Altered

Altered (2006)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Eduardo Sanchez

Starring: Adam Kaufman, Catherine Mangan, Brad William Henke, Michael C. Williams, Paul McCarthy-Boyington

From: Haxan Films

Here is a film I heard about from a horror thread on a messageboard. Several people recommended it so I figured I would watch it on Netflix before it expired on the 1^st of October. It is from the guy who directed The Blair Witch Project, which was fine and all, and also the reviewed by me earlier in the year Seventh Moon, which wasn't fine.

In terms of October and horror movies, I won't be seeing those and reviewing them exclusively. I'll do some, but I am pretty sure it'll be my usual variety.

I'll explain the basic plot; if you do see the film note that not everything is explained right away so at first you'll likely be confused: three redneck types are in the swampy woods of Florida hunting something; it turns out, they are looking for... an alien! They actually capture one; it is green-colored and is about human-sized and shaped. They bring it to the remote house of a pal (Kaufman) who is none too happy to see the alien again. You see, 15 years ago the gang and another dude met up with that alien species and it killed the another dude. So, they captured it for revenge. But, the alien has powers of its own (including mind control if you look in its eyes long enough) and needless to say it escapes and causes a lot of havoc. And the unknowing girfriend (Mangan; looks-wise, think Farrah from 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom. I don't watch those shows, but I know enough about them to know that Farrah is a terrible lady who just isn't very nice; thankfully this lady and her character aren't like that at all).

I wasn't sure about this at first. The overall situation is rather goofy and ridiculous. The guys at first come off as real dicks, yellling at each other and cursing at each other as if they were in a Rob Zombie movie. But stick with it as by the end you'll actually like these characters. The performances are all at least fine. The special effects are almost all practical. The monster is a guy in a suit rather than a crappy CGI creation that is obviously fake. The gore moments also were real instead of a computer effect. These are positive things and almost all of that looked really good for the small budget. There are several scary moments but this is more a thrill ride than anything else. It's mainly set in one location, which is rather nice.

I am glad I finally saw this film; besides it being something I liked, it was filmed in Central Florida over in Orange County, one county East of where I live. Believe me this is far better than Seventh Moon. The lighting is a lot better and you end up liking the characters, which was not the case in the film set in China.

I'll be back Monday night.