Preylien: Alien Predators

... better do it yourself, or so is the thinking of the Pollonia Brothers, two avid science fiction & horror B movie buffs from Pennsylvania who unleashed this and about two dozen other D.I.Y./DVI shot on video features upon the unsuspecting world. Filmed on their spare time with friends & relatives lending a hand as actors or technical crew, the Pollonia Brothers have actually made movies where many, many of us -- myself included -- have only talked about our desire to do more or less the same. Sure, your kid brother could have made a better movie, but he didn't so sit on it, Potsie.

This feature is about an alien sport hunter dressed in a cool looking black down vest, red biking windbreaker and a snowmobiler's helmet who comes to Earth in pursuit of a game alien who has broken loose and threatens all of humanity with it's diabolical ways. Which consists of scurrying around the countryside scaring the local denizens with it's furry face all a-growlin' with hostile intent. A den computer terminal in their house serves as the control room for the hunter's alien ship, texture mapped 3d animation segments made on a freeware demo version of Maya serve to fill in the bridging space travel segments, and a trip to the local Wal-Mart supplied both the costumes and high tech weaponry used in the production, my favorite being the pump action air rifle used by one of the humans to fend off the alien scourge. PREYALIEN is an awful feature to be sure but having acquired a taste for awful entertainment forms I kind of like it, and this is one of the Pollonia's more impressive features to date. I like the red vest they got for their gorilla skinned alien especially.

It's easy to make fun of stuff like this, and easier still for consumers of mainstream entertaining to dismiss it. I recall a heated debate during a painting critique where the name of Bob Ross was raised as an example of art totally devoid of any content beyond it's execution and my scoring points for bringing to bear the thought that like his work or not, Bob made his paintings, gained fame for having a show where he taught people to paint just like him, and by doing so gave hope to millions who aspired to be a Degas or Titian but lacked the means, time, or talent to actually pursue a career as a painter. Bob was telling us that anyone could paint -- Here's how you do it. The painting itself wasn't as important as making it yourself.

The same kind of aesthetic is going on here: ANYONE can make a movie about alien predators hunting intergalactic game. You don't need a budget, an A-list cast or even any fancy pants equipment. All you need is the will to make it happen and a few free weekends when everyone can get together, learn their lines and run around the woods being in or making a little movie. That's good enough even if the end product isn't really very recommendable or endowed with much of a shelf life. Kids will probably like this, and as with their other features they may inspire someone who actually has some talent & vision to have a go at making their own little movie. Just like Bob Ross. And the look & execution of the feature is very reminiscent of German schlock auteur Andreas Bethmann's first two features, ISLAND OF DEMONS and DAMONENBRUT: shot on video using found locations & volunteer performers, and that guy is a bona fide cult hero.

4/10; I admire their work and would love to see them actually given an opportunity to work with professionals. They obviously love what they are doing and sometimes that's enough.

Another infamous Polonia Brothers pic. If you've never seen one of their movies, here's the scoop. Most are filmed on a shoestring budget, in the PA woods and surrounding areas, low budget effects, low budget sets, the same actors, the same footage, bad scripts and puppets. Yes. Puppets instead of actual "monsters". They film close ups of puppets as to appear to be large monsters (not perspective shots-but just close ups). The acting is horrible and if you actually pay attention each movie has plot holes large enough to drive a convoy of tractor trailers through. But all in all, these movies are fun to watch if you know what you are getting into. The more you see of them the more you enjoy watching them. There is worse out there trust me. As far as this flick goes, a guy in a vest chases a monster (in a vest) and flies around in his bedroom--oops i mean spaceship. The ship crashes and some monsters escape from the shed---oops i mean spaceship. Hijinks galore. You may recognize some of the same footage used in this movie as in another Poonia classic Night Thirst. Only watch this if you are a hardcore small time indy film fan, otherwise you are wasting your time.