Alien Trespass
By: Amy Nicholson
B movie: Know thyself. In two weekends, we have two different approaches to nostalgia schlock. Monsters vs. Aliens is a modern comedy —i.e, disjointed and desperately ironic—that thinks its funny just by reminding us of The Blob. Alien Trespass is a different beast. Director R.W. Goodwin doesn’t reference B movies, he’s made one, from the deadpan fakery of the sets and costumes where the people float in front of the backdrops like paper dolls and you can nearly make out the Army/Navy surplus tag on the alien’s space suit, to the more subtle details like the music, camera angles and pacing. Alien Trespass is set in 1957 twice over, from the year the characters think it is, to the newsreel that runs in front, announcing that the hit movie of the year—yes, Alien Trespass—might never be released. We’re in a small town in the Mojave Desert that just happens to be the home of a famous astronomy professor (Eric McCormack) and his lusty bride (Jody Thompson). And when a meteor (or could it be a spaceship!?) hits, Ted’s the first on the scene and is rewarded by being possessed by the intergalactic fighter Urp, who is trying to recapture the Ghota, a giant slug with a glowing red eye who dissolves his victims. McCormack plays two roles in the same body—both humorless squares with rigid physical comedy. Fifteen minutes after the film is over, you’ve run out of things to say about it, but still think of it fondly, like a particularly well-done Internet short that’s inexplicably stretched to a feature. Robert Patrick and Dan Lauria add gravitas as two small town cops, which says it all. (Amy Nicholson)
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