DVD Review: Alien Raiders
Alien Raiders (2008)
Studio: Warner Home Video/Raw Feed
DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009
Directed By: Ben Rock
Cast: Carlos Bernard, Mathew St. Patrick, Courtney Ford, Jeff Licon, Samantha Streets, Dreck Basco, Bonita Friedericy
Brutal As Hell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Review By: Marc Patterson
Picture yourselves taking a late evening stroll about your friendly neighborhood supermarket, picking up a few items for dinner, or maybe just some Ben & Jerry’s for a late night snack. Perhaps you’re the cashier who’s about to get off your long shift for the night when without warning a group of masked robbers assault the store like a para-military organization. They storm through the store and one by one separate everyone to conduct a bizarre sort of telepathic inspection. Pass and you’re okay. Fail and you’re dead. No explanations. No reasoning. Just BOOM and fade to black. Well, that’s exactly the set up for this tense thriller from Ben Rock.
As this fast paced story unfolds in near real time it becomes clear that something far more sinister is lurking beneath the surface than a simple hostage sweep and clear. Aliens folks. Goddamned body snatching aliens. Worse than being held hostage to some gun toting vigilantes who appear to be hunting aliens is being forcibly held in a supermarket while an alien invasion is starting to break out in the store.
Outside a different situation is mounting. The cops have arrived. Led by former big city hostage negotiator Seth Steadman (Mathew St. Patrick of Six Feet Under) the cops have full intent to bring this hostage situation to a safe end quickly, and possibly by any means necessary. There’s no way for the cops to have any clue at what they are truly up against and lead “raider” Aaron Ritter (Carlos Bernard of 24) has no time or interest, for negotiating making the intensity of the standoff mount as the race to seek out and destroy the alien threat increases by the minute.
There’s no doubt that this sci-fi thriller from director Ben Rock is the best of the Raw Feed lot. Admittedly that’s a bit of a backhanded compliment given that just about everything else (with the possible exception of Otis) has been a 2 star film at best. However, I mean it with all sincerity… Alien Raiders is a wonderfully refreshing and highly entertaining film. This low budget sci-fi horror flick was shot in a mere fifteen days, but Rock clearly has a firm grasp on his source material and makes the best of a bad situation by stocking the story with some great characters who feature not only excellent dialogue but (gasp) believable acting. The effects are used minimally, but when pulled out pack a wallop of a punch. From top to bottom Alien Raiders is low budget filmmaking at its absolute finest, and should be referred to often by any aspiring filmmaker as what should be done when you’re strapped for cash and have to turn a film around in a miniscule amount of time. Sharp as a tack, and with more twists than a pack of Twizzlers, you can’t afford to miss this film. It’s a guaranteed great time and we’re recommended you go out and get this film today!
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