Three years ago, debut director Brian Duffield created a highly unusual and memorable film, “Spontaneity,” blending elements of science fiction, brutal drama, and youth comedy. Now he’s back, delivering one of the most interesting horror films of the year—perhaps not the best, but certainly captivating. It tells the story of a girl with an unhealed wound in her heart who is attacked by aliens in her own home.
And it must be said upfront that the extraterrestrials here are not some trendy amorphous biomass, shapeless phantoms, or sentient mushrooms. They are classic aliens—big-headed, big-eyed gray beings with their silly flying saucers and gravitational beams for abducting humans. I haven’t seen such shamelessly old-fashioned stuff—in a good way!—for a long time. But all this retro aesthetics serves a purpose. The director uses the alien invasion to talk about quite earthly matters, such as dealing with deep-seated emotional traumas. It seems like this theme is now present in every other modern horror film.
But I’m not against another horror flick with a psychotherapeutic undertone because the film is well-executed. About ten minutes pass before the cosmic mayhem begins, and from then on, the action doesn’t stop until the final credits. The protagonist (the cool Caitlin Dever from the series “Unbelievable”) is visually charming and not foolish; she reacts adequately to danger and fights for her life using all available means. It’s interesting to watch her confrontation with the humanoids, and you genuinely want to empathize with her. The visuals are pleasing, the special effects are excellent, and the sound is simply awesome. The alien murmurs, in particular, are very well done. By the way, there’s an interesting sound-related detail: throughout the entire movie, the characters speak, if I’m not mistaken, only eight words (enthusiasts specifically counted), and just one complete sentence. This is also a memorable artistic technique that fits well with the story. Box office (6.2) / IMDB (6.3).