Sidewalks On The Corner

Will & Grace's Eric McCormack, The 4400's Jenni Baird, X-Files' Robert Patrick, and The Wonder Years' Dan Lauria discover that aliens have landed in their small town in "Alien Trespass."

Follow up:

"ALIEN TRESPASS"
Roadside Attractions
Director: R.W. Goodwin
Cast: Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick, Dan Lauria, Jody Thompson, Aaron Brooks, Sarah Smyth, Andrew Dunbar

Studio Synopsis:
Coming soon to a theater and drive-in near you: ALIEN TRESPASS, a thrilling sci-fi adventure from three-time Golden Globe winner and five time Emmy Award-nominated director/producer R.W. Goodwin (“The X-Files”) and brought to you in glorious color!

ALIEN TRESPASS is an exciting and entertaining homage to the great science-fiction movies of the 1950s, the post-war boom period when the country was filled with great hope and prosperity and, at the same time, lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation.

The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above California’s Mojave Desert. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis (ERIC McCORMACK), who is preparing a special dinner for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana (JODY THOMPSON) to celebrate their wedding anniversary. In another part of town, Tammy (JENNI BAIRD), a waitress at the 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.

But what Dr. Lewis and Tammy assume is a shooting star, is really an alien spaceship. The fiery ball hurtles toward earth and crash-lands on a butte in the desert. The only witnesses are Dick (ANDREW DUNBAR) and Penny (SARAH SMYTH) who are necking in a nearby lovers’ lane.

A tall, metallic alien named Urp emerges from the craft unharmed, alarmed to discover that the monstrous Ghota, who was also on board, has escaped. The menacing one-eyed creature’s unquenchable appetite could mean the end of civilization as we know it.

Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extra-terrestrial, but to do so he has to take over the body of Dr. Lewis and enlist the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police – including police Chief Dawson (DAN LAURIA) and officer Vernon (ROBERT PATRICK) – 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!

J.P.'s Take:

B-Movies are making a huge come back with some surprising results. The post-war 50's was the age of hope and thriving communities, and strangely, it was also a time of fear for a nuclear holocaust. "Alien Trespass" is a tongue and check tribute to the Sci-Fi/Horror flicks of that time.

What I Liked: The interesting thing about this film is it's authentic style. From the costumes to the cars, set pieces and props, even the language, the filmmakers went out of their way to create a true 50's b-movie atmosphere. They even played up the cheesy acting where you have one or two characters over reacting to situations that would soon turn dire. However, what really held this movie together is the story. Here you have a mysterious object streaking through the sky, which crash lands in the middle of small town in the Mojave Desert. Almost everyone assumes it's a meteor shower, although there is something strange about this shower. A rogue shooting star falls in an unusual way. There is, however, speculation that it might be a space craft carrying beings from another world. The reaction of the townspeople is how you would expect people to react to something of this magnitude. People are either scared or amazed by this event. This is where the characters come into play which drives "Alien Trespass." It's more about the characters and how they all come together to solve this mystery, rather than go along with the program; thinking it was a space ship. The story then develops into a fun filled witch hunt, after they discover the truth behind strange disappearances of a few townspeople.

What sets this vintage-styled Sci-Fi flick apart from the run-of-the mill movies is that it wasn't laden with special EFX. Because the focus was on the characters and the story, there wasn't a need to bog things down with an acid trip of eye popping effects. The movie still worked well without all of the Hollywood bells and whistles. On top of that it was genuinely funny and charming. Some classic funny moments are when the three teenagers Penny (Sarah Smyth), Dick (Andrew Dunbar) and Cody (Aaron Brooks) decide to go see a movie and it happens to be "The Blob." Penny cringes at the idea and says, "I don't think it's a good idea to see a movie like this, with what's happening here" (or something to that nature). To make a long story short, they end up watching the movie anyway, the alien pops up in the movie theater, and total pandemonium breaks out. They begin to run and scream just like the scene in the classic “The Blob” film. Even though you can see what's coming down the pipeline with that joke, it's still hilarious.

I mentioned above that the acting is what helps the film move along. Some other funny times come from the actors, who take themselves somewhat seriously. This, of course, is what the filmmakers wanted. They try hard to keep a straight face in times where you would think they would be busting a gut because they can't believe what they are saying. What's impressive about Eric McCormack is he able to distinguish himself in the two roles: astronomer Ted Lewis and an alien named Urp. Ted has a quirkiness about him; he also slightly eccentric. While playing the role of Urp, he is strange but determined and methodical about his mission. A nice contrasting point. McCormack does a nice job of splitting the personalities. Jody Thompson is the Ava Garnder-like Lana Lewis, wife of Ted Lewis. Thompson provides the sex appeal for the whole movie, however, she's also quite nurturing and endearing. Dan Lauria plays the gruff Chief Dawson. Dawson is typical of a meat head, tough talking veteran police chief. However, the one-time The Wonder Years father doesn't play him like the typical dummy that you may find in similar movies. Jenni Baird plays Tammy, who provides the strong female role: young fearless, just a little bit gullible, and attractive. Robert Patrick is Officer Vernon. Patrick plays his part as the go get'em type of cop with a narcissistic complex. He also seems a bit creepy. I also liked the innocents and vibrancy of the young actors playing the teenagers. Dunbar, Smyth and Brooks are the youthful bushy tailed teens who add energy and curiousness to the film. All were energetic and enthusiastic in their efforts.

What I Didn't Like: Stylistically, I would have liked to have seen some of the visuals turn out better as far as creature design and set pieces. I wanted to see just little more of the inside of the ship. I also felt the creature was too cheesy...like something you would find on some children television show. I understand that the film is a cornball homage to b-movies, but it didn't have to go the total cornball route. I thought the creature from the original "War of The Worlds" was far more mysterious and creepy simply because you didn't see it until the last 20 or 30 minutes of the movie. Another small let down of "Alien Trespass" is the way they presented the creature from the start. If you want to create total mystery and fear, you shroud the alien being in total secrecy until the last moments. The look of creature didn't fit its description of how deadly and vicious it can be. I thought that could have been executed a little better.

"Alien Trespass" is a small, little known film that almost always gets overlooked; however, its word of mouth that will build it up to cult classic status. This movie will be added to my "31 Days of Horror" movie marathon that I do almost every year in October. It's just wholesome corny fun for the whole family. I'm glad I was able to catch this little gem, and I had the pleasure of shooting the interviews with the stars of the film.