The Horror Show
Attack of the Unknown
by Brandon Slagle
As a reviewer, I try to keep an open mind and forgive a lot when it comes to low budget, indie films and I tend to go into them with semi-low expectations. Everyone knows I love a good alien movie and I love a good action/sci-fi, but did I love recent release Attack of The Unknown? Unfortunately, I cannot say that I did.
There’s one word that can sum up this movie and that word is inconsistent. It felt, far too often, that I was watching two different films and the first act could honestly be cut out of the movie completely and it would not make a difference. For a movie that looks great from a cinematic standpoint, it seems that the effects team barely tried when it came to the aliens yet they were able to pull off death scenes that weren’t half bad. Half the actors seemed like they were into it while the other half were phoning it in and seemed bored to tears. In certain scenes, the dialogue was actually witty and flowed nicely, while in others it was robotic with awkward pauses and failed delivery; some back and forth between characters was downright cringeworthy.
I will say that the film is not entirely devoid of positives. I did like that things wrapped up nicely at the end and the means of defeating the aliens actually made sense. Had the movie expanded upon the lore they tried to create regarding the invaders and centered more so on that particular plot, I think it would have been wildly successful. However, I’m not sure why they tried to make it some sort of action/adventure cops vs gangbangers flick on top of everything else. As I stated earlier, the entire first act of the film doesn’t even fit in with the rest of the movie and to start off on the wrong foot like that didn’t do this film any favors. I’ve seen SyFy originals make more sense than this film in its entirety.
All in all, I cannot recommend Attack of The Unknown and I hate that I can’t. I did really want to like this film after watching the trailer, I think there was heart behind it all, however, it fails on too many fronts for me to say I found it enjoyable.
HMS received a screener of this film in exchange for honest review. It is currently available to stream on demand.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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