It Came from Somewhere

I'm a huge MST3K fan. I love watching old B-movies, love Svengoolie...all of it. It Came From Somewhere is so well done that if I hadn't known it was only made this year I would have believed I actually was watching an old movie. Everything about it, from the classic drive-in ads at the beginning to the "expert" (who kind of reminds me of the guy at the beginning of the old Inner Sanctum movies), to the campy special effects just had that 50s feel. Even the way the actors spoke. That just shows me how talented and dedicated the entire cast and crew were. While this isn't a comedy, I will admit that I did chuckle in a few places, just because some scene was so perfectly spot-on with the movies this paid homage to. It Came From Somewhere truly is everything that is great about 50s sci fi movies.

I'll start this review with a statement. The indie film world needed a film like this. Now that that's out of the way, on with the review.

It Came from Somewhere is one of those films where you sit back and enjoy it for what it is. A campy, cheese filled sandwich that oozes the cheese out of the side of the bread after you take a bite. When the opening minute of the film, actually before the actual film even begins, featured ads from a drive-in theater I knew I was in for something different. What makes this film stand out is how it was filmed. No 4K, no wide screen, instead shot in B/W, 4:3 ratio and adding to the look, screen scratches and blemishes are scattered throughout the film. It really appeared as if it was filmed in the 1950's.

Okay, so it looked as it was filmed in the 50's you ask, how was the film itself. Bad, and I mean that as a compliment. The acting was over the top, the opening monologue made absolutely no sense but that was intentional (an homage to Plan 9) The sets, I don't want to spoil anything but the interior of the spaceship, priceless. The creature, Space-Clops, is exactly what you'd expect in a film like this. I must add, not all of the film is good bad, there are several tender moments between a young girl, Mary, and space-clops that came out of no where and I wasn't expecting. That brings me to this. You kind of care about the characters and what happens to them, something rare in B films of the decade. There's horror, a love story, and a short tempered alien vaporizing everyone she sees and what you get is an enjoyable film.

Credit to where credit is due. Hermann and the cast did a remarkable job bringing the 50's back, Mystery Science Theater 3000 would be proud.

As a side note, I managed to catch four references from 50's B films, older films, and a film from the 80's, throughout its 1 hour runtime.

The acting is awful, the script is really awful and the special effects are terrible. However, that seems to be the point since the awfulness is so blatantly obvious.

They claim it's a tribute to Ed Wood and the creature features of the 50's and 60's and I agree that he would have had a laugh.

The costumes for the 'aliens' are terrible, too, but the clothing for the regular actors is pretty close to appropriate for the era.

All in all, it works. If you're concerned about wasting time, it's only an hour long.

I can't honestly recommend it unless you like spoofs and old school sci-fi, but it's not so bad.

I enjoyed it from the start to the finish. It is one of those movies that left me smiling and ready to watch again. It pokes fun of the B movies of the 50's but it isn't a spoof, it is a love letter, and a very good one at that. The cheap props and cheesy dialogue are part of what makes it so appealing.

When a flying saucer crashes on Earth, chaos ensues. The interaction between the aliens and the humans is a lot of fun and and filled with several laugh out loud moments. The creature wreaking havoc reminded me of Frankenstein's monster. In fact, several scenes seemed to be a direct tip of the hat to the classic Boris Karloff film. It is a new film but very easily sits among the films that inspired it.

This is such a fun idea for a movie so it definitely drew my attention. Most modern movies try to bedazzle the audience with special effects and complicated stories and dialogues. "It Came From Somewhere" stands out from the crowd as a very refreshing change of pace. It is filmed in the old 4:3 aspect ratio in black and white. The footage has also been dirtied up to make it look like you are watching an old creature feature from the 1950s. Obviously, to complete the illusion, it is filmed using the typical 1950s filming techniques of cheap sets made with discarded materials, cheesy dialogue and only one or two takes before calling it a wrap.

Now, this style of filming is not for everyone. Objectively, the story makes little sense and, very clearly, some of the models of the UFO could probably have been filmed better. Likewise, occasionally the shots catch filmmakers disappearing off the side or corner of the frame as they didn't get out of the way in time.

If this is all you see in the movie however, you are entirely missing the point. This movie is a faithful tribute to the pioneering works of great directors and visionaries from the classic 1950s creature features. Watching this movie, it is very clear that they were influenced heavily by the works of Roger Corman such as "The Day The World Ended" or "It Conquered The World", Edward Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or Jack Arnold's "It Came From Outer Space"

When you compare "It came From Somewhere" to these earlier movies that led the charge on modern sci-fi, you will see that the team at Acrostar have written an original story that faithfully reproduces all the little quirks that made these old movies the cult classics they are. Every little wart you see in the movie is a direct nod to previous work of all these sci-fi titans of filmaking from the 1950s. And this is the point when it comes into focus the absolute genius and masterpiece that "It Came From Somewhere" is. These "flaws" were clearly intentional and all written in and carefully filmed and edited to duplicate stylistically those flaws in the original inspiration. It thus is an absolute love letter to the works of Corman et al.

Without spoilers, the basic plot is that an alien spacecraft gets shot down outside a small midwestern town. A group of teenagers decide to investigate and get caught up between an escaped alien monster and the UFO pilots trying to recover it.

Everything seen in the movie is period accurate for the 1950s from the classic cars on the streets, through the costuming to the houses and furniture. The language and idioms used by the teenagers (for the most part played by older actors as was common in the 1950s) is also period appropriate. It is very tongue in cheek of course and very much makes fun of itself.

Although most of the actors do a wonderful job of recreating the feel of a 1950s creature feature, a couple of perfomances are noteworthy. Beth Metcalf plays the trigger happy alien "Quasar" and steals most of the scenes she appears in with her dry, monotone and alien delivery of her lines. One funny nod that had me chuckling was when the actress is seen briefly playing one of the panicked villagers, gets shot by Quasar and then we see Quasar doing a weird double take before moving on to "business as usual". I love little hidden, easily missed, jokes like that and this movie has lots of great little easter eggs if you pay attention.

The other scene stealer was Delilah Hefner who played the younger sister "Mary". Honorable mentions also have to go to Magdalena Conway who played "Patty" and Bill Russell who did a fine job as the narrator "Grimwell".

Also of particular note is the incredible score from Tony Parsons. The music feels exactly like it escaped from the 1950s and enriches the movie in a way that is impossible to put into words. It has to be felt to be understood.

What the team at Acrostar achieved is made even more incredible by the miniscule budget and timeframe it was filmed within. My understanding from chatting with a couple of the cast is that it was filmed in it's entirety over the course of just four days with a total budget of about $4000. That is absolutely insane and a true testament to the incredible film making skills and dedication of the crew.

In summary, this movie is not for everyone. However, if you love the old 1950s sci-fi classics, you will absolutely love this movie. As a movie in it's own right, I rate it as a 7/10 for entertainment purposes. However, as a love letter to all these old movies and tribute to the era, it is absolutely spot on and a work of absolute genius that I would rate 12/10.