Wyatt and his girlfriend Hope live in a fortified house in the
middle of the boonies. He’s got an array of floodlights, bars on every window,
more locks than a bank, and more guns than an armory--this intensive home
security system is designed to keep something out, something that makes Wyatt
live everyday in fear. One night, Wyatt wakes up from a bad dream, and although
the long-suffering Hope assures him that there’s nothing out there, Wyatt is
still very restless. He fearfully peers out at the brightly lit surroundings
through a slit in the door, as if anxiously expecting something to happen. To
say Wyatt is a little paranoid is putting it mildly.
Well, Wyatt ain’t getting back to sleep tonight, because his childhood friends
Duke, Otis and Cody have driven up in a van with something they bagged on a
nocturnal hunting trip in the woods. It’s an alien--not the cute, cuddly
E.T.-type, but a mean, low-to-the-ground, reptilian-like sucker with a mouth
filled with fangs. It’s one of the same group of aliens that abducted the men
many years ago when they were kids. Although they all had been returned to
society, nobody believed their story because they never had proof. Until now.
But just because this alien has been captured, doesn’t make it any less dangerous.
Unlike many genre films, which start off slowly with sappy introduction scenes,
Altered hits the ground running, much like the hunt for the alien at the very
beginning of the film. You can’t help but get caught up in the story as you’re
slowly fed one tantalizing bit of information after another, all while being
totally immersed in what's going on. Director Eduardo Sanchez, one of the
co-directors of The Blair Witch Project, eschews that film’s documentary feel
for a more traditional storytelling technique, and he effectively creates a
scary, moody atmosphere on a low budget.
On the downside, there are some plot holes, and things tend to drag in the
middle section, but the great cast, led by Adam Kaufman as Wyatt and Catherine
Mangan as Hope, help keep your interest. The DVD is very sparse in regards to
Special Features, offering only deleted scenes. But the movie itself is so
enthralling, it’s worth a rental at least. You’ll be riveted as Sanchez works
the same cinematic magic for aliens here as he did for witches in The Blair Witch
Project.
--SF
