''Alien Trespass'' is a 2009 science-fiction

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

based on 1950s sci-fi

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s, produced by James Swift and directed by R.W. Goodwin. It stars

Eric McCormack Eric James McCormack (born April 18, 1963) is a Canadian-American actor and singer, known for his roles as Will Truman in the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', Grant MacLaren in Netflix's ''Travelers'' and Dr. Daniel Pierce in the TNT crime drama ...

and

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...

. The film was shot in

Ashcroft Ashcroft may refer to: Places * Ashcroft, British Columbia, a village in Canada **Ashcroft House in Bagpath, Gloucestershire, England—eponym of the Canadian village * Ashcroft, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Ashcroft, Colorado, ...

, B.C.

Plot

The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above

California's California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis, who is preparing a special anniversary dinner with steaks for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana while observing the annual

meteor shower A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extre ...

of the

Perseids The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail (called the radiant) lies in the constellation Perseus. Etymology The name ...

. In another part of town, Tammy, a waitress at a small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams. Suddenly "something shoots overhead and crashes" in the nearby mountains. Assuming it is a fallen

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

, Ted wants to investigate in person. He reaches the supposed meteorite, which turns out to be an alien spaceship. Then his body is usurped by Urp, a well-meaning, tall, and metallic alien. Urp has discovered that the other passenger of his ship, the one-eyed monster known as Ghota has escaped. He needs to retrieve it and uses a human body to blend in with the locals.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2 The Ghota consumes people in order to grow, multiply, and conquer. Its unquenchable appetite could mean the end of life on Earth.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2 Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extraterrestrial. He enlists the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police – including Chief Dawson and Officer Vern – are confirmed skeptics and offer little help. Together, Urp and Tammy must hunt down the Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world. Urp and Tammy eventually fall in love. But at the finale, he is compelled to return to his home in space and she is left longing for his company. While she remains on Earth, she finally leaves the small town to go in search of her own destiny. Westfahl (2012), p. 277

Cast

as Ted Lewis / Urp *

Jenni Baird Jenni Baird (born 29 April 1976) is an Australian actress. Baird was educated at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts from which she graduated in 1999. Upon graduation Baird appeared in the Australian short film ''I Promise''. Bair ...

as Tammy *

as Vernon *

Jody Thompson Jody Rae Thompson is a Canadian actress, screenwriter and filmmaker working in film and television. Personal life Thompson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to mother Grace Diane, and father, Ray Thompson, the lead singer of Canadian g ...

as Lana Lewis *

Dan Lauria Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known for playing the role of Jack Arnold in ''The Wonder Years'' (1988–1993), Jack Sullivan on ''Sullivan and Son'' (2012–2014), and Al Luongo on '' Pitch'' (2016–2017). Ear ...

as Chief Dawson *

Sarah Smyth Sarah Smyth (born October 12, 1982) is a Canadian actress who starred on the three seasons of the Canadian show ''Naked Josh ''Naked Josh'' is a Canadian comedy television series, which aired on Showcase from 2004 to 2006. It was created an ...

as Penny * Aaron Brooks as Cody *

Andrew Dunbar Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

as Dick *

Dayna Reid Dayna is a given name. Among languages that use this name is Latvian, in which it (also spelled Daina) broadly means 'a collection of the best and most beautiful. For example, 'The Daina of music.' In contemporary adaptations of the name variation ...

as Betsy *

Chelah Horsdal Chelah Horsdal (born June 19, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her regular roles in the television series ''Hell on Wheels'', ''When Calls the Heart'', and ''The Man in the High Castle'', recurring roles on ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Lev ...

as Betsy's Mother *

Sage Brocklebank Sage Brocklebank (born January 14, 1978) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Buzz McNab, a long-standing role on the comedy-drama '' Psych''. He also produces movies and writes for theatre and film. Career Actor Since 2001 Brocklebank ...

as Stu *

Jonathon Young Jonathon Young (born May 8, 1973) is a Canadian actor known for his role of Nikola Tesla on the SyFy show ''Sanctuary''. Appearances include ''The Fog'', ''Eureka'', and ''Stargate Atlantis''. Young is a well-respected stage actor. He is the ...

as Lloyd *

Tom McBeath Tom McBeath is a Canadian actor. He is the winner of three Jessie Awards best known for playing Col. Harold Maybourne on ''Stargate SG-1''. In 2017, he started playing Smithers on '' Riverdale''. Biography He appeared in an episode of ''Street ...

as Wilson

Analysis

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

pointed that when monsters in 1950s

s terrorized small, desert towns, there were production reasons behind the trope. Production costs for hiring extras and travel expenses were lower, and dry sunny weather was almost a guarantee. Filming in the

deserts of California The Deserts of California, collectively known as the California Deserts, are a region of California made up of distinct deserts that each have unique ecosystems and habitats. The region is home to a sociocultural and historical "Old West" collecti ...

, relatively close to Hollywood and the Los Angeles area, meant many of crew and cast could 'commute' to the locations, if need be, and spend weekends at home.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2 The film replicates the look and feel of 1950s

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...

, with one notable exception: the movie is in

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

, while in the 1950s

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

was the norm, again for lower cost.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2 According to Ebert, Lana Lewis (

) is depicted as a "sexpot". Which recalls another feature of 1950s science fiction films. They often cast

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

s such as

Cleo Moore Cleouna Moore (October 31, 1924Moore, Cleo 1924-1973
.

and

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...

in key roles.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2 Ebert found the Ghota to be similar to the B.O.B from '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' (2009), which was also a tribute to 1950s films.Ebert (2012), p. 1-2

Gary Westfahl Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of California, River ...

found the unconventional romance between Urp and Tammy to reminiscent of ''

The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (a.k.a. ''Farewell to the Master'' and ''Journey to the World'') is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Re ...

'' (1951). In that film, the alien Klaatu and human secretary Helen Benson fall in love, but they too end the film physically separated.Westfahl (2012), p. 277 Goodwin says that the film "cherry-pick elements from ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1951), ''

It Came from Outer Space ''It Came from Outer Space'' is a 1953 American science fiction horror film, the first in the 3D process from Universal-International. It was produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. The film stars Richard Carlson and Barbara ...

'' (1953) and ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' (1953).

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. , it holds a 36% approval rating on aggregate review site

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 67 reviews, with an average score of 4.89/10. The site's main consensus reads "An earnest attempt to parody campy 1950s sci-fi films, Alien Trespass eventually loses its charm among tedious dialogue and cheesy special effects." Film critic

gave the film two out of four stars and felt that the film was, "obviously a labor of love. But why? Is there a demand for cheesy 1950s sci-fi movies not met by the existing supply? Will younger audiences consider it to be merely inept, and not inept with an artistic intention? Here is a movie more suited to ComicCon or the World Science Fiction Convention than to your neighborhood multiplex". In her review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Jeannette Catsoulis described the film as "a charmingly sentimental but ultimately pointless hommage to the sci-fi classics of yesteryear". Betsy Sharkey, in her review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', felt that "there is attention to detail throughout this film, and it's clear that Goodwin loves those old sci-fi movies – maybe a little too much. While ''Alien Trespass'' stays true to the era and the genre, it forgets that its mission in this galaxy is not merely to pay tribute but to entertain".

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

mixed praise and complaint, saying, "''Alien Trespass'' was clearly made with the intention to both emulate and satirize the classic B-movie sci-fi films of the 1950s – and not in a semi-serious Roland Emmerich kind of way, but in a careful replication of the era, complete with flying saucers, sub-par effects and some overly hammy acting. The problem, unfortunately, is that the movie aims to have it both ways and quite simply can't, straddling the cinematic line for about 10 minutes before falling gracelessly into its own confused voice." The reviewer added, however, "If ''Alien Trespass'' succeeds in any regard, it's simply in creating a world that feels, at least in spirit, like an authentic – or perhaps nostalgic – depiction of the period. The sets, the costumes, the cars, the vocal affectations – neither parody nor slavish recreation. And the visual effects, despite being created by CG to appear properly low-tech, feel enough like large plastic creatures and saucers on strings to blend seamlessly into the spirit of the piece. All in all, the design of the film is considerably more effective than its substance." In his review for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'',

Ty Burr Ty Burr (born August 17, 1957) is an American film critic, columnist, and author who currently writes a film and popular culture newsletter "Ty Burr's Watchlist" on Substack. Burr previously served as film critic at ''The Boston Globe'' for two ...

felt that the film was superior to ''Monsters vs. Aliens'', saying "There's more simple joy to be found here than in all of

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

' 3-D extravaganza, though – a pleasure that comes from laughing at the movie and with it at the same time". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the film a "B+" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum praised its "warm tone, along with the picture's bright, saturated, anti-CGI look, is a welcome respite from jokes, irony, and the postmodern malaise of know-it-all-ness".

, a reviewer of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, found this film and ''

The Man from Earth ''The Man from Earth'' is a 2007 American science fiction drama film directed by Richard Schenkman. It was written by Jerome Bixby, who conceived the screenplay in the early 1960s and completed it on his deathbed in April 1998. It stars David Lee ...

'' (2007) to be overlooked gems of the genre. He hopes that they can both eventually be rediscovered.Westfahl (2012), p. 265-272 He found the film able to capture the "klutzy charm" and the true virtues of the 1950s science fiction films.

Sources

* * *

References

External links

* * * *
Genre From Another Planet: The ’50s
''

'', March 27, 2009
Director R.W. Goodwin Discusses ''Alien Trespass'' at AMCtv.com

Interview with R.W. Goodwin
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes at '' Starlog'' magazine 2009 films 2000s science fiction comedy films American science fiction comedy films 2000s English-language films Films about extraterrestrial life Films directed by R. W. Goodwin Films set in 1957 Films set in California 2000s parody films Roadside Attractions films 2009 comedy films Films shot in British Columbia 2000s American films