The Vicious Brothers have done it again. ‘Extraterrestrial’ manages to throw in more alien action than Area 51 with nods to not only the sci-fi genre but the mythos of our outer planetary friends. A film that opens like your average cabin in the woods horror turns out to be something rather special.

 

Taking a break to rural America, April’s (Brittany Allen) plan for a romantic break with boyfriend Kyle (Freddie Stroma) are quickly quashed when he invites friends Seth, Mel and Lex for a summer break that will test them to their outer limits.

 

Arriving on the wrong side of the law, Police Sheriff Murphy (Gil Bellows) learns that the disappearance of many of the towns folk is coming to fruition and sets about discovering the mysterious events that have haunted the town for over a decade. Rest assured, he will learn the truth sooner than he thinks.

 

Not only holding some strong performances from the likes of Stroma and Allen and a great supporting role for Michael Ironside, but also showcasing how the Vicious Brothers benefit hugely from the ability of storytelling and a bigger budget. Where ‘Grave Encounters’ held a gritty found footage realistic style of storytelling, this benefits from the loose restrictions of reality to give a surprisingly grounded yet out of this world horror film.

 

Kudos to the guys on the work with the special effects, something which needed to be spot on for something of this scale and for a fairly tight budgeted film that holds only a fraction of that such as ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Alien’, the aliens, UFO’s and lighting add further to the tension which could have so easily been lost.

 

From the opening moments to the second the credits start rolling, ‘Extraterrestrial’ does not let go and is a tour de force on how an alien abduction film should be done. Fast, frantic, fun and full of fear, there is no hiding from the fact that this is what an alien film should be all about. Whether based on Earth or the grander scale of the alien labs, it never falls short of entertainment and it’s closing scene (and perfect song choice) is not only tragic, but deeper than any other conspiracy film out there.

 

‘Extraterrestrial’ is not only a truly terrifying horror, but one that uniquely works with its influences to create one of the most original films the genre has seen this year. If ‘Under the Skin’ was the slow paced arthouse horror that didn’t tick your gory needs, then ‘Extraterrestrial’ certainly will with a no holds barred encounter of the third kind.