Alien Apocalypse

Okay, first of all, this movie isn't good. The script is nothing special, the acting is pretty horrid (with the exception of the two leads), the effects are pretty atrocious, the weapons silly and the direction poor.

But hey, it's a Sci-Fi original movie. And a pretty damn good one at that. It must be expected that this film will have plenty of flaws about it just because it is a Sci-Fi channel movie. After all, this is the same studio responsible for Sharknado, Sharktopus, Boa Vs. Python, Lake Placid 2, Lake Placid 3 and more atrocious films. However, they have made decent movies before. Kaw wasn't terrible, The Insatiable was pretty creative and Sabretooth is a guilty pleasure of mine. There have only been a few of these Sci-Fi Channel original movies that have been decent. I mean, they're all so horrid only a few are remotely enjoyable. I think all of these movies were filmed in Bulgaria (which is only famous for producing bad movies), so all of them have bad acting because the actors are foreign and don't know English so their lines had to be dubbed over in post-production. This explains most of the bad acting in this movie. The effects are obviously bad because of the small budget but as bad as they are, trust me, they could have been WAY worse or even CGI, which is as bad as it gets when Sci-Fi gets involved.

The plot of this film is fairly unique, and Bruce Campbell absolutely steals the show. It's certainly fun to watch and even though it is no masterpiece, this film works as a fun way to spend an evening mainly because it doesn't take itself too seriously but also wants to tell an entertaining and enjoyable story. It's worth a watch, or maybe even a few. Like I said, just don't expect a masterpiece like The Godfather or Citizen Kane. For what Alien Apocalypse is, a Sci-Fi Channel original movie, it's not half bad.

'Tis true that this one has Grade-Z effects, a dreadful script, and some of the worst acting imaginable, but I kind of suspect that the makers knew this, and a great deal of the cheesiness was intentional. If you love shockingly bad sci-fi movies, then there is a whole heap to enjoy about Alien Apocalypse. It's not a 'great' movie (and I'm not about to give it a ridiculously high rating), but it is a fun film that should ideally be enjoyed with like-minded friends (and plenty of alcohol).

An astronaut/doctor, Ivan Hood (Bruce Campbell), returns to Earth after 40 years in suspended animation, to find that the planet has been overrun by insectoid aliens who are stripping the planet of its wood (which they eat). Together with fellow astronaut, Kelly (Renée O'Connor), and a small group of plucky slaves, he leads a revolt against the alien invaders.

With dreadful support from a multitude of badly bewigged Eastern Europeans (and a leggy babe in a fur bikini), Campbell mugs his way through the lousy script with his usual aplomb. The special effects are rather poor, with the aliens being a mixture of animatronics and rather cheap looking CGI. However, there is a smatter of well conceived gore to compensate a little: the bugs chew off the heads of troublemakers and devour the severed fingers of those who attempt to escape. There are also several juicy shots of the aliens being killed, with green goop squirting from the wounds.

Unpretentious, very silly and worth a go if trash sci-fi is your thang!

But what can I say....it had Bruce Campbell in it and and the aliens had green blood! The special effects were very poor, but amusing, the acting ranged from Monty python over the top poor to campy to very sarcastic from B. Campbell. Still Bruce just oozes charisma it a very weird way and he is always watchable.

The dialog is corny at best.The violence with the exception of a shooting near the beginning is all cartoon-like in its execution.

I really can not recommend this to mainstream viewers, they will not like it. But (B)Si-Fi fans, Bruce Campbell fans and people who like very silly waste of time movies will enjoy this.

I'm a Bruce Campbell fan from way back. While I'm not what some would consider a Deadite (rabid fans of Campbell's 'Evil Dead' films by the great Sam Raimi), I am an admirer of those flicks. Bruce Campbell is the best thing to happen to horror-comedy ever. Period.

He must have owed somebody a lot of money to be coerced into putting his name on this.

'Alien Apocalypse,' another in a long string of horrible made-for-cable movies for the US Sci-Fi Channel, is second only to 'Space Mutiny' as the worst science fiction movie ever made. The sets, costumes, makeup, dialogue, acting (God, the acting), and the production values (or lack thereof) all combine to make this so-bad-it's-hilarious. Made for a lunch-money budget, it smacks of public-access cable production values, and acting quality that would embarrass Ed Wood. Bruce Campbell in this movie is like having Marlon Brando in a "Porky's" sequel.

Looking at this film on the surface, it's a mish-mash of 'Independence Day' and 'Planet of the Apes.' Call it, "The Evil Alien Dead," if it helps you. The problem is, not even Campbell is all that good in this movie. A faint echo of Ash (Campbell's hero character from the Evil Dead films), Dr. Ivan Hood is a character best left in the bottom of the trash barrel. Campbell in this role is like a Renaissance painter being asked to create a portrait of dogs playing poker, while sitting naked on toilets. Okay, dogs don't generally wear clothes, but you see where I'm coming from. It's just bad.

Don't watch it on cable, don't record it, don't wait for it to be released on DVD. Believe the hype. It's bad. It's real bad.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

You can thank me later.

• T

I found this movie new for 3 bucks so I figured good or bad, that's a good price. I'll start out by pointing out the obvious: Alien Apocalypse is not a good movie, it's a very poorly done movie. However, I thought it was a lot of fun. It's good for a Sci-fi original, though I know that's not saying much.

We can never go wrong with a starring role by Bruce Campbell, especially in a B-movie. The story is ridiculous and plays out kind of like a bad video game, but some of the lines made me laugh out loud. So-bad-it's-good is definitely relevant here.

Overall, I think this movie is terrible as an actual movie, but great as something to throw in the DVD player and laugh at. You be the judge.