Independence Daysaster

Independence Day-saster (2013)

** (out of 4)

It's the Fourth of July and President Garcette (Tom Everett Scott) is heading back to his hometown to visit his brother and son but before he can land on the ground the Earth is attacked by aliens. Now this small town and their hero must join forces to try and destroy the aliens before they wipe out the population. If you're wanting high art or class then INDEPENDENCE DAY-SASTER isn't going to be for you but those seeking pure "C" level entertainment should find a few quality moments here. Again, one really shouldn't be expecting any sort of masterpiece, classic or even a good film but I like the fact that director W.D. Hogan didn't try to make the picture something it's not and instead of trying to turn this into an "A" picture he instead delivered the goods on a cheap level. That's certainly a good thing because there's nothing more annoying than a low-budget film trying to do something it can't. This film doesn't shy away from the fact that they didn't have much money and instead they use it to their advantage by making the film fun. The fun factor at least makes the picture worth sitting through because you really do feel as if you're watching one of those sci-fi films from the 1950s that you'd see at the drive-in. The special effects are never believable but they're at least mildly charming in their own cheap way. The performances aren't anything spectacular but they're at least fun as well. This includes Scott who we haven't seen too much of lately. INDEPENDENCE DAY-SASTER isn't going to win any major awards but considering this played on the SyFy channel you should know that there's much worse out there.

When Earth is attacked by a hostile alien force, a small town firefighter and a rogue SETI scientist team up to activate the only technology capable of defeating the invaders.

By now, you should have it figured out how SyFy works when it comes to movies. You have an end-of-the-world scenario, throw in some scientific jargon that may or may not be entirely accurate... then, somehow, amateurs get involved with a brilliant scientific idea...

Does anyone else find it ironic that the film was made in Canada but is about the American independence day? With so many films being made in Canada it might not be strange, but struck me as odd. And why are they making a riff on "Independence Day" about twenty years too late? Very timely, folks.

I love the fact that someone came up with the idea of the title and the crew (if there was a crew) went "yup! We'll go with that!"

Ffs, when will film makers realise that shaking the camera around in an agitated manner does NOT make a film look any more "real", nor does it make a mockumentary look any less contrived. This pile of nonsense is completely unwatchable, so don't even bother.

When I stumbled upon the 2013 movie "Independence Daysaster" by random chance here in 2024, I immediately figured that this would be a mockbuster from The Asylum. Sure, I had never heard about the movie, but the title alone was just screaming The Asylum mockbuster.

With "Independence Daysaster" being a movie that I had never heard about, much less watched, of course I opted to sit down and give director W. D. Hogan's 2013 movie a fair chance. Were I harboring any expectations? Nope, none whatsoever.

And imagine my surprise when there was no logo from The Asylum as the movie started. So at least it was off to a good start.

Writers Sydney Roper and Rudy Thauberger put together an enjoyable enough script and storyline. Sure, the storyline was generic and predictable, but it made for a fair enough cheesy sci-fi action flick, although in the lower end of the scale. But I will say that I was actually well-enough entertained by the storyline here, though it is hardly a movie that I will be visiting a second time.

I don't think I was familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. And believe it or not, but that is actually something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. And it should be said that the actors and actresses on the cast list in "Independence Daysaster" put on good performances, despite the generic material they had to work with.

The CGI in the movie was a mixed bag of nuts, because some of the CGI scenes were fair, while others were clunky and looked like something from a 1990s computer game.

My rating of "Independence Daysaster" lands on a four out of ten stars.