Roswell Delirium

I was disappointed once again to be tricked into watching a movie I thought was a SciFi, but ended up being something entirely different. The synopsis states: "Following a nuclear attack, a girl receives a distress call from space that leads her on an extraterrestrial journey". Well, there is no call from space, no aliens, and no extraterrestrial journey. This is classic bait and switch, and it is not the first movie that plays the trick of calling itself a SciFi when it is not.

The movie disguises itself as a SciFi, but is actually a psychological drama. It takes an hour of movie watching to finally come to this realization, but by then you have been suckered into it.

There should be a law against passing a movie as a certain genre, when it is not.

Ok, the GOOD: There's a lot to like here. First off, they shot it on the Alexa - which is no small feat on a tight budget. Camera work? Solid. The '80s actors and references? A delightful touch. The sound design starts off real rough, but by the third act it actually finds its groove. Acting-wise... it's a mixed bag. There are standouts, though. Anthony Michael Hall - legend - absolutely flawless in the few scenes he's in (probably three, maybe four days on set, tops, so don't blink). Lisa Whelchel and Dee Wallace? Great '80s additions, even in their brief moments. And who doesn't love America's dad, Reginald VelJohnson? Sam Jones? That guy makes everything better.

The leads grow on you - seriously. They get noticeably better as the film progresses, which makes me think they might've shot it mostly in order (just a theory). So yeah, lots of good stuff here.

Now, the Criticism: This movie changes tone more than any film I think I've ever seen. It starts off quirky - almost a comedy - with a few cringe moments, sure, but it's kind of charming. And then, boom, by the end it veers hard into drama and darkness. I was sitting there like, "Wait... what is happening?" It's just kind of bizarre.

Also: it's not sci-fi. That's a bait and switch. It's a drama. Straight up.

There's way too much exposition. Like, way too much. Classic "tell me, don't show me" problem - and that's the quickest way to lose an audience. At one point I literally thought, "Tolkien couldn't follow this plot." Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh - but still.

That said, I've got a soft spot for low-budget films. I've made a few. They're tough. No one sets out to make a bad movie - it's a craft, and you learn by doing. So I hope the filmmakers see this as encouragement to keep going.

Because here's the thing: it has heart. Especially in the final scenes with the mom and daughter - that hit.

So yeah, not perfect - but a bold, heartfelt swing. And sometimes that's enough to make it worth watching.

A reviewer has a difficult choosing the right words to describe this pile of manure properly. Amateurish comes to mind, disorganized does too!

The storyline is a mish-mosh of themes and genres! No one ever made the decision to make this a Soap Opera, a drama, a science fiction story, an apocalyptic saga. Or an alternate history tale!

There is an insane timeline which contradicts all logic and mixes real events with fantasy, Events have impossible consequences and follow no linear pattern.

The one constant is bad acting from some has-been actors/actresses who deliver performance that are either, over-the-top or devoid of any trace of acting - just reciting lines off a page with no emotion! Dee Wallace was never a good actress, but this film shows that what little talent she has is gone, the same is true for Michael Anthony Hall whose acting is wooden as an elm tree!

One extremely annoying aspect of the film is its attempt to mock 1980s expressions and slang ad nauseum. In the 1980s, according to this film people spoke exclusively in slang!

The most glaring flaw is that in the end NOTHING adds up...it starts as nonsense and ends as nonsense. BTW Roswell is in New Mexico, not Nevada and Area 51 is over 800 miles Northwest of Roswell!!!

This movie was a horrible waste of time. I should have read the reviews first! Cheap production. Poor acting and worse script! As I watched, I kept trying to convince myself there was something good moments away. Nope. That never happened. It is "dramatic and suspenseful" to the extent that the scenes and timeline continually shifted, compelling you to believe the girl's timeline (her life) was being artificially shifted, perhaps by aliens. I still don't know if that was the case or not. The radio tech uaed to "communicate" with the aliens was a CB. Really!? As the closing scene rolled and faded, I realized I had just wasted 2hrs of my life. Please, I beg you, DO NOT WATCH THIS!

I very seldom review movies on here, but this was actually so horrible that I had to warn others to pass it by and not waste their time watching it. I can see why it took years for this to come to light and then went straight to streaming when it finally did come out. The acting was horrible, the script and dialogue and the interaction between the actors looked forced and was horrible and the score was horrendous. The movie was set in an alternate 1980's, and it sure did a good job reminding me of a B movie that was actually filmed in the 80's, so they got that aspect correct. This movie should have stayed on the shelf. 1/10.