Written by: Spenser Cohen and Brad Kane (screenplay by), Spenser Cohen (story by)
Directed by: Ben Young
Starring: Michael Peña, Lizzy Caplan, Amelia Crouch, Erica Tremblay, Mike Colter
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Plagued by recurring dreams of an alien invasion, a family man faces his worst nightmare when an extraterrestrial force begins exterminating Earth's inhabitants.
Verdict
I wish this was better. It's not bad, but it has some glaring holes. For way too long I was bewildered wondering what was going on and what's the point. I like the idea. It's a classic sci-fi type twist, but the underlying story isn't strong enough to pull it off. Once you know the twist, some things make more sense, but others still don't.
It depends.
Review
Peter has visions of violent alien attacks. They seem real, but how can he see the future? Is it the future? This quickly jumps into it, and I'm bewildered by the what and why. Aliens attack, with soldier and drones wreaking havoc and eliminating humans methodically and thoroughly. This is intense as Peter tries to save his family. The movie has trouble getting around the big question of what and why. I'm seeing an invasion, but there has to be more to it than what we see.
Peter is able to acquire an alien gun and re-wire the biometric sensor, but I couldn't believe he left guns on the floor with the situation he's in. The enemy alien is able to track his gun with an incredibly detailed map. I wondered how he could have such an accurate map, on the fly no less.
It's quite fortunate that Peter's wife knows the tunnels under the city, and Peter decides to go to his work based on his vision. The building is like a fortress.
The alien following Peter and his family is finally unmasked. While it's a shock, it doesn't answer the pervading question. It was funny that once the alien was unmasked, his boots no longer weight twenty five pounds. Up to this point alien footsteps have been incredibly heavy.
We get a hint that whatever is happening, has been in the works for a while. We finally get to the big reveal, but I didn't realize what was going on at first due to bad CGI. It's a neat twist, at least a neat idea for a twist. The movie then has a flashback that answers most questions, or at least explains the basic plot.
The reason the aliens looked liked they do is never answered. It could easily be explained as just fear factor but I wanted the exo-suit aesthetics to have a functional factor. The real reason is so that the movie can fool us and give us a big twist. It's misdirection.
I love the idea of this movie, but the execution just isn't there. An attempt to deal with some of this is the world, linked with Peter's visions.
The wistful ending feels a bit false. What gives Peter hope happened on such a small scale that it seems pointless. It also feels like a bit of sequel bait. Something more cynical, from another viewpoint maybe, would match better with this movie.
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