VOD Review: Extraterrestrial (2014)

(aka Space Encounters.)
Release Date: November 21st.
Country: Canada. 
Rating: Unrated.
Written & Directed by: The Vicious Brothers.
Starring: Brittany Allen, Melanie Papalia, Freddie Stroma, Gil Bellows, Michael Ironside... and Emily Perkins! 

As "Alien Invasion" flicks go (or maybe it's more like an Alien Abduction flick?), Extraterrestrial was a pretty fun watch. Its story was predictable, and its characters were seriously annoying (for the most part), but The Vicious Brothers have made a visually impressive little movie here.

Five friends head to the middle of nowhere for a weekend of sex, drugs, and arguing amongst themselves (because 70% of Horror movies exist based on that premise), but the weekend is really about April preparing her family cabin for sale, while simultaneously dumping her boyfriend Kyle; because that's the emotional tie-in that makes us care about these characters. Or not.

SOUNDS LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT WEEKEND.

While partying and fighting, the friends see a mysterious object crash into the nearby forest, so they head off to investigate, because this is a predictable Horror movie and it's in the script. They discover that the crashed object is an Alien Spacecraft, and that its pilot is on the loose. Panicking for their very lives, they head back to the cabin where they encounter said Alien, and end up shooting him dead... which really pisses off his Alien friends.

WELL, THERE GOES THAT GREAT WEEKEND THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT...

From here on out, it's Dumb-ass Humans vs. Pissed-off Aliens, and it's not real hard to imagine which side is more likely to win that fight... and that side is the U.S. Government! They always seem to win every fight, don't they? Anal probing ensues.

"AYY LMAO."

We went into Extraterrestrial expecting very little, because we weren't the biggest fans of The Vicious Brothers' first directorial effort, Grave Encounters (our review.) We seem to be in the minority with that opinion, but the movie just didn't work for us. As far as Extraterrestrial goes however, it's definitely got its share of issues, but it's a much better overall effort than was Grave Encounters, and we really enjoyed a lot of it.

WE ENJOYED THAT PART THE MOST.

Let's start off by saying that Extraterrestrial has some issues, the main one being that it's an uneven effort. Half of the time, this movie wants to be funny and almost meta, and it tries really hard to be, but it never quite gets there. We're pretty sure that The Vicious Brothers played this one for self-aware laughs on purpose, at least to a point, but the writing and acting just wasn't sharp enough to make it fully work. If that was their intention to begin with, of course.

AND THAT ENDING HAD US ALL LIKE...

The way that the cliche-ridden and tongue-in-cheek story plays out (whether intentional or not) is one thing, but where the sub-par writing really hurts the movie is with its characters. None of the characters in Extraterrestrial are solid enough to make us buy into their plight, or even tolerate their personalities. For example, the asshole of the group (because there always has to be one) is so utterly shitty and annoying, that it took us about 8 seconds to pray that he would die painfully. That's how it's supposed to go with characters like that, but the rest of them weren't much better, and that is a big issue.

COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED TO A SHITTIER GUY.

The rest of the time, Extraterrestrial is an intense stalk-and-slash flick, that worked pretty well on a few different levels. It was pretty fun and gory when it was going full tilt, and every part that involved the Aliens was entertaining on at least some level. The FX in this one were done really well, especially considering the film's smaller budget. We really loved the way that the people got sucked up into the Alien ships, and everything that happens to them once they do, was really cool as well. Visually and atmospherically, Extraterrestrial was pretty solid.

THE ALIENS OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LOOKED FANTASTIC.

Michael Ironside playing the crazy, all-knowing, gun-toting neighbor was fun too, even if his character was a bit over-the-top, and Gil Bellows was great as the Sheriff, even though his role was not as "important" as we would have liked it to have been.These guys were the best characters in the movie, by far.

IT WAS NICE TO SEE EMILY PERKINS IN THIS ONE AS WELL, EVEN IF HER PART WAS SHORT AND NOT VERY DEEP.

The bottom line is that If the first half of Extraterrestrial had been as enjoyable as its second half, then we'd be talking about a B+ movie here instead of a C.

At least it wasn't Found Footage.

THE ALIENS ALWAYS HAVE THE LAST LAUGH!

Extraterrestrial is a decent movie, that toys with being a really good one at times. If The Vicious Brothers had played this one straight, we think it would have probably worked better overall. As it stands though, it's a flawed, cliched, and way-too-predictable effort, that also manages to be visually impressive, and pretty exciting towards the end. It's a fun, but mixed bag.

Extraterrestrial is definitely worthy of a rental, just know that it's got its share of issues.

C

Extraterrestrial is available now on VOD.

These poor girls didn't deserve an anal probe... at least not from Aliens! Zing!

VOD Review: Honeymoon (2014)

Being fans of both Game of Thrones (HBO), and Penny Dreadful (Showtime), we were instantly excited about the prospects of this movie; Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway were great in their roles on those shows, so they should both be equally great in a quiet, chilling little Horror flick like this one, right?

Well, yes. Turns out we were right about that.

It turns out that we were also right about Honeymoon being a chilling effort, because it truly was. 

As a Genre, Horror can always use more smart, creative movies like this, even if they aren't as perfect as you'd hoped they'd be. Like this one.

Paul and Bea are young newlyweds who are completely, hopelessly in love with one another; we know this because they call each other silly little nicknames and fawn over every little thing that the other does, much like kids in Middle School do:

"I love you, Honeybee!"
"Bzz, bzz, bzz"
"You're the cutest bee ever, Bea, and I am abuzz with love for you!"

Good God, make it stop!

They also really love cinnamon rolls. Like, REALLY.

The happy couple decides to spend their Honeymoon at Bea's family cottage, which promises them the solitude that they need to make love endlessly, like two people who are really, really in love do.They make cute breakfast together, make love, go cute fishing, make love, make love in the shower, make love, play cute Yahtzee, make love... so, typical Honeymoon stuff.

Wow, a bit early to call him out on his small dick, dontcha think, Bea?

One night, Paul wakes up at 3am (?) to go fishing and finds Bea missing. He searches for her in a panic, eventually finding her naked and afraid in the woods. She says she was sleepwalking, but he's pretty sure that she was out there with her ex-boyfriend, because that sounds both rational and fairly plausible. The next day when Paul finds her special nightgown in the woods, all torn and covered with jizz, he begins to suspect that something isn't quite right...

Hey man, we just call it like we see it, and what we see here is jizz.

As Bea's behavior becomes increasingly odd, Paul begins to flip out, and tries to discover the truth about what happened to his blushing bride in the woods, and exactly who or what is responsible for the spunk on her nightgown. Was it Demons? Was it Aliens? Was it her creepy Ex-boyfriend? Was it a Bear? We won't spoil anything for you here, but suffice it to say that no matter what the answer is, Paul should have just filed for an annulment, and moved on with his life.

Or, he could just hide. That would solve everything.

For all its faults, Honeymoon is an effective little... Thriller. We say Thriller, because to divulge what type of movie it truly is at its heart, would spoil the whole thing for you. Then again, it's not hard to guess what type of movie this is, and what's going on with Bea after her late night trip into the woods, but still, we won't be the ones to ruin it for you.

Honeymoon is definitely a slow burn, and you have to wait until the third reel for the "real" scares to kick in, but at least what comes before the late payoff is well acted, and had a good pace about it. Leigh Janiak delivered a stylish and fairly polished final product here, on what we have to assume was a modest (micro) budget, and this movie looks and plays just as well as most bigger Hollywood efforts of the same kind do. 

Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway are believable as the newlywed couple, and likable for the most part, even if their exploits in the early going wore a bit thin on us. In the end though, we cared about what happened to them, and as things went from bad to worse, we found ourselves fully invested in what they were going through, and wondering how (if) they would escape it.

"You know nothing, new husband."

It got a bit annoying having to watch Bea and Paul alone, in a cabin, as their relationship went from saccharine sweet bliss to panic-inducing dread.

To be fair, most of the annoying bits happened early on in the movie (before things went to complete shit for the couple), but early or not, we still had to suffer through their baby talk and silly shows of affection, which is never fun in any sort of movie. We get it, they're young, dumb, and in love, but good Lord can we just tone down the blatant fawning a bit?

We don't much care for people like that in real life, and even less so in the movies we watch.

Yes, Rose, tone it down a bit!

So was the whole movie an allegory about the uncertainty of marriage, and how you don't really know who you're involved with, even when you think you do? It sure felt like that's the message that Honeymoon was pushing on us, and if so, it felt pretty heavily telegraphed.
 
Look, I'm not necessarily saying that Honeymoon is a movie that is trying to send a message, I'm just saying that at times, it certainly felt that way... and when it did, it was off-putting.

Dude, you're married now. You don't have to be a creep about it.

Honeymoon isn't necessarily a gory affair, but it does offer up a few disturbing & bloody scenes that made us flinch. One scene in particular (you'll know it when you see it) really had us squirming in our seats.

There's all kinds of lovey-dovey canoodling and lovemaking in this one, and even a shower scene, but none of it is terribly graphic.

Honeymoon is more lovey-dovey than it is sexy-wexy.

Stay single. Also, when it comes to your Honeymoon (or any vacation, for that matter), stay the hell out of the remote woods, because you'll die there. Maybe just go to Vegas or something.

They have pools in Vegas, you know.

Honeymoon is a tense, creepy exercise in uncertainty and panic, which for the most part, works really well. If you can overlook the movie's weaker bits, you'll most likely enjoy the rest of what this one has to offer. Honeymoon is definitely worthy of a rental, but if you're lucky enough to be in one of the few cities where it's actually playing in a Theater, then see it that way. We have to imagine that it would be fun to watch with a crowd.

B+

Honeymoon is available on VOD & in select Theaters now.

We'll miss Rose Leslie on Game of Thrones, but at least now we know that we'll be seeing her in plenty of Post-Westeros movies, because she was great in this one.

+1 (2013)

I tried to like this movie, I really did.

I guess the big thing for me was that it ended up being something totally different than I originally thought it was going to be; I went in expecting some sort of Supernatural Slasher flick, and ended up getting a Sci-Fi "invasion" flick instead.

To be clear, Plus One wasn't necessarily a bad movie, it just really did nothing for me. I've never been the biggest fan of lower-budget Sci-Fi/Horror flicks (mainly because they don't often do them right), so this could totally be just a "me" thing.

Or, maybe the movie just kinda sucks. That's up to you to decide.

After being dumped by his hot girlfriend, David heads to the Party of the Year! (aren't they all) with his best crimey in tow, where he proceeds to follow her around in a bid to win back her affections. Why, I don't know, because she was pretty much a touchy bitch who really needed to relax.

He also witnesses a meteorite crashing nearby, which not only seems to be a metaphor for his life, but also somehow disrupts the Space-time continuum, which leads to all sorts of odd happenings. Every time the lights flicker, or something happens with electricity, doppelgangers of everyone who is at the party show up, and do exactly what their "real" versions were doing only minutes before.

Doppelgangers appear, and everyone moves outside to party, thus missing them. That kind of thing happens over and over again, until David and his cronie notice their new versions partying it up, get all freaked out, and spend the rest of the movie trying to figure out what in the hell they should do about it.

That's one thing you could do about it.

Someone on the Internets said that Plus One felt like it was a hybrid of Project X, Groundhog's Day, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which honestly, is just about a perfect description of this film and what it has to offer. Maybe add in a splash of Night of the Comet for safe measure.

Why are the doppelgangers here, and where did they come from? Were they in the meteorite, or were they just a product of the Space-time continuum being disrupted? Did Aliens send the meteorite, hoping to use doppelgangers to take over the Earth? Was it Satan?

I have no clue what happened or why, and neither does the movie. Plus One is more about the effect than it is about the cause, and that's where it lost me. I never really felt like anyone was in danger, or that there was some evil plan being executed, rather that some little bloop happened, and the whole thing was just an odd anomaly.

No.

It was kinda cool to see the time loop getting closer and closer to bringing the doppelgangers and their real counterparts closer together, but nothing ever really happened with that in the end. Had the two sets of beings merged, and everything turned into some crazy bloodbath or something, the movie would have been far more interesting. Also, Natalie Hall spent plenty of time being naked in this one, so that's something fun, I guess.

Watching this movie felt a little bit like that.

Plus One is an interesting concept that just doesn't ever amount to much. It bored me nearly to tears, but again, that could just be a personal preference thing on my part. It's sharp and boasts some pretty good CGI, and I have to give it some credit in the originality department, because at least it was different, and didn't play like something tired and familiar.

It's not all that bad, but I guess I just wanted more. Blah.

C-

Can we please take a minute to celebrate the insane beauty of Ashley Hinshaw? Please?