Movie Review: ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS - Nightmarish Conjurings

Just like Fox Mulder, I’m a slut for aliens and alien movies. Just like with the zombie genre, there is something unsettling about a worldwide event and knowing there is nowhere to go. And what’s even better than an alien horror film? An alien horror-comedy. Enter ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS (or as it was originally titled, Canaries, which I think is a much more clever title but we will get into that). I had to chance to watch ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS and I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it but it turns out that I was pretty wrong.

ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS was written and directed by Peter Stray. It stars Craig Russell as Steve, Sheena Bhattessa as Sunita, Robert Boulter as Randall, Aled Pugh as Ryan, Richard Mylan as Nav, Steven Meo as Huw, Marc Rhys as Tommy and Robert Pugh as Jenkins.

The story can get a little confusing but the gist is this: there have been signs and transmissions that aliens have been taking people and are planning a first wave attack on the planet. Due to some weird time bending stuff, they know it will happen in Wales, UK at the saddest and lamest New Years Eve party on the planet. Perhaps the invasion happened to stop the discomfort of that party. A group of friends get together, one of them bringing his sister who happens to have a secret of her own and knows more about things than she lets on. When a spear and a dead man drop on the roof and then weird rain showers occur, it looks like the party is over and the survival begins, but this night may be just the beginning.

For an indie film, the quality is excellent. The dialogue and effects sound levels are pretty even, so you aren’t straining to hear in between scenes. The acting is hit or miss with some of them, like Robert Boulter, doing a wonderful job and others doing pretty mediocre. There aren’t too many blood gags which are preferred in a film like this but the ones that are included are sparse but in a good way. A little goes a long way in ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS. The humor, I think, is great. It is that dry British humor that you either love or hate, and I personally really enjoy it.

The aliens themselves look like the costumes that are worn for a high school play but because the rest of the film is so fun, it’s completely forgivable. The opening shot of the film is my favorite part. It looks NOTHING like the rest of the film. The opening credit scene is over-saturated, stylized, close up and artsy. The rest of the film looks like a standard film but that opening scene is something else. ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS runs at a clean hour and twenty-four minutes so you don’t really have time to get bored and I loved the ending. It does play on some cliches but the right notes are hit. On a less than positive side, the story can seem jumpy and confusing at times and the editing definitely needs a polish.

I will say that I wished they had kept the original name for the film. Canaries is a great metaphor for this first wave alien attack. Just like in a mine, the canaries are the first alarm that something worse is coming and the alien attackers are the same concept. While ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS gives the film more of a comic feel, Canaries is witty and smart. Overall, I would recommend this movie. The dialogue is funny, the film quality is great, the gore is believable and…aliens. What’s not to love?