Review: Alien Outbreak

Although strictly a coincidence, it seems fitting a movie about an alien virus infecting a small town would come out amidst the real-world scare like the Coronavirus. So well played, High Octane Pictures, well played.

Granted, the hapless victims in Neil Rowe's low-budget effort are hit with a lot more than flu-like symptoms. The virus in Alien Outbreak drives folks to off themselves in often gruesome ways. Naturally, it's up to a couple of police officers to try and sort everything out, and keep a few stragglers alive during what seems like a full-scale alien invasion.

Rowe definitely did a lot with the few things he had at his disposal. Alien Outbreak employs a small cast, and a few limited locations, but to great effect. This is very much like The Thing or Night of the Living Dead that way. What money was at his mercy went toward hiring a decent cast, and into his special effects, which are great given the scale of the picture.

I liked how Rowe didn't explain what his aliens are up to, nor does he attempt to detail much about them. This makes the beings scary. They're a relentless species, and this leads the human characters on a harrowing journey that -- spoiler alert -- doesn't end well.

The human players are also good, especially Katherine Drake as a transplanted Canadian cop. We follow the story through her eyes and experiences, and she conveys an effective range of emotions.

I wanted the movie to be tenser, and the story runs out of steam about half way through. Alien Outbreak feels like a short film strung out to feature length. It's a decent watch, and definitely worth seeing once, but doesn't lend itself to repeated viewings. Sadly, that means I have to give it a Bad.

Alien Outbreak hits DVD and Digital Feb 11.

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