If you have seen director Jason Eisener's segment in V/H/S/2 (Slumber Party Alien Abduction) then you should already know what to expect from Kids vs. Aliens. I could be polite here, I could be coy, but it's best to get straight to the point. If you have already seen "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" then you've already seen a much better take on this premise than Kids vs. Aliens.
The plot is summed up by the title. Some kids are at home without any adults present, which means a party is happening. Aliens decide to rudely barge into that party, snatching many of the kids and planning to turn them into warped and inhuman creations. Or they might just kill them. Killing them is also very much an option.
Kids vs. Aliens has Eisener working once more with his long-time collaborator, John Davies, and the two are obviously more interested in trying to make something fun and energetic than trying to make, well, any actual progress in their creative journeys. The end result is a film that unfortunately ends up feeling like a feature debut, from the horrible visuals throughout to the brainless script, from the super-thin characterisations to the super-slim runtime of 75 minutes.
Phoebe Rex, in the role of Samantha, does enough to overcome the weak script, but she's the only one up to the task. Not that the others are terrible. The younger cast members (including Dominic Mariche, Asher Grayson Percival, and Ben Tector) do what is asked of them, but very little asked of them is entertaining or enjoyable. Calem MacDonald stands out as Billy, but that's only because he becomes more and more of a douchebag as the alien horror unfolds.
It's as hard to write a full review of this as it must have been for Eisener and Davies to flesh out their idea into a feature. Yes, there are a few decent practical effects here and there, and the main idea is one that has potential (check out the flawed, but much better, Slash/Back to see a better stab at it), but you'll start to forget any of the infrequent highlights as soon as the end credits roll.
On the plus side, many people can watch Kids vs. Aliens and realise that, with the right phone camera and creativity, they can make their own movie, and probably make something better than this. You don't need a big budget or big names. You just need the right ideas, a script that doesn't feel half-assed, and a healthy dose of inventiveness. These are things notably missing from this movie.
3/10
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