Alien Raiders (2008)

Directed by: Ben Rock | 82 minutes | horror, science fiction | Actors: Carlos Bernard, Matthew St. Patrick, Courtney Ford, Jeff Licon, Samantha Streets, Derek Basco, Bonita Friedericy, Bryan Krasner, Rockmond Dunbar

It’s that time again… The Martians have landed! And as always, they have it out for us humans. This time, however, they strike in a rather unusual place. The greens are making the refrigeration section of the supermarket unsafe! The über-American ‘Alien Raiders’ proves that this everyday location can guarantee a game of very entertaining intergalactic battle.

What is immediately noticeable about ‘Alien Raiders’ is that it makes a very sympathetic impression. The film feels old-fashioned and that’s nice. A group of villagers, a local supermarket, aliens made of rubber and plastic. It all feels very betamax. After a while you even have to conclude that the film actually has no flaws. However, that does not automatically mean a perfect film.

Because although sympathetic, it is never really clear what exactly the director wants with this film. Does he want to scare us? Should we laugh about it? Is it about the action? All these elements are in the film to a greater or lesser extent, but none of them predominate. This makes it feel as if the average has been chosen. A little scary. A tad of comedy and a pinch of weapons clatter. You could say that this doesn’t make the film stand out, but it doesn’t. The film just doesn’t really excel at anything. It is mainly ‘nice’ to see, but not spectacular.

The film also looks well cared for, but nowhere is there a grab for the originality prize. Nowhere in the film is a separate camera angle to be discovered, nowhere a different montage and nowhere a unique lighting. It’s all exactly by the book. Again, it doesn’t detract from the film, but it doesn’t lift the film above average.

And yet there is something that sets ‘Alien Raiders’ apart from all those other B-movies that come out straight to DVD these days. A double point of view indeed, but it does indicate that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The film is not very original in form and content. The film picks up on everything you’ve seen before. As far as the atmosphere is concerned – something so elusive – the film doesn’t excel either. After all, the film is far too indecisive in its character for that. No, it is much more precisely that sympathetic character that makes the film so charming. You’ll want to be friends with the film from the very first minutes of your introduction, simply because it has such a friendly, old-fashioned feel to it. For a change, no arrogant actors, transparent marketing or pretentious scripts, but just a nice movie that you can watch with friends. A film that doesn’t require you to be blown away by the message or the over-action an hour after the end, but that you can just watch once when you have nothing to do. A film that does not impose itself on the viewer, but lets the viewer decide for himself whether he is interested or not.

In an era where the B-movie is characterized by actors who look like fashion models, screaming special effects are conjured from the computer and the films are made by studios bent on rushing in with crappy productions led by commercial directors, it is a movie like ‘Alien Raiders’ is a breath of fresh air. Just an entertaining and well filmed story without fuss. Long live rubber and plastic!