Two young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military facility. The couple then decide to liberate t... Read allTwo young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military facility. The couple then decide to liberate the extraterrestrial castaways and help them make a rendezvous with a rescue ship sent from... Read allTwo young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military facility. The couple then decide to liberate the extraterrestrial castaways and help them make a rendezvous with a rescue ship sent from the alien home planet.
- Dr. Benjamin Stern
- (as Bob McLean)
- Dr. Savianno
- (as George O. Petrie)
- Beta
- (as Joshua Oreck)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
One of the few films about secret alien bases and experiments that is watchable. The acting and dialogue is top notch. Keenan Wynn makes an appearance and is excellent as usual.
The film all feels like it takes place in a single night and into the following day. It blends together many different science fiction motifs fairly well and tries hard on a small budget to be convincing. It's nice to watch a movie that isn't dumbed down.
Seems to be a kind of holdout from the seventies psychedelic head flicks in some ways. It has that reformed hippie quality about it.
Starring Robert "Revenge Of The Nerds" Carradine this early 80's scifi effort tells the story of a girl who begins to hear ominous noises coming from a supposedly abandoned military base. With her boyfriend in tow they go investigating and find more than they ever could have expected.
Though extremely dated the film is interesting enough to keep a viewers attention but has severe pacing issues and the ending is highly predictable and underwhelming.
I was just waiting for Carradine to deliver his trademark laugh and always find myself struggling to take him seriously despite him being a terrific actor.
Wavelength is a decent enough effort but hardly original.
The Good:
Robert Carradine
Well made
The Bad:
Very dated
Pacing issues
Weak finale
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Naked children make me very uncomfortable
If Carradine had played his Revenge Of The Nerds character this film would have been brilliant
In every single movie the governments reaction to aliens is exactly how I'd imagine they'd react in real life
A lot of tension is evident throughout the film, building up as we go along to a most memorable conclusion. The shots of the spaceship in the desert with the stunned Air Force pilots were great! There seems to have been a great deal of effort put into pacing too, and the film flows along very smoothly. Just an excellent movie and very highly recommended!
The fact is, it's nearly 20 years down the line, and people are still comparing it to "E.T.". I certainly don't feel that this is a rip-off of "E.T.", nor do I feel that it bears much resemblance. It may be true that this film was made with the intent to cash in on the alien/science-fiction trend of that period, but then again, when doesn't that happen in Hollywood? If we are going to compare films about extra-terrestrials, then this one ranks more closely to Steven Spielberg's earlier accomplishment, "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND".
Overall, I enjoyed this film. Robert Carradine and Cherrie Currie (of The Runaways fame) turn in some solid performances, which rise above most films of this caliber. Keenan Wynn, reprising his usual stubborn old man role, is always worth watching. Tangerine Dream provides the music for the film, and as usual, their score is especially effective, and works best in the most critical areas.
One has to appreciate the intelligence that the film has, which clearly indicates that this was not just another "hatchet-job" rushed effort, that some would suspect.
The end result is, by no means, tremendous. But, this film is extremely underrated, and is at the very least, worthwhile entertainment.
If you get a chance, give it a shot.
Did you know
- TriviaProject Camelot whistleblower 'Henry Deacon' (pseudonym) has stated on record that a considerable portion of the film's storyline was based on actual events that he had personally witnessed or knew about. When Project Camelot co-founder Kerry Cassidy phoned director and scriptwriter Mike Gray to ask him about this, Gray replied that he every now and then he had received phone calls from people asking him "how come he knew all this had happened". Mike Gray told Kerry Cassidy that he had come up with the storyline when driving one day down the Pacific Coast Highway, on his own, with no influence or suggestion from anyone else.
- GoofsThe boom mic is visible throughout this movie.
- Quotes
[as the earthlings and naked aliens take temporary Sanctuary in a Church, Bobby brings out a box of donated clothing]
Iris Longacre: I don't think they're gonna wear anything, Bobby.
Bobby Sinclair: Iris, they've gotta put something on. We can't run around with three naked kids, not even in Hollywood.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Trailer Trauma 3: 80s Horrorthon (2017)
- SoundtracksNo More Lonely Days
Performed by Sneaker
Written by Jim King and Mitch Crane
- How long is Wavelength?Powered by Alexa