Altered (film)

Altered

DVD Cover
Directed by Eduardo Sánchez
Produced by Bob Eick
Robinson Smith
Gregg Hale
Written by Jamie Nash (story & screenplay)
Eduardo Sánchez (story)
Starring Paul McCarthy-Boyington
Brad William Henke
Adam Kaufman
Michael C. Williams
Catherine Mangan
James Gammon
Music by Tony Cora
Exiquio Talavera
Cinematography Steve Yedlin
Edited by Michael Cronin
Distributed by Rogue Pictures
Release dates
  • December 19, 2006 (USA)
Country United States
Language English

Altered is a science fiction film that contains elements of creature-feature horror, and was released straight-to-DVD in 2006. Altered was directed by Eduardo Sánchez, co-director of the box office success, The Blair Witch Project, and written by Jamie Nash.

The plot is an inversion of the standard alien abduction formula, as four men abduct a lone alien, planning to wreak revenge on the invading species. In its early stages, the film was entitled Probed, and was intended as a comic homage to work of Sam Raimi and Troma Entertainment.[1]

Plot synopsis

Altered is the story of four men who seek revenge on aliens that abducted them and murdered their friend many years ago. As is explained via dialogue throughout the film, fifteen years before the events shown in the film, a group of five fifteen-year-old friends living in a remote American town were captured and experimented on by aliens while on a hunting trip. Only four of the friends returned alive. The main character (Wyatt) has since distanced himself from his childhood friends and is shown to have decided to live with the past, albeit in apparent constant paranoia. Two of the remaining three characters however have been obsessed by revenge and have persuaded the remaining, somewhat leadable, character that this is the correct course of action to take. The story opens with the tracking and subsequent capture of a lone alien - the consequences of which Wyatt and the three friends soon become deeply involved in.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for Altered was mixed; Cinema Crazed gave the film a positive review, praising the "good old fashioned special effects mixed with wicked gore",[2] while Reel Film was more ambivalent, suggesting that the film was "a little too talky for its own good, [but] practically a horror masterpiece when compared to some of its straight-to-video brethren."[3] Roger Moore at the Orlando Sentinel was underwhelmed, reflecting that "too many of the arguments are whispered, too many settings are missing the horrific atmosphere the movie requires,"[4] and Scott Weinberg at DVD Talk described the film as "kind of a mixed bag: half chintzy and raw, half interesting and semi-creepy."[5]

Associated media

Kaufman starred in Taken, a 2002 television miniseries that also features alien abductions and alien implants that are used as tracking devices.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "It was a horror-comedy I wrote called Probed about rednecks who abduct an alien. Evil Dead 2 in tone. Or maybe Troma. Ed dug it and thought it was funny. But realized horror-comedy might not be the easiest sell." http://actfourscreenplays.com/screenwriting-blog/horror-interview-with-lovely-molly-screenwriter-jamie-nash/
  2. ↑ http://www.cinema-crazed.com/altered.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.reelfilm.com/rogthr1.htm#altered
  4. ↑ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2006-12-19/GOOD%20LIVING/ALTERED_1_alien-blair-witch-spooky
  5. ↑ http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/25807/altered/
  6. ↑ "Adam Kaufman". Obsessions. MidnightVamp Designs Inc. 2002–2011. Retrieved 30 September 2012.

External links