I’m a big fan of the “V/H/S/” movie series and one of my all time favorite segments is Jason Eisener’s “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” from “V/H/S/ 2.” It’s a chaotic, and creepy segment about aliens literally crashing a slumber party. So I was elated to see that director Jason Eisener of “Hobo with a Shotgun” was adapting that segment in to a virtual loose remake called “Kids vs. Aliens.” Suffice to say he and co-writer John Davies not only does justice to the previous short form segment, but might have just built an epic series.
“Kids vs. Aliens” is set on the eve of Halloween where young Gary, his two friends Jack and Miles, and his sister Samantha film movies all day long their backyard. When Trish meets Allen the bad boy from town, he ruins their movie shoot and crashes the house with a raucous party. Little do any of them know that aliens have also decided to interrupt the festivities and are intent on abducting every human they can find. Now it’s up to Samantha and Gary to put a stop to their plans.
“Kids vs. Aliens” thankfully knows not to over stay its welcome, turning a short segment in to a fairly fast paced but fun horror action film. Eisener invokes a lot of the classic eighties kids films like “Monster Squad” and gems like “Attack the Block” while also building on big screen villains that are absolutely horrifying. Despite the film being led by three kids and a teenage girl, “Kids vs. Aliens” keeps its roots firmly in the horror genre with villains that aren’t jokes. The moment they begin wreaking havoc they’re merciless in their pursuit of human subjects. Eisener also allows us a deeper glimpse in to the alien villains, even splashing the screen with some guts and grue for good measure.
While the gore and grue are minimal, when Eisener does decide to put it on display, it’s memorable and even a tad disturbing. Director Eisener puts a lot of the weight of the film’s heart on our cast, and they do a wonderful job. Dominich Mariche is very good as the protagonist Gary, a budding filmmaker whose wildest fantasies are realized in horrific fashion, meanwhile Phoebe Rex steals the movie as older sister Samantha. Eisener places a lot of the focus on her especially in the second half, where she musters up the courage for heroics, and she shines. If anything the human villains are a bit over the top for my liking, especially Calem McDonald whose turn as the horrendous Billy gets a bit cartoonish at times.
In either case, it doesn’t hinder what is a truly raucous, fun, and creepy horror flick. Eisener and Davies delve a lot deeper in to what these monsters are seeking and what they’re doing on Earth, but they also leave a lot of questions dangling for us. The healthy ambiguity thankfully pays off, as I was hooked right until the very end; I really want to see where they take us next in this saga.
Now In Limited Theaters, Digital, and on VOD from RJLE Films, and Shudder.