Alien Hunter

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The J If you judge this against a full hollywood production, then yea, it's not going to compare favorable on many aspects. But given the budget was like $7 million, i think overall they did ok in making such an ambitious film for that kind of money in 2003. The fx are about at made for tv film, the alien itself was actually well done, but some other vfx felt like they just didnt' have the budget for. Still they sufficed for me, and I worked in the vfx industry for 25 years, so have an idea or two about what good fx are, and to me, if it can do well enough to tell the story with a tiny bit of disbelief, well, i grew up on Ray Harryhausen films, and 1980's B sci-fi, where that was part of the imagination a kid is more than happy to bring to it. So honestly, they didn't distract me. Honestly I felt at least the intelligence of the film was much more interesting then 99% of sci-fi films. Most will hate it, but look at todays politics, most people's opinions are frankly not worth caring about. I think we live in idiocracy times, where if it isn't something they have seen before, or obvious, they hate it, cause they don't read, don't understand math beyond a 5 grader, and frankly have a complete fantasy version of history, and geography. So, why would i care what the majority of people think anymore. I gave that up about 8-9 years ago, when it has become clear most people are fools, or worse, much worse. So if you have any intelligence what so ever, you may find this to be entertaining enough to pass a couple hours... Spader is great actually, i used to not like him for a few years after the rise of the brat pack in the 80's he was part of, then I felt it got to his head, and it was clear the sex and rock star status of being a celebrity i think got him into a weird place. But somehow he managed to find his way back out, and has since been in some really decent tv and film productions. So he, and most of the actors/actresses do a decent enough job. I think where the film really falls down is in a couple areas. First is the cinematography. Honestly what the heck, this is tragic, considering if it had been better this film could have had a much bigger chance of success. And i am definitely a big fan of great cinematography, and while some is passable, some I can't believe the people behind the camera, and lighting the sets even understand what exposure means, bit depth(or dynamic range), and they certainly dont' understand color timing, etc. I should look it up actually, because after this, i can't imagine anyone ever wanting to work with whoever shot this film. Lastly, there are definitely timing issues, and some of the story felt lifted from better films, but the core idea was original, not at all what I was expecting from the title, and the start of the film. I was actually happy they went in a completely different direction that didnt' feel at all like it was copy anything else. I'll take original, over polished repeat anyday. So i give them props for trying, despite some of the issues with script, etc, still had enough originality to keep me interested... Overall, unlike a great deal of low budget sci-fi I watch, despite loving the genre, most films i have to say I sometimes wish I had my time back. This one I didn't... so if that is worth anything. Lastly I'll just say, dont' judge this film by it's cover, whoever named it, and gave the title art I don't even know if they ever saw the film. Maybe the studio as scared to tell people what kind of story this was, and instead tried to capture that alien monster vibe from the thing, aliens, etc, so they tried to present a false cover art for the film, my guess would be, not what the director would have choosen. So yea, dont' let the cover turn you off, the film is definitely better then the whole cover art, and film title seem to hint towards... Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/02/25 Full Review Dave H I enjoyed this movie despite its difficulty to suspend my disbelief, and I started it with low expectations. The cryptography aspect with the transmission and the code breaking was pretty cringe. Spader does what he does best and inhabits the character of Julian Rome well, pulling the rest of the cast together. Once you also realize this is not a typical American Sci fi action flick but a Bulgarian-American film its charm ticks up a notch; it's not strictly for American audiences. The plot reliance on the Russians to deliver the nuclear ordnance was telling of the film's foreign roots. The effects were good for 2003 and the alien was an appealing design, it's reveal shots while interacting with Juilan were unique and worked to the films benefit. Overall an enjoyable movie that cracks the mould of what could have been run of the mill Sci fi action horror and turns its lens on a benevolent alien possibility. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/22/25 Full Review diana m found it in a batch of cheesy halloween movies but watched it because of James Spader. Slow but interesting build up and a satisfying ending. effects were minimal and not overdone. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/30/24 Full Review Jelisije J An underrated low budget science fiction film that is held together by a straight forward plot that gave me an ending that I didn't expect. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/02/24 Full Review Steve D Too cheap to work despite Spader's presence. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/27/23 Full Review SpontaneousWeasel Woefully average movie barely raises a pulse with its straight to DVD production quality and below average script and effects. It felt like an out of context x files episode. Spader kept me watching! Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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