Directed By: Jason Eisener
Starring: Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex, Calem MacDonald, Asher Grayson
Plot Summary: An all-time rager of a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing two warring siblings to band together to survive the night.
Kids vs. Aliens is certainly trying to recapture the magic and wonder of Stranger Things, but with a wicked adult sense of humor. On paper, this has the making of a really fun outing. Not to mention, in terms of horror, you rarely see aliens as the main baddies. Sadly, the end result is a mixed bag.
Director Jason Eisener takes a small budget and never lets it hold him back from injecting high energy fun with a great visual flare. Even though the neon color palate is a bit overused, you cannot deny the overall stellar look of the film. The shots are extremely well thought out with creative compositions, and the entire movie is filled with atmosphere. This movie even looks better than some of the bigger budget Hollywood films using a fraction of the cost. As far as the creature goes, your milage my vary, but the aliens look fairly good, considering the limited resources.
The action scenes, for the most part, are extremely well staged and executed, but the big question is, who is this movie for? Kids vs. Aliens seems to be a movie aimed at younger horror fans. Yet, the film is way too intense and foul-mouthed with mature subject matter for that to be the case. Despite this, it still tries to do this weird wide-eyed Spielberg-esque homage. Now, there is a way to do this correctly. The excellent Psycho Goreman (which this movie seemingly wants to be) proved that you can have kids anchoring your R-rated movie and have it still feel tonally cohesive. Eisener seemingly takes a stab at making an R-rated E.T. The problem is, it never fully commits to either the heart or whimsy of the Spielberg classic, nor does it know how to handle the mature material in a clever way. Not to mention, the kids swearing is funny for a little while, but it’s done so often that the novelty wears off pretty quickly.
The film feels needlessly edgy and baffling when movies like The Gate prove you can make a badass horror film aimed at a slightly younger audience. Most adults can’t relate to having mostly young children as their main perspective, so what you manage to do is alienate your audience towards your alien feature. Also, the one female character who is unashamed in her sexual agency has far and away the most brutal death. It’s even worse than the central baddie’s death. It’s very reminiscent of films that came out during The Hays Code which demanded that any “loose” women meet a very nasty end. This is most likely not the intention of the filmmakers, but since it is in the film, it’s worth addressing.
There certainly is an attempt at showcasing well rounded characters, but everyone mostly just feels flat and unremarkable. Everyone falls neatly into archetypes we’ve already seen a million times. Potty-mouthed tykes aside, this is basically a check list of every ‘kids on bikes’ film you can think of. Not to mention the pacing is really awkward and doesn’t make good use of its scant 75-minute runtime. At the end of the day, Kids vs. Aliens is a fun enough to kill some time. Despite its flaws, the skill and thought behind it does come through on screen, but unfortunately, this feels like first draft material at best and nothing, frankly, felt fresh or exciting.
Kids vs. Aliens is currently playing in select theaters, and it is available on Digital and On Demand courtesy of RLJE Films.
At the end of the day, Kids vs. Aliens is a fun enough to kill some time.
Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
