Alien Abduction (DVD)

Alien Abduction starts off with two couples out camping in the deep, dark woods. That’s an original set-up, right? Jean (Megan Lee Ethridge) has a video camera, and she’s taping for no apparent reason — but then… what was that? An alien tentacle! She runs through the woods, ala Blair Witch, and she and her frightened friends wind up hiding in a cave. Not the best escape route, as it turns out. Jean, Todd (Griff Furst), Britney (Marissa Morse), and Thomas (Jilon Ghai) are torn apart and eviscerated.

That’s just the beginning. Jean wakes to find herself in a strange, stark hospital room though she is apparently uninjured. There’s not even a mark to show where her belly was torn open and disemboweled. Something very strange is going on, and Jean soon becomes convinced that our government is behind a major cover-up involving extra-terrestrials.

Mixing science fiction with a lot of horror, nudity, and major gore, director Eric Forsberg succeeds in making a compelling sketch of a movie — unfortunately, he doesn’t paint the whole picture and there are some really long, dull stretches between the dialogue and action. However — just when I was about to sign off, something crazy, scary or funny would happen.

Alien Abduction reminded me quite a bit of Starship Troopers 2; both films are written and directed very similarly, and even the look of the sets is close (however, the special effects were better in Starship Troopers 2). Some might also liken Alien Abduction to a 50s Martian-paranoia B-movie, but with T & A and extreme violence.

Overall, I found the movie too slow to bear more than one viewing. But if you don’t mind an obviously low-budget film with some unevenness, you might find Alien Abduction worth a look for its good points, which are decent acting, good plot, plenty of gooey gore and an arresting ending.

The DVD includes some rather lifeless commentary (maybe the speakers were being drugged by the government!), plus a making-of featurette that’s actually pretty entertaining and informative.

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson