmmaker's of found footage flicks put things like 'based on real events', 'discovered by authorities deep in the woods of (insert wooded, countryside county here)', etc., is the audience still really supposed to believe that or are the creators just saying that to create a different kind of horror experience (even if we know that it's BS)?  If that opening sentence - and some that follow it - wasn't there in the beginning of Abduction, would I have perceived the film differently?  I think I would, but I'm not sure if it would be for better or worse.  Just something to think about as your viewing the flick.

So, if you want to watch a movie that has a strong first half, some tense moments, and good visuals but pretty much just does the same thing in different settings, check out Alien Abductions.  It's flawed and far from great, but I think you'll like it.  If you don't believe me, check it out - it's on Netflix!

I wanna make a Beiber/prison joke for some reason...