1h 33m
Director: Brian Duffield

Brynn lives alone. She's visited at night by menacing creatures. The marketing for this sci-fi explains it's a home invasion with a twist.

They appear to favour arriving at night which is a good way of piling on the fear because the darkness obfuscates what you can see and leaves the audience guessing. They don't manage to get at her on their initial visitation.

It's not long before Brynn realises the creatures have taken over the bodies of the locals. A bit like a modern re-telling of 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers' but with contemporary filming techniques and CGI, it feels much more realistic.

It always amazes me that an advanced alien species can master faster than light travel but can't detect a human hiding. You'd think they'd bring some kind of detector with them. You remember the movement detectors from Aliens (1986)? The tone it made being used to escalate the tension when they're nearby? The tension here comes from the unknown nature of the invaders and the sheer panic they cause in Brynn's mind which Kaitlyn Dever acts very believably.

Ominous clouds seem to represent the later arrival of the baddies and a clever wide angle shot across the country (with those clouds) indicates the scope of their endeavour. Suddenly that home invasion has become a full-scale one as the stakes ramp up.

There's a few incongruous moments like a metal pan being crushed by the light from what you think is a space ship which seemingly has no effect on the iron in Brynn's blood - let's put that down to some alien tech that doesn't work how I think it should. They have telekinetic abilities which rather stacks the odds against our heroine so it might be something to do with that.

There's a Bobby Ewing moment in this movie but it isn't what you think! In the end, Brynn submits to slavery because the aliens end her emotional suffering. It appears that this was the motive for their invasion all along. All without a single conversation.

This film is surprisingly well shot. The dialogue is kept to a minimum which means you have to pay attention but everything is emphasised with soundtrack cues which really help to punctuate the action so as long as you pay attention you won't lose track. Brynn home alone being visited by creatures that don't speak her language makes showing everything much easier of course, there really isn't anything to be said! The locals don't have much to say either after they're under alien control. I don't think Brynn even utters a recognisable word until 25 minutes in and when she does it's an exclamation of frustration when her car fails to start.

There's a lot of buzz surrounding this movie because it appeals to both casuals and enthusiasts alike and I reckon film students will be seeing it in text books in due course. It doesn't feel pretentious or dry like some technically proficient films do because everything you see makes sense in the narrative. I'm just a filthy casual and I didn't feel lost at any point!

It took me by surprise, it's really very good. Thoroughly recommend!



Trailer: