By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Release Date:
August 4, 2020
Midnight Releasing
VOD & DVD
Not to be confused with Blackout: Invasion Earth, the similarity made work, Invasion Earth, by writer/Director James Twyman originality came out 2016 and is more about the people and their lives than the fate of the planet being saved by freedom fighters. The juxtaposition is light. Perhaps the actual threat is about them as ne’er-do-wells. Trying to break free from their demons is just as difficult as getting ready to deal with an alien threat.
The official trailer suggests the space invaders are omnipresent throughout, but that’s far from the truth. What’s out there is visualized like The Colour Out of Space—in vivid blues and purples. It’s a good way to contrast between the slow parts (in regular colours) and the high action.
Johnny Pearson (Jon Paul Gates) is our eye to this world. He thinks the therapy these people are getting is a scam and is out to expose Doctor Carson (David Shaw). The fear is that these kids may be part of a new Heaven’s Gate cult.
A shorter run time would’ve helped the pacing. When the title suggests aliens are coming, perhaps audiences should question the definition. The Greys attacking Earth adds to the hostility that we can sometimes face (either as an observer or an affected) when confronting uncertainty. Perhaps the onus is on these people in need of healing more than someone else–aliens included–asking them, “How are you feeling?” By the final act, I empathized with them instead of cheering for the finale. To say “Cheerio, it’s over,” is not quite in the cards yet.
3 Stars out of 5
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