“Until the 80-minute mark, “Extraterrestrial” is a slick, pacey but not particularly scary or surprising not-quite-slasher movie, the only real difference being that instead of getting bloodily offed, the characters mostly get snatched by their abductors (depicted as the standard humanoid “gray aliens” of UFO lore) to a fate unknown. Unknown until that mark, that is: The pic then makes a welcome leap, allowing for some nicely designed and executed larger-scale f/x work. Unfortunately, this too-brief, visually impressive (if not all that inventive, narrative-wise) interlude is followed by a coda that’s strenuously sentimental in ways the script hasn’t remotely earned the right to exploit. That attempt at depth is further undercut by a gimmicky final shot scored to a jokey retro song choice.”
-From the Variety Review by Dennis Harvey.Sounds like we’ll wait on it to see on streaming, even though it’s from The Vicious Brothers (Grave Encounters and Grave Encounters 2). Click “View original” in the lower left to read the entire review on Variety.com.
The inevitable nubile teens at the inevitable cabin in the woods fall prey to a different kind of horror in “Extraterrestrial,” though [pmc_film_review_snippet]most of the Vicious Brothers’ feature plays like pretty standard slasher fare[/pmc_film_review_snippet]. It’s in the final act that the pic becomes more ambitious and interesting, though not quite enough to lift the whole from decent-time-filler status to something more inspired. Like the duo’s prior “Grave Encounters” movies, this is a well-crafted, watchable genre effort short on novel ideas and distinctive dialogue/character writing. Already out on VOD, it’s opening in 10 U.S. markets this Friday, and should do moderately well in various formats.
After the usual prologue providing a first, never-seen-again victim, this one a panicked young woman (Emily Perkins) fleeing an unseen force outside a rural gas station, we’re introduced to protags that never develop much beyond their stereotype-fulfilling first impressions. There’s the designated lead/Final Girl, April (Brittany Allen)…
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