- Directed by Jared Allmond
- Written by Jarod Allmond
- Stars Timothy Haug, Christie Griffin, Blake Eli
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 26 minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExxckkEBoX0
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This starts out a little slow and confusing, but things gradually become clearer. Is it just a home invasion thriller? No, not quite that simple. It moves briskly and it’s worth the wait. The production values and acting are decent. It’s a thumbs-up overall.
Synopsis
Credits roll as Penny gets dressed up to go out while Albie works on the computer. She comes out looking stunning, but he doesn’t even look up from the book he’s writing. They argue about things, but eventually, they leave for the show. Albie is judgmental about Mark, the neighbor, not painting his house when Albie’s own house needs a lot of work. She complains that he’s not a “real man.” Mark is a creepy old man, and Albie’s an ass.
They eventually go to the show and return home with plans for a night without the kids. [At this point, I’m hoping Albie dies quickly, but I don’t think that’s actually likely]. They have a flat tire on the way home, but he doesn’t know how to change the tire, so Penny does it in five minutes.
They get home, both unhappy, and immediately notice that someone is in their house. A strange man opens the door, and a strange woman is in there too. “These folks seem a bit confused,” says the man. They run outside to Mark, who runs away from them. Albie calls the police, but the police call the man inside, who says everything is fine. The police won’t come. The man pulls out a gun and his own badge and runs them off.
Penny wants to go see a neighbor who might help, but Albie doesn’t like the neighbor. Kimmy lets them in, and she’s Penny’s sister. It’s 11 o’clock, and everyone makes a big deal about how late it is. Kimmy is weird and refuses to let them stay the night.
On the way back home, Penny and Albie argue about what to do next. When Albie picks up an ax, Penny freaks out that he would have a weapon. “You’re not taking that in there.” Really? He drops it, and they go inside. The strange man and woman walk around with jerky movements, like robots or something, and they knock out Albie and Penny with no effort.
Penny wakes up in the basement, all tied up. The strange woman is there and she says they are looking for something. “Does the male have access to the collective intelligence?” Penny thinks they think that she’s a spy, but that’s not it. The vague and off-camera torture begins. A similar scene unfolds upstairs with the two men, where the man tells Albie, “We don’t even exist.” After a while, the two strangers trade partners. They still want to know how the young couple access the collective intelligence.
Eventually, Penny manages to untie herself but gets a good cut in the process. Albie gives up and tells the woman where the device is hidden; he says it’s in their air conditioner unit. When she goes out to check, he gets loose and frees Penny. Albie knocks out the strange man, but Penny wants to leave immediately. They actually take time to argue about it while the woman is still outside. Penny wants a divorce, “you are a pathetic human being.”
Albie drags the strange man outside and kills him with the ax. The strange woman is right there, smiling through it all. Then she runs away. Albie buries the body in the backyard as Penny looks on, stunned.
Penny notices Kimmy, Mark, and the strange woman outside staring at the house. They all come inside, and it’s clear they are all “in on it” together. Outside, the dead man reaches up from his shallow grave; he’s not dead. He comes inside, and Albie is surprised, to say the least.
Then the man peels his skin off, and we see that he’s a big blue alien inside. He takes his eyeballs out, and we get to see the “real” man inside. They explain that the police and half the neighborhood have been replaced by aliens. They still need to know how to access the collective intelligence. The blue one leads Albie outside, where Albie escapes.
Albie runs to the park, where he finds the bones of all his neighbors. The aliens surround him and probe his mind for information about the hive. When he says there is no hive, they don’t believe him. They close in around him…
Penny’s tied up in the bedroom, and she’s relieved to see Albie come inside. Except he’s one of them now. “Relax, it’s all under control…”
The following day, grandma brings Alblie and Penny’s kids home. Mark waves at them as they pass. Penny and Albie seem very happy to see them, all smiles now.
Commentary
Wow, this is certainly a Los Angeles film. They have chickens in the backyard and are totally inept at everything they do. Both the main characters act like they’ve never seen a weapon before.
I’m not sure what the point of making Albie such an unlikable ass from the very first scene was all about. Penny seems fine, but there’s something clearly not right with him. As the film progresses, that doesn’t really change.
The music is good, the camerawork is well-done as well. The acting is fine. Some of the characters spoke in weird, robotic ways, but that’s explained at the end. The only problem is that the main character is so completely unlikable.
#home_invasion #alien #invasion #body_snatcher #doppleganger