The Big Chill (With Aliens) - Altered

About a week ago, I mentioned that I rented a movie that didn't suck. I fondly remember it as the day I watched Bloodrayne, a day forever scrawled into the dark pathways of my brain. The movie was Altered, and just to make sure that I wasn't overcompensating mentally for the pain caused by watching Dr. Boll's vampire masterwork, I watched it first.

Altered

It doesn't seem like a smart idea to put 'FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT' on the front of a box, because while we each have our own pet opinions about the film, nobody thinks it's a triumph of directing. As a writer, however, Eduardo Sanchez has his strengths. He created the mythos surrounding the Blair Witch, and it was that mythos that gave the film whatever power it has the first time you see it. He created the characters in Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, and as oft-maligned as that film is, the characters were empathetic and memorable enough that I still know their names and basic roles, despite not having seen the movie in years. That same skill for investing me in what he's doing on-screen is present in Altered, too. What could have been a simple, jokey Undead clone about rednecks fightin' aliens is a lot more. It's a closed-room film about growing up, mourning, and repairing the damage we do to each other in our lives. In a lot of ways, it's like The Big Chill, except with an alien strapped to a table.

That's not to say it's without awesome moments. When the film starts off with a plumber's van full of heavily-armed hicks out gray-hunting, you're doing something right. Especially when the most accident-prone of the bunch is hauling around a homemade harpoon gun that looks like the most badass thing this side of a space marine arsenal.

As the first person to complain when any kind of monster is any kind of disappointment, do not take it lightly when I say that the alien's reveal is a masterwork of cinematic brinksmanship, and its first real appearance on-screen is handled nearly perfectly.

The big twist in the formula here, and it's immensely satisfying, is that the heroes can't kill the alien. Doing so has serious consequences. They're perfectly capable of doing so, though, so the endgame of the movie is something of a roller-coaster ride, watching the dwindling number of protagonists pull their punches while trying as hard as they can to stay alive. It's a great way to create tension and conflict, and it pads out the film without feeling artificial.

Altered has heart, and it's a real surprise. It's a competent creature feature that hooks you hard if you let it. It's a low budget gore film that even much more expensive efforts have plenty to learn from, and you should probably give it a watch if you are a regular reader here.