Alien Abduction   Starring: Katherine Sigismund, Corey Eid and Riley Polanski Distributor: Signature Entertainment RRP: £12.99 Certificate: 15 Release Date: 25 August 2014

A couple, along with their elder daughter and son, and younger autistic son, embark on a camping holiday at Brown Mountain in North Carolina. After camping at their first stop point, the kids see spherical lights in the night sky. The boy captures them on a camcorder which he always has with him. The next day, they drive to the next site, but the satellite navigation takes them down an endless winding road. They are almost out of fuel when they reach a tunnel, blocked with long-abandoned cars. The father and boys go looking for help, but are accosted by not-quite-seen creatures. The father is taken, and the boys are forced to run away to warn the others. Suddenly, they are on the run in the woods from beings which can only be aliens. A lone man living in the hills could mean their salvation or their end...

This is another one of those supposed fictional/true-life events; camcorder footage found by the government, and all that… Yawn! But I have to say, like some kind of guilty pleasure, that I actually enjoyed this film. It’s no classic, but it’s certainly the best running-round-with-a-camera one I’ve seen.

Firstly, there is a strong, valid reason for everything being filmed – it’s not a coincidence that sudden occurrences are caught: the younger boy is autistic; he films practically everything. It’s something he needs to do, a sort of self-help therapy. Secondly, unlike most of these cheaply-made a lot-about-nothings, there is not only a final frame reveal, but the viewer is rewarded with a number of visual set-pieces. Depending on what you are used to seeing, they are potentially shocking moments, filmed very maturely and with a great deal of thought as to how to get the most out of what they have.

The aliens are well-realised, and wisely shown in quick cuts or in shadow/silhouette, etc. Less is definitely more here. There is very good use of lighting, too, to accentuate the fear factor. Sound is utilised too much and too cheaply in horror films these days, with slamming doors and echoing sounds in corridors, etc. – however, here it is used in conjunction with the lighting to phenomenal effect. The scene where our characters are hiding in the barn is actually a suitably anxious moment.

So, there’s plenty to enjoy here. It gives new life to this tired sub-genre. Oh, and watch past the end credits, as there is a short additional scene worth seeing.

7

Ty Power