by Ryan Lewellen
Twenty-somethings, April, Kyle, Melanie, Seth, and Lex take a trip out to a cabin for the purpose of April taking real estate photos of her divorced parents’ former vacation home. April (Brittany Allen) was also planning on breaking up with Kyle (Freddy Stroma), and he, in turn, has a surprise for her, but all that is interrupted when strange and terrible things occur. At first, the terrible things involve adolescent ultra-douchery provided by one of the least likeable characters I have ever met, Seth (Jesse Moss), then it’s provided by really tall CGI aliens.
I chose to cover this movie because I love Michael Ironside. If you don’t know who he is (SHAME ON YOU), here is a link to one of his most famous moments in cinema. Ironside is a great actor, and a tremendous screen presence, and he does much more for Extraterrestrial than it does for him. He makes a big impression in his handful of short scenes as Travis, a paranoid, marijuana-growing Vietnam veteran who believes the government is testing advanced military aircraft in the area. Of course, it turns out these odd shapes he has been seeing in the night sky do not belong to our country, or our planet, but our government might be cooperating with true owners for nefarious reasons.
Seems familiar? So does practically every other story conceit and most of the film’s imagery. It borrows, almost as if to draw attention like a parody or homage, from The X-Files, Independence Day, The Matrix, and others. This doesn’t do much to help the already tired setting of a bunch of partying youths finding their doom at a cabin in the woods. In a significant number of surprisingly exciting scenes, however, the filmmakers almost manage to save this trite little trifle.
Despite the mostly unoriginal script by Grave Encounters creators, The Vicious Brothers, between the two of them and their director, Colin Minihan, a fresh vision begins emerging. One particularly cool scene involves the gang, realizing the only road out is blocked (again with the formula), standing in a rainstorm. Half the kids are out inspecting their new obstacle, while the other half remains in their vehicle. Suddenly, the rain stops, but the sound persists. Jesse turns around, and sees the rain still pouring over the car, but something has cut the water off over him. Guess what the “something” is? Brilliant lights appear. Shit gets real.
One problem is that these clever moments are few and far between. Another is that this film is completely mediocre. I can’t say you would have a bad time watching it. It even has a couple scares and a few moments of inspired comedy. Most of these little genre films deliver enough conventional thrills to make for a good time, but with so many indie films, particularly in the horror idiom, masterfully changing the game every day, it’s hard to not feel like your time is being wasted by anything less. Let’s face it. This is no Babadook or Housebound. You should probably spend your time watching those, or maybe even re-watching ALIEN.
THE PACKAGE
Audio Commentary With The Vicious Brothers And Brittany Allen And Melanie Papalia
Making-of Documentary
Theatrical Trailer
