1428 Elm
Fansided

31 Days of Halloween: Alien Apocalypse – Insect Invasion

By Susan Leighton

facebooktwitterreddit

It’s Day 4 of 1428 Elm’s 31 Days of Halloween, and today we’re looking at the Bruce Campbell sci-fi/horror flick from Josh Becker, the 2005 Alien Apocalypse.

Alien Apocalypse is a throwback to those old sci-fi B movies of the 50’s where aliens invade earth and humans must band together and fight back. Starring Bruce Campbell and Renee O’Connor, this is a gory, splatastic trip into the future.

“Your stupidity is terminal. And now you’re cured.” – Dr. Ivan Hood

Welcome to Earth?

Alien Apocalypse – Chuck bites it – Courtesy of Sci Fi Pictures, FWE Picture Company, ApolloProScreen Filmproduktion

It’s been forty years since Dr. Ivan Hood (Bruce Campbell) and his fellow astronauts the lovely Kelly (Renee O’Connor, Gabrielle of Xena fame) and Chuck (Michael Cory Davis) have seen Earth. However, there are no ticker tape parades or loving relatives to meet them. Instead, they are greeted by humans who take them captive.

A nice welcome back to the big blue marble, eh? Of course, they are taken to some hellish work camp in the woods. For that matter, why does everything terrible always happen in remote locations? They soon find out that their planet has been invaded by gigantic termites.

Wow. That is a real shocker for everyone involved. Wait, it gets worse. Apparently, this race of overgrown wood chompers is here to chow down on the foliage and wreck stuff with electromagnetic pulse bombs. Oh, yeah. They have also enslaved the remaining humans to do their bidding.

When Chuck realizes that his destiny is toiling for hours at a lumber operation and inhumane treatment he refuses to work. This was not a good decision on his part. Voicing his opinion causes him to be disciplined. Let’s just say that he loses his head. Literally.

I Want to Break Free

Alien Apocalypse – We found love in a hopeless place – Courtesy of Sci Fi Pictures, FWE Picture Company, ApolloProScreen Filmproduktion

After that incident, Ivan and Kelly decide that they have to blow this horrendous popsicle stand. So, they make plans to break out and find the President because they hear that he is still alive. Since the humans live underground, Ivan devises a fool proof escape plan.

More from 1428 Elm

Every night, Ivan and Kelly alternate turns with one another digging their way out of their incarceration. After a particularly back breaking session, Ivan finishes up and falls into bed exhausted. Kelly is still awake. As a joke, she starts playing with his ear. He swats her away.

Then she starts caressing his hair and the next thing you know, there are meaningful looks and touches and a love scene. Because what else would you want to do after a long night of sweaty, physically exhausting work? Once again, cue Rihanna’s We Found Love in a Hopeless Place.

Now, that Ivan and Kelly are smitten with one another, everything starts gelling. When the couple breaks the cardinal rule of communicating while working, one of the human bounty hunters that oversees the workers carts Kelly away for consequences.

The urge to protect his woman strong, Ivan battles his way toward her, taking out men right and left. Wondering what the rumpus is, the termite overlords emerge from their gigantic wasp like nest and attempt to kick some human butt.

Ivan starts stabbing the bugs and Kelly cuts off their heads with a sword. Since starting the impromptu melee, the couple escape and go on the lam. Thus, begins the quest to see the President.

Running Down a Dream

Alien Apocalypse – Green goo grossness – Courtesy of Sci Fi Pictures, FWE Picture Company, ApolloProScreen Filmproduktion

Along the way, they run into other humans. Ivan trains them on how to be warriors. He is like the Braveheart of science fiction. There are skirmishes and eventually Kelly is recaptured. Suffice it to say, there are epic battle scenes as well.

However, I won’t give away how the movie ends. You need to see it for yourself. Plenty of green goo alien blood will be spilled before this splatfest is through.

At times it seems as if Bruce Campbell will never be free from icky residue. He gets slimed plenty of times in this little adventure. Of course, he gets the chance to spout terrific one liners and snappy retorts. His trademark wit is always on display and he uses it to full effect.

The Verdict

Yes, Alien Apocalypse is not an Academy Award winning film. However, there is enough gore and crazy dialogue to make this effort highly entertaining. Bruce Campbell plays the hero to the hilt and seems to be having a good time.

He knows this isn’t Shakespeare at the Globe and he is okay with it. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a sci-fi/horror B movie fest on a rainy afternoon can clearly see the origins of Alien Apocalypse.

Renee O’Connor makes the most of her role as well and is clearly a decent match for Campbell. She has retained her Warrior Princess skills and is able to decimate those aliens while wielding various weaponry.

Josh Becker who is part of the “Michigan Mafia” and a close friend of Campbell’s directed and penned the film. Clearly, his time with Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi rubbed off on him. You can see remnants of the old shorts that they used to do as kids.

Bottom line is this movie is fun.  The special effects are kind of chintzy but that’s okay because it is to be expected in a throwback film of this nature. I can clearly see why this film performed so well for the SyFy network.

Next: 31 Days of Halloween: The Woods (2006) – Join the Coven!

Have you seen Alien Apocalypse? Do you like science fiction and horror? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. We want to hear from you!

Home/Horror Movies