ALIEN ABDUCTION (2014) – On DVD and Blu-Ray from 25th August 2014

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alien-abduction

ALIEN ABDUCTION (2014)
Directed by Matty Beckerman

A couple and their three children head to Brown Mountain, North Carolina for a camping holiday. On the first night of their vacation, the children spot mysterious lights in the sky, only for their parents to dismiss them in the morning as being a trick of the imagination, stars or an aircraft. When the family become lost down a woodland road, the real threat of the mysterious lights reveals itself as the family face otherworldly danger and must do everything in their power to survive.

Inspired by true events, ALIEN ABDUCTION is a found footage alien sci-fi flick that features our favourite species of extraterrestrials, the greys. In the movie, the youngest child Riley, aged 11, has autism and uses a camcorder to help him with his condition. Thus, the film is the recovered camcorder of Riley’s which depicts the family’s brief, entire vacation out in the woods. For a found footage film, ALIEN ABDUCTION is incredibly steady which makes it an easy-on-the-eye, entertaining watch yet still manages to replicate the hand-held, personal feel which these movies try to emulate.

The cast to lead the film and convince us of this ‘true event’, in which 27 people were abducted, are a fine mixture of actors that present their characters naturally. Peter Holden plays the father, Peter Morris, who like most fathers is the driving force behind the vacation and is eager for his family to have a good time. His wife Katie (Katherine Sigismund) is his loving wife who tries to give her husband directions in the car, convinced she knows better than the sat nav. No need to tell you how that works out! Corey (Corey Eid) and Jillian (Jillian Clare) are two of their children, both teenagers and practically adults, but who seem to be happy to be spending some time away with their family. Riley (Riley Polanski) is the third and youngest of Peter and Katie’s children, who likes to video his family and wildlife on his camcorder. Unlike other families, this family seem pretty happy and comfortable in each others company, with absolutely no tension within the group. Often with films like this, arguments erupt between the group, particularly with teenage offspring, but the Morris family in ALIEN ABDUCTION are at ease with one another and are just excited and keen to enjoy the great outdoors, that is until something sinister unfolds to put the kibosh on their vacation plans.

The horror factor is exploited well in ALIEN ABDUCTION. The choice to use the greys sparsely was a well-made one, as less is indeed more when you have beings who’s existance is neither proved or disproved in reality. The appearance of the greys may be short and sweet but they are enough to make this viewer jump, and the sounds that are emitted from these other-worldly creatures only disturb the viewer even more. As a horror thriller, this is one of the better ones though you will need some imagination and luckily, I have that in bountiful supply. By offering a little glimpse, the viewer’s mind fills in the blanks and that’s where the fear truly lies. Couple this with the film’s woodland location and the fact that there have been reports in real life of lights at Brown Mountain, and you have the perfect concept for a horror.

As a fan of sci-fi movies that feature greys, ALIEN ABDUCTION hits the right notes in what I look for in a good found footage horror movie. Think of this as The Blair Witch Project meets videogame Slender: The Arrival with a splash of alien greys and you get this tense, mysterious survival sci-fi thriller. Check it out!

Rating: ★★★★★★★½☆☆

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About Bat 4368 Articles
I love practical effects, stop-motion animation and gore, but most of all I love a good story! I adore B-movies and exploitation films in many of their guises and also have a soft spot for creature features. I review a wide range of media including movies, TV series, books and videogames. I'm a massive fan of author Hunter S. Thompson and I enjoy various genre of videogames with Kingdom Hearts and Harvest Moon two of my all time favs. Currently playing: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Yakuza Zero and Mafia III.

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