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      High Plains Invaders

      2009 1h 27m Sci-Fi Western Horror Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 14% Audience Score 100+ Ratings Townspeople in the Wild West take refuge from an onslaught of monstrous insects. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (2) Critics Reviews
      Stefan Birgir Stefans sbs.is But it’s an entertaining silly movie. That’s what matters. Also, James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) is in it and is a good balance to the overacting most of the other actors depict. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 18, 2023 Full Review Scott Weinberg FEARnet Broad and goofy without ever becoming head-slappingly stupid. Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 9, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (30) audience reviews
      Audience Member Much better effects than the average SyFy faire. James Marsters performs well considering, and the Western/Sci-Fi blend pays off. But it's still a TV Movie and it's a pretty silly one at that. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member About the nicest thing you can say about "High Plains Invaders" is that it's a B-movie that dares to think beyond its modest budget. It comes up with a fairly original plot, setting and creature design, and because of all that I almost hate to knock it. Screenwriter Richard Beattie actually put some thought into the story, even being so bold as to invoke the name Jules Verne at one point. It's a nice surprise, but unfortunately, the rest of this is so clunky that the one good element fails to shine through. It's fresh seeing the combination of a western paired with science fiction, but the western aspects such as the dialogue and weaponry is completely inauthentic and negates nearly evereything else in the film. The acting is wooden and the direction is still, with a conclusion that feels far to abrupt. The creatures of the title are interesting looking, and I am forced to admit the CGI used to bring them to life isn't the worst I've ever seen, but not enough is done with their backstory. You never really feel like you know what they're about or why they are here. And the title is far to similar to a certain Clint Eastwood picture, so much so in fact that "High Plains Invaders" feels wrong to say or at the very least, difficult. There's a lot more going on here than in your typical made-for-video dud like it, but you won't find this very entertaining either. With a little more effort, this may have actually been worth watching. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member 131122: This was a surprisingly good movie...except for one thing. Why the heck do the makers of movies such as this have to use incorrect firearms? It's such a simple matter and I imagine not much difference in cost. If it wasn't for the modern revolvers, I would've given this film four starts. Having watched it on the small screen (Blackberry Z10), it's potentially an incorrect evaluation but the special effects seemed pretty good. The "bugs" did not appear too digitally inserted. Some good characters; I especially liked Rose Hilridge. Fun find. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Wasn't horrible, but was boring. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Well I made it through this bizarre western/sci-fi mash up. That's about all I can say about this. The aliens are reminiscent of (copied from) War Of The Worlds on a smaller, cheaper scale as is the whole tone of this weird movie. Annoying female gunslinger/bounty hunter on the plus side James Marsters has great hair. 05.13 "The hanging of train robber Sam Phoenix (James Marsters) is abruptly halted by an invasion of aliens, forcing Sam and a ragtag group of survivors to find sanctuary in a church." Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member When a small western town is invaded by alien bugs, convicted train robber Sam Phoenix becomes an unlikely hero. Well, this was a first for me - a Syfy original movie that actually wasn't horrendous to watch! The story is no masterpiece by any shape, size or form, but it is not that badly written compared to some of the other offerings from the TV channel. The acting is not as wooden as I expected, and it is always good to see James 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Marsters ham it up in a movie. The CGI is well handled and apart from a couple of dodgy shots, doesn't look like it was created using an etch-a-sketch. The gore is minimal and all you get is a bit of blood when someone is shot. All in all, this is no work of art - the story has a quite a few holes in it and the ending is one of those 'blink and you'll miss it' types, but if you are looking for something to take up 90 minutes that really doesn't take any thinking about, I have yet to come across a better Syfy original movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Townspeople in the Wild West take refuge from an onslaught of monstrous insects.
      Director
      Kristoffer Tabori
      Screenwriter
      Richard Beattie
      Production Co
      Castel Film Romania
      Genre
      Sci-Fi, Western, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Apr 6, 2010
      Runtime
      1h 27m