I feel a strong attraction towards regional cinemas, and even a certain inclination when I have the opportunity to support a production. Not only because many deal with stories distant from urban dilemmas, but because their freshness is often combined with more originality than the cinema of large cities, and because they are played by performers whose faces have not been overexposed and without the customary acting techniques of the metropolitan divas. Such is the case of «No Good Heroes», a good motion picture made in St. Louis, that incorporates elements of science fiction and horror. Balancing both genres director-writer Johnny Xeno delivered an attractive product that always kept me interested. The most obvious weakness that I find in «No Good Heroes» is of dramatic order. Perhaps Xeno would have benefited from further script development, and having good advisors to help him find solutions: for example, better ways to define the personalities of the two policemen and their conflicting relationship (in two or three days), or mentioning Charlie the dog for the first time a few minutes before the animal's only appearance. Moreover, perhaps the most obvious one: what happens to the alien rugrats that appear in the last minutes? Of course, in the end, one passes the detail, for the little things are so terrifying (moreover, the whole scene is tense and intense) that one rests when the Alien Mother calls them on the carpet. On the positive side, sequence after sequence is disquieting, creepy and even gruesome in an almost surgical and surprising way that gives more room to fuss than disgust. Tim O'Leary and Chad Crenshaw bring out the best in their characters. However, the most interesting and frightening side of the story is in the hands of Nathan Varnson, Sheila Griggs and Kevin Gagnepain as a family for which the word "dysfunctional" is a compliment, as well as poor Nova Gaver, who has no idea what load she is carrying along. In the final analysis «No Good Heroes» is a film that could have been much better, but it is praiseworthy and a more valuable work than many anodyne films made in Los Angeles, with millionaire budgets compared to this modest production, which was evidently made with a lot more of affection.
