Shudder Saturday: Kids vs. Aliens (2022)

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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V/H/S/2 (2013)

A horror anthology sequel to V/H/S, as if you couldn't guess, V/H/S/2 follows the template set by the first movie. Some people enter a house and start checking out videotapes, only to find some very disturbing footage. This time around, however, the people investigating are actual private investigators, as opposed to the unruly louts of the first film, and there's even some added explanation given to why VHS is the preferred format (an explanation that was in place for the first movie, though never explicitly detailed, according to interviews I read at the time with some of the film-makers).

There are four tales this time, instead of five, and they are as follows:
1) Adam Wingard plays a man who receives a bionic eye implant, a small camera. When he heads home it's not long until he's seeing things that shouldn't be there. Is the eye faulty, or is it working far better than envisaged?
2) A cyclist, filming his ride with a helmet-cam, gets caught up in a zombie outbreak in the middle of some woods.
3) A number of investigative reporters are allowed in to the premises of a secretive cult. Unfortunately, they're allowed in just as the people inside are preparing for their own warped rapture.
4) A slumber party is interrupted by malevolent aliens.

The cast members here aren't as important as the directors, or even the format itself. I'm sorry to let them down so abruptly, that's just the way of it. This movie, and the one preceding it, is all about utilising the found footage form most effectively, while also allowing for modern versions of traditional horror premises to be played out. Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener and Adam Wingard return, joined this time by Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sanchez, Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans.

While the movie, overall, is a slight step down from the first movie, mainly due to a lack of originality with the story ideas, there aren't any tales that stand out as being the worst of the bunch. Most people tend to find the third tale, "Safe Haven", the best, which should please Evans and Tjahjanto, and while the others may suffer slightly in comparison, they're not awful. Well, not to me anyway.

If you liked V/H/S then you should like this. Be warned, there's plenty of shaky-cam throughout. Thankfully, the pace and scares, albeit mainly jump scares, make it worth suffering through the more jittery moments.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/V-H-S-2-Blu-ray/dp/B00DI012QA/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1402687894&sr=1-4&keywords=vhs+2