How sad is this?

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

Judging by the title, the DVD-cover and the year of release, I would normally never even bother to watch this "Alien Raiders"… I'm a huge fan of old alien invasion movies, more particularly from the fifties and the eighties, because they feature crazy chaotic plots, outrageously cheesy special effects and a cast full of washed up B- movie stars. I don't like "new" alien invasion movies because they usually feature imbecilic plots and lousy computer-engineered effects. But a friend advised me to nevertheless check out "Alien Raiders", and I can understand why, because this is definitely one of the more inspired and entertaining low-budget Sci-Fi movies of the past two decades. The film is arguably derivative of the previous year's hit film "The Mist", as it copies the setting as well as a handful of other ideas, but there are plenty of aspects to guarantee an hour and a half of good old-fashioned and action packed Sci-Fi/horror fun. Two days before Christmas, in the sleepy little time of Buck Lake – Arizona, a troop of heavily armed militants invade the cozy Hasting Supermarket shortly before closing time. Everyone assumes they are robbers or terrorists, but in fact they are some kind of violent scientists in search for extraterrestrial parasites that are allegedly present here. The group's well-planned routing goes awry when their paranormal medium (a big-eyed freak that scans people's brains) gets shot and they have to conduct their alien identification tests via old-fashioned and unorthodox methods. Meanwhile, police forces and hostage negotiators gather outside the supermarket. What I like most about "Alien Raiders" is that it's 100% unpretentious and straightforward. It's clear that director Ben Rock and his crew don't aim to win any originality prices or cinematography Oscars, but at least everyone who was involved in this production does their job professionally. The acting performances are more than decent, without any big names in the cast list, and there are a couple of nicely gooey make-up effects and nasty slaughters. The last 10-15 minutes are rather dull, predictable and disappointing

This film is absolutely brilliant in its premise, setting, direction and cinematography. The story, written by David Simkins, with screenplay by Julia Fair, is original and cogent. The director, Ben Rock, does a superb job of bringing this suspenseful story to life. Walt Lloyd's cinematography sets the scenes beautifully without the darkening that too often hides the action. The camera work, primarily utilizing the relatively new Panasonic HPX 3000, is smooth and nearly flawless. Augie Hess's editing keeps the story moving at an intense rate. The acting? Above par in every way. The characters are well cast, believable, and distinguishable - that is, one can become immersed in the story without struggling to keep track of who's who. Across the board this is an exceptionally well made movie at every level. I recommend it to fans of thrillers and science fiction. Alien Raiders combines the very best of both.

"Alien Raiders" (2008) is generally regarded as a really good sci-fi flick, despite being low-budget (shot in 15 days in Inglewood, CA).THE PLOT: A mysterious team of armed individuals invade a supermarket at closing time. It soon becomes clear that they're not after money or goods, but something sinister and unearthly! The director, Ben Rock, said he was mostly inspired by "The Thing." The best way to describe the film is to say that it's a combination of "The Hidden" and "The Mist," but not as good as either. This isn't to say that it's not worth checking out, as long as you're a fan of the genre; it's just that those two films are better, particularly "The Mist." "The Hidden," while far from a great film, works better simply because it's less one-dimensional and confined. "Alien Raiders" begins and ends in the supermarket, that's it. Despite this, "Alien Raiders" is put together well, has an effective cast, a realistic vibe, and drums up some decent suspense.Carlos Bernard and the beautiful Courtney Ford stand out in the cast, but all the main actors are effective.Unfortunately, the one-dimensional setting works against the film. "The Mist" had the same problem, but was able to overcome because the long supermarket sequence is bookended by a prologue and, especially, a truly spectacular climax (the entire sequence after the group leaves the market). This wouldn't have been a problem for "Alien Raiders" if it was a one-hour TV show, but at 85 minutes the story drags in the middle and loses the captivating power of the opening.It also lacks the depth of "The Mist" (if you don't think that film has depth, read my review). Like "The Hidden," "Alien Raiders" is just a straightforward movie about some kind of covert alien invasion.Yet maybe there's some depth: I was able to draw an interesting parallel between the infected people in the film to demon-possessed people, particularly in the Old Testament period where there was no hope of deliverance except to kill the individual.FINAL WORD: This is a decent low-budget sci-fi film with a good cast, good acting and some real suspense here and there, but it's simply not as good as the movies it's compared to – "The Hidden," "The Mist" and "The Thing." The setting's too limited and the film doesn't contain enough positive elements to grant it anything above a high C grade.GRADE: C+

I can understand why some people liked this movie. It's a familiar story, with familiar characters, all of whom speak in stock phrases that we've heard a million times before in countless B movies. Everything in this movie is ripped off from a 1980s scifi movie. In fact, one could even call it a pastiche of John Carpenter movies. If you're a big Carpenter fan, then you might have some fun recognizing which of his movies are being ripped off, from scene to scene.Overall, it's not a bad movie, though I'd have difficulty recommending it to anyone looking for originality or creativity. Instead, try Splinter (2008) or Pontypool (2009).