The signal detected is similar to the The Wow! signal, a strong narrowband radio signal received on August 15, 1977, by Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope. Though that was 72 seconds instead of 42.
Skeleton Man places Emperor Scorpions in Ilana's room. They are quite harmless (except to people with allergies), and are often kept as pets.
Even though this movie failed at the domestic box office (partially because the highly advertised Independence Day (1996) would come out one month later), it fared much better abroad, where Charlie Sheen still enjoyed quite some popularity. A direct-to-video sequel called Arrival II (1998) was released in 1998, directed by Kevin Tenney, starring Patrick Muldoon as the brother of Sheen's character in this movie. David Twohy, director and writer of the first Arrival, was given no credit for the sequel.
The film was originally titled 'Shockwave', and director David Twohy wrote the main part specifically for Charlie Sheen, with whom he had worked in Terminal Velocity (1994).
The sound effect for the aliens screaming is the same sound effect created for the Velociraptors in the film Jurassic Park which was released three years prior in 1993.