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Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Dan Lauria, Robert Patrick, Jody Thompson ... see more see more... , Andrew Dunbar , Sarah Smyth , Aaron Brooks , Tom McBeath , Vincent Gale , Jerry Wasserman , Jonathan Young , Michael Roberds

Will & Grace star Eric McCormack headlines X-Files veteran R.W. Goodwin's feature directorial debut, a playful send-up of 1950s-era sci-fi films tracing the bizarre events that unfold after a mysterio... read more read more...us space object crashes into a California mountaintop. Based on a story by James Swift and Steven Fisher (who also penned the screenplay), the Technicolor-flavored genre-bender follows a benevolent alien (McCormack) as he attempts to fend off a seriously strange invader. Robert Patrick, Jenni Baird, and Jody Thompson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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34% liked it

11,695 ratings

Critics

34% liked it

67 critics

PG, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: R.W. Goodwin

Release Date: April 3, 2009

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DVD Release Date: August 11, 2009

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Stats: 351 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (351)

  • thefog1331
    August 13, 2010
    thefog1331
    Well intended but pointless exercise in recreating those wacky sci-fi films from the 50's. There's a few funny moments here and there mostly thanks to a well cast Eric McCormack but unlike Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra this is an homage (sorta like Ti West's House of the Devil) and no... read moret a spoof-style comedy.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    August 24, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "It came from another galaxy. A creeping, crawling nightmare of terror!"

    After crash landing near a desert town, an alien enlists the help of a local waitress to re-capture a monster that escaped from the wreckage of his space ship.

    ... read morehoolbook">REVIEW
    I started watching Alien Trespass with some reservations: I'm definitely a fan of the "source material" for this movie, but I haven't really enjoyed many of the handful of retro/homage/pastiche 50s-style genre films I've seen in the past decade.

    In the early going, if you're inclined to be suspicious of the movie's intent (and I was), you may find some technical details that are sort of jarring: "cheap" CGI substituting for the papier-mâché-string-and-sparklers school of SFX, matte paintings and studio backdrops that somehow don't feel period-authentic (might be that the compositing is too good, even when it's intentionally "bad?"); that sort of thing.

    However, once I was introduced to the excellent and very likable cast, and allowed myself to settle into the rhythm of the dialogue, none of that mattered. There's a gentleness in the style and humour that just felt right to me. Of course "right" is completely subjective, and all but useless in determining if you will like the movie; I'll say instead that if you're not in a technical-nitpicking frame of mind (or if you are, but you're willing and able to get past that), it's a very easy movie to enjoy, especially if you're relaxing with it on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

    There's a lot of sharp, caustic humour to be found on TV and in movies these days, and that's not a criticism - I guess I enjoy ironic detachment, sarcasm, and "snark" as much as the next guy - but if you come to this movie expecting that kind of experience, I think you're going to be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you genuinely like the source material, and you're willing to enjoy something pretty much on its own terms, without the broad safety net of winking self-awareness that most "retro" films seem to employ, then I think you'll have a good time with Alien Trespass.
  • kiriyamakazou
    August 14, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Alien Trespass really had me excited. I love the old 50's Sci-Fi films and couldn't wait to see a modern one with that recreated feel. The problem comes in the inconsistency of quality. For example, some of the performers take it seriously, some ham it up 50's style, some are jus... read moret plain bad and some play is it as a spoof. All the sound effects are perfect but the alien and green screen are very poor, on purpose of course, but they really don't fit in with the sharp and modern cinematography. There's some good stuff here, and it could have been a success if it had gone for either high quality or laughs, but as it stands it just makes you want to revisit the classics. Which may be a good thing.
  • 366weirdmovies
    May 5, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A one eyed tentacle monster eats a large portion of the population of a Hollywood backlot town while being hunted by an alien marshall. A faithful recreation of the style of a 1957 "aliens among us" thriller that wisely plays it straight, rather than taking a superior and winkin... read moreg attitude towards the source material, and is all the more entertaining and subtly funny for it.
  • flickfever
    March 22, 2009
    flickfever
    I loved this romp so much. It really takes very little to keep me entertained when it comes to tongue-in-cheek comedies. This is definitely one of the most cheesy, corny, stupid, oddball spoofs I've seen. But it revels in its satirical disposition and never, ever takes itself ser... read moreiously enough to expect the audience to be seriously taken by its antics.

    The cast is brilliant and the plot is ingenious in carrying the old 50s and 60s fear of all things alien, monstrous and goofy. Things that go bump in the night aren't necessarily scary--and that's the fun you get when watching Alien Trespass.

    It's an unabashed wreck and it wants the audience to take the leap of faith necessary to enjoy a movie like this. With its fake newsreel at the beginning, it successfully sets the tone for what's to come and it makes you feel like you're watching a midnight showing of a shitty movie--even though you're watching that shitty movie at three o'clock in the afternoon.

    Never under-estimate kitsch or schlock. This movie has plenty of both to keep you from snoozing and to make you swoon for more.
  • gator681
    July 15, 2010
    gator681
    In "Alien Trespass," nothing much ever happens in the small town of Mojave, California. Everyday, the regulars congregate at the local diner to eat and exchange gossip. The only crime is juvenile delinquency, leading the sheriff(Dan Lauria) to quietly retire in a couple of days... read more. Dr. Ted Lewis(Eric McCormack) is so awed by a meteor shower that he ignores his buxom, scantily clad and in the mood wife Lana(Jody Thompson) in order to fully investigate. The following day, he returns a changed man, warning that if the Ghota split, then everybody is lunch.

    Presented as a lost film within a film, "Alien Trespass" is a mostly harmless pastiche of 50's science fiction B-movies that references a good deal of them. It is not really a parody nor does it break new ground until the end, leading me to wonder why it was made in the first place.(Where is Guy Maddin when you really need him?) If the biggest joke is the bad special effects, then you are not really trying.(As a longtime Doctor Who fan, I have no problem with alien invasions on a limited budget.) The movie also makes the mistake of taking the smartest character and potential catalyst, who is either the voice of reason or the one who almost gets everybody killed, out of the equation early. Although, to be honest, the movie is a little scary.
  • Doctor0Quinzel
    September 5, 2010
    Doctor0Quinzel
    To be fair I probably shouldn't even be rating this since I could only stand the beginning 40 mins of this film.
    What I don't get is the fact that the filmmakers had enough money for good sets and decent enough actors and yet they tried to make a spoof which just wasn't funny. I... read moret would have been better for them not trying to make a "spoof" and instead play it straight, an alien film that is just set in the fifties. The film in itself doesn't make sense if it was a film made in the 50's then why was it not shot as a fifties film or had standard dialogue. It wasn't even consistent in it's own setting. If it truly was a film made in the fifties it should have had people in crappy alien monster suits, instead we get a CGI alien which just doesn't make sense. I just didn't get the point.
  • whosinthenews
    September 14, 2009
    whosinthenews
    I'm not sure what exactly the filmmakers were going for here, but unlike Mars Attacks or Men in Black this has very little camp and no irony or parody whatsoever (or even the inherent melodramaticism of the genre) and so we end up with a mostly rigid re-creation of 50's B sci-fi.... read more Nostalgia alone isn't enough to sustain any retro film and in the end this has less value than its predecessors since there's nothing to laugh at. This film takes itself far too casually, excluding themselves (and us) from the joke but not joining in on it either. There has to be a calculated reason for going back and revisiting a genre like this, and Alien Trespass gives none. Boring is just boring regardless of what decade you put it in.
  • John2223
    August 13, 2009
    John2223
    Not a spoof, not a satire. This flix recreats the feel of a 1950's sci-fi, in this case, it featured rubber alien suits and other cheesy special effects.
    Nothing great when it comes to alien action. It starts a little slow but then turns interesting and somehow stupid.
  • Skoit7Up
    July 2, 2010
    Skoit7Up
    Though not the greatest sci-fi by far this film accomplishes what it sets out to do. It is a throw-back to the old B-movie and lower sci-fi films - notably of the flying saucer type. It is corny and oddball just like those old movies but doesn't go into the realm of overly funn... read morey or trying to make fun of them. It treats itself seriously just as the old films used to do. It isn't trying to make a modern take on it and go off the wall with ideas but stays concise and follows its main story with tips of the hat to various classics.

View All Alien Trespass Reviews

Critic Reviews

Joe Neumaier
April 3, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

This lazy effort gets points only for truly loving -- perhaps to a fault -- the cheapo creature flicks of the 1950s. Full Review

April 3, 2009
New York Post

Alien Trespass, with a rating notice that mentions 'brief historical smoking,' is at least better than last year's official remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
April 3, 2009
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

It's a satire without laughs, a parody without punch lines, a careful copy that replicates everything except the original's life. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
April 3, 2009
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

It's comfy. It's kitschy. There are lovely enticements but also much that is simply put and beautifully, beguilingly silly. Full Review

Cary Darling
April 3, 2009
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News

While there's a lot to admire, it all feels like an engaging though needless academic exercise. Full Review

Andrea Gronvall
April 3, 2009
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Sinks under the weight of its homage. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
April 3, 2009
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

How much you enjoy this strange picture depends on two things: Your appreciation of the genre that is being feted here, and the enthusiasm of the audience that you view it with. Full Review

Frank Scheck
April 3, 2009
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

By the time the tedious proceedings reach their conclusion, one has long begun wishing for a little Mel Brooks-style comic anarchy.

Jeannette Catsoulis
April 3, 2009
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

A charmingly sentimental but ultimately pointless homage to the sci-fi classics of yesteryear.

Betsy Sharkey
April 2, 2009
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

While Alien Trespass stays true to the era and the genre, it forgets that its mission in this galaxy is not merely to pay tribute but to entertain. Full Review

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