EXTRATERRESTRIAL is a small bizarre film about a guy named Julio who wakes up in the apartment of a beautiful girl named Julia.  They soon realize everyone has left town, the phones are dead, and there is a big alien spaceship hovering over the city.   They start to make plans on what to do when Julia’s jealous ex-boyfriend Carlos returns and the annoying neighbor Angel starts hanging around.  Julia and Julio try to cover up what they may or may not have done one night while Angel wants to reveal it because he hates Carlos so much and Angel has nothing better to do.

 

Director Nacho Vigalondo (of the brilliant time travel film Timecrimes) is back with a film where the sci-fi element is just a Macguffin to a story about relationships, misunderstandings, and lying.   I found EXTRATERRESTRIAL charming (and funny for a couple of scenes) at times, but it isn’t the funny movie the quote on the DVD art praises it to be.   It isn’t in the same league as TIMECRIMES, but it will do for those who await something as great as TIMECRIMES from Nacho Vigalondo.  Plus Michelle Jenner is very attractive as Julia.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 24 minute making-of featurette has clips from the movie, some behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with the cast and the director.   Two biggest insights from the director are how he might be just making small films (with no expectation he will get his chance to make a bigger Hollywood film) and what the original opening scene was until his producer told him to cut it (but Nacho has his doubts about cutting it).

 

Also included is the international poster gallery, a short trailer for the film, and four of the director’s short films which vary in quality (I found the first one Marissa to be the best one and the second one to be OK while the others got on my nerves) and thankfully Nacho got better as a director.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  EXTRATERRESTRIAL may disappoint people expecting a sci-fi movie and not a movie about relationships and misunderstandings.    It isn’t a piece of genius like TIMECRIMES was.   It is a quiet and small movie for those type of viewers who like that type of movie.

 

This DVD review is (c)7-25-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com