"It's bound to get ugly" --Cody in "Altered"
Eduardo Sanchez definitely proves that the promise he showed with the indy classic "Blair Witch" was no fluke. In fact, this is a better film than "Blair": with a bigger budget and the mans to provide the payoff to the graphic and suggestive scares, "Altered" is lean and savage entry int he Alien Horror genre. No stick figures and rock smashing in this one.
(Few Spoilers)
"Altered" starts in high-gear and doesn't relent. A trio of Good Old Boys, once abducted and tortured by nasty extraterrestrials, finally turn the table after 7 years, and nab one of the ETs. Out of their depth, and expecting imminent alien reprisals, they take refuge with the reluctant Wyatt (Adam Kaufman), who has some interesting connections to, and defenses against the interstellar hostiles. Of course, the captured alien has his own abilities and agenda...
I really enjoyed this movie, from the tight direction and scripting to the performances, especially Kaufman as a man still torn by grief over the death of a friend, and the inner suffering due to the physical and mental anguish suffered at the hands of the aliens. One of the really fine things about this film, is that Sanchez' ETs are truly vile and sadistic critters, and the make-up effects are assisted by some good editing/lighting to take full advantage of the monsters.
The best thing about the film, however, is the ensemble playing by the former abductees turned abductors: the sharp screenplay is good at showing you how wounded and embittered these guys are, and when the group dynamic starts to disintegrate, you feel the sense of loss and sorrow that still haunts these guys.
Psychological and physical horror abound: there is one "gut-check" of a gag-inducing tug-of-war between the heroes and the alien that will definitely have gore-hounds cheering, and there's a nasty alien bite infection that rates with a similar plot element in another horror sleeper, "Feast." Still, the violence and gore is abetted by tense talking-heads stuff that never slows the story down and the movie has the odd riveting image here and there: the graceful ascent of a jellyfish-like spaceship against the full moon; the "clicker" alien prey tagging devices are a clever touch.
There may have been a few too many 'Dad-Gummits" and F____, but these are quibbles. This is tight, good, scary fun. Anyhow, you got to love a film where a mortally wounded secondary character waves off the offer of aid with a terse< "Just give me a beer!" I can't wait for Sanchez' next film.
Eduardo Sanchez definitely proves that the promise he showed with the indy classic "Blair Witch" was no fluke. In fact, this is a better film than "Blair": with a bigger budget and the mans to provide the payoff to the graphic and suggestive scares, "Altered" is lean and savage entry int he Alien Horror genre. No stick figures and rock smashing in this one.
(Few Spoilers)
"Altered" starts in high-gear and doesn't relent. A trio of Good Old Boys, once abducted and tortured by nasty extraterrestrials, finally turn the table after 7 years, and nab one of the ETs. Out of their depth, and expecting imminent alien reprisals, they take refuge with the reluctant Wyatt (Adam Kaufman), who has some interesting connections to, and defenses against the interstellar hostiles. Of course, the captured alien has his own abilities and agenda...
I really enjoyed this movie, from the tight direction and scripting to the performances, especially Kaufman as a man still torn by grief over the death of a friend, and the inner suffering due to the physical and mental anguish suffered at the hands of the aliens. One of the really fine things about this film, is that Sanchez' ETs are truly vile and sadistic critters, and the make-up effects are assisted by some good editing/lighting to take full advantage of the monsters.
The best thing about the film, however, is the ensemble playing by the former abductees turned abductors: the sharp screenplay is good at showing you how wounded and embittered these guys are, and when the group dynamic starts to disintegrate, you feel the sense of loss and sorrow that still haunts these guys.
Psychological and physical horror abound: there is one "gut-check" of a gag-inducing tug-of-war between the heroes and the alien that will definitely have gore-hounds cheering, and there's a nasty alien bite infection that rates with a similar plot element in another horror sleeper, "Feast." Still, the violence and gore is abetted by tense talking-heads stuff that never slows the story down and the movie has the odd riveting image here and there: the graceful ascent of a jellyfish-like spaceship against the full moon; the "clicker" alien prey tagging devices are a clever touch.
There may have been a few too many 'Dad-Gummits" and F____, but these are quibbles. This is tight, good, scary fun. Anyhow, you got to love a film where a mortally wounded secondary character waves off the offer of aid with a terse< "Just give me a beer!" I can't wait for Sanchez' next film.
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