| Alien Trespass | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | R.W. Goodwin |
| Produced by | R.W. Goodwin James Swift |
| Written by | Stephen P. Fisher |
| Starring | Eric McCormack Jenni Baird Robert Patrick Jody Thompson Dan Lauria |
| Music by | Louis Febre |
| Cinematography | David Moxness |
| Editing by | Vaune Kirby Frechette Michael Jablow |
| Distributed by | Roadside Attractions Rangeland Productions |
| Release date(s) | April 3, 2009 |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Alien Trespass is a 2009 science-fiction comedy film based on 1950s sci-fi B movies. It stars Eric McCormack (Will and Grace) and Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day). The film was shot in Ashcroft, B.C.[1]
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The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above California's Mojave Desert. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis, who is preparing a special dinner for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana to celebrate their wedding anniversary. In another part of town, Tammy, a waitress at small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams. But, what Dr. Lewis and Tammy assume is a shooting star, is really an alien spaceship. The fiery ball hurtles toward earth and crash-lands on a butte in the desert. The only witnesses are teens Dick and Penny who are necking in a nearby lover's lane. A tall, metallic alien named Urp emerges from the craft unharmed, alarmed to discover that the monstrous Ghota, who was also on board, has escaped. The menacing one-eyed creature's unquenchable appetite could mean the end of civilization as we know it. Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extraterrestrial, but to do so he has to take over the body of Dr. Lewis and enlist the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police - including Chief Dawson and Officer Vern - are confirmed skeptics and offer little help. Together, Urp and Tammy must hunt down the Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world.
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars and felt that the film was, "obviously a labor of love. But why? Is there a demand for cheesy 1950s sci-fi movies not met by the existing supply? Will younger audiences consider it to be merely inept, and not inept with an artistic intention? Here is a movie more suited to ComicCon or the World Science Fiction Convention than to your neighborhood multiplex".[2] In her review for The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis described the film as "a charmingly sentimental but ultimately pointless hommage to the sci-fi classics of yesteryear".[3] Betsy Sharkey, in her review for the Los Angeles Times, felt that "there is attention to detail throughout this film, and it's clear that Goodwin loves those old sci-fi movies -- maybe a little too much. 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".[4] In his review for the Boston Globe, Ty Burr wrote, "There's more simple joy to be found here than in all of DreamWorks' 3-D extravaganza, though - a pleasure that comes from laughing at the movie and with it at the same time".[5] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum praised its "warm tone, along with the picture's bright, saturated, anti-CGI look, is a welcome respite from jokes, irony, and the postmodern malaise of know-it-all-ness".[6]