The Dark Lurking

First when I saw it in the movie store I was like "Wow, a new Alien vs. (something random) movie, just have to see it". Then when I started it up and saw the really f***ed up filming I almost went to get my binoculars just so I could turn them around and be a bit further away from the screen. It's like the director wanted to catch every single drop of sweat that the actors left behind. To give you guys a slight idea on how close it was, it's the type of close you only let your girl get too.

That combined with awful acting, not one can say they did good on this movie, not really easy though when the camera is pushed right up in your face. Still no excuse.

I couldn't stand to watch more than 15 minutes, so if you don't want to waste as much time as I did, just don't watch it. If you do want to watch more than I did, embrace yourself, your eyes will start begging for mercy pretty quick.

Alright, first of all the movie was also known as "Alien vs Zombies". What was up with that? That title couldn't have been further from the truth. Okay, given there were some weird aliens in the movie, but zombies? Hardly qualified as zombies. They were mutants.

The movie cover, at least the one on the Danish DVD release, looks so much like an actual Alien movie cover, that it should be illegal. But of course, that is done to lure people in, to sucker people into buying it. Which I did, of course.

Let's get on to the movie. The storyline was actually good enough, though there were some obvious lacks here and there, and you also sat there after the movie ended with a thought like "why? why was this movie necessary?". There is a lot going on in the movie, but a lot of it actually doesn't come full circle, and just is left hanging there, hoping the audience will forget about it.

In this movie "The Dark Lurking" you will find a lot of cliché stereotypical macho he-men running around, all of which oddly enough, have really low voices. I guess having a rough, low voice makes you more manly? And you don't really get any real introduction to the people in the movie and why they are there in the first place. And also, what was up with the multitude of different accents being present in the movie? It just added to the confusion.

The acting was actually good enough, though the movie suffered from series of halting dialogue. At some points you just wanted to yank out hair at the root at some of the stuff people said.

What worked best for me in this movie was the dark and brooding environment. The scenery was fantastic and there was a good sense of claustrophobia in the movie. And also there was a lot of action throughout the movie. And the special effects worked quite nicely as well.

What didn't work for me was the alien lifeforms. Wow, that was so hilarious and so unimaginative. And you just got to love those oh-so-obviously-fake-plastic spikes that were protruding from its arm. And the "zombies" (as they want us to accept them as being), well they were somewhat of a lukewarm thrill. They were mutants, plain and simple. Mutated humans, not zombies! They had lots of blood splattered on them; nice! But they looked like something from a cheesy sci-fi movie gone bad.

Actually I was sitting and waiting for Bruce Campbell to just pop out of nowhere and start kicking butt!

In overall, this movie had some good elements, but it failed to punch through, and it ended up being a confusing, lukewarm experience that you would rather not have gone through.

Yeah i just got a look at it. Very cheeky, i know but there is some REALLY good gore and lots of action. The last 25 minutes is fast. Has that typical Alien feel but thats a good thing IMO. Its not Alien, not even close but its a start. Better than a lot of other trash like AVP (i know someone will have a problem with me saying that) but its got no budget and holds up to something like a bigger budget. In a lot of ways i wish it had a bigger budget so we could see more monsters and more spaceships, was cool to see models being used btw. I give it a 6 for being better than it should. Hope the DVD has some special features when it comes out.

Come on Aussie film maker guys, genre film makers in Australia are getting closer by the day. this is another one that almost got there, just like Gabriel. first off i found out how much the real budget for this film is and it sure as hell was a lot less than $1mil and that's why this movie deserves a good pat on the back. like Gabriel, this movie looks great.(its a bit dark in some places but its a dark aliens movie so i'm not gonna carry on too much about that) Unlike Gabriel this movie knows how to blow stuff up and splatter the screen with alien slime. Big time! There's my big gripe though and this is where the movie falls down. It should have embraced that and had even MORE than what it had. there's probably 40 minutes of wasted screen time trying to slightly differentiate itself from Cameron's "Aliens". But it didn't need to is what i'm saying. People get that its borrowing heavily from aliens but so what its an exploitation film and aliens was 25 years ago man, let it go. there's a 2 minute action scene on you tube floating around that kicks ass, and that's what i'm saying: the whole movie should have been this, and there is a lot more of this in the film to be sure, hell yes. but...it half is half isn't still. Its like they thought they'd get in trouble for just going nuts. If the movie really cost what they say it did it would have been, i'm sure! Somebody buy this movie so these guys can get a budget and make that exploitation movie that you know they're dying to do. but a 5 will do for now, to me 5 gets you in the green zone and is a good movie. hopefully the next movie is an awesome 7.

This is another movie about experiments that go terribly wrong (Yep. Those craaazy scientists again!).

As a rule, Boloxxxi does not spoil (not knowingly, anyway). It is my every intention to continue this noble tradition. So I have to ask you this question: Would it spoil it for you to know what sort of experiments these afore mentioned crazo scientists were up to? ---If the answer is yes, then STOP RIGHT THERE!! Proceed to the next reviewer and God bless. However, if your answer is no, then forge on ahead good soldier and may God have mercy on your soul.

In an underground facility in outer space somewhere scientists, using human test subjects, perform UNGODLY experiments in order to bring back the "Fallen Angel", or less poetically, "The Devil". Some aspect of him anyway, using some ancient DNA from where he landed on his ass after God gave him the boot (I'm not making this up folks, it's in the movie!). Why the HELL would they want to do this, you ask? Beats the HELL out of me. I guess curiosity sometimes trumps good sense. Anyway, as might be expected, the human test subjects turn into horrible, toothsome monsters who see potato chips where they should see humans.

I actually liked this movie even though it was unoriginal, except for how the monsters are explained (the product of a fearless imagination, no doubt). As well, the acting, writing, and the general presentation was a bit amateurish. --But who cares? I thought it was suspenseful enough and the monsters ugly enough to hold my attention. I found myself rooting for the little horror film that could because I liked the people and the effort. Finally, if this movie were a meal, it would be fast-food. It's health benefits may be questionable, but it tastes good. So, again, who cares? Love, Boloxxxi.