Review: Aliens: Zone of Silence

(imdb.com)

While news of alien abductions and UFO sightings seem to enter the mainstream in intervals, the horror industry has churned out a near constant stream of encounter films for years. While many of these have proven to be terrifying endeavors, like The Fourth Kind and Dark Skies, some have used far too many effects, leaving a product that is less than desirable, like Skinwalker Ranch. But still, the fear of the unknown has stood the test of time, whether through creepy atmosphere or the fact that if and when they come, we'll all have little power to stop whatever they choose to do. The latest film to enter the string of alien flicks is Aliens: Zone of Silence, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

Following a young woman searching for her brother after he disappears in a Mexican desert, annoyingly named the "Zone of Silence." Aliens: Zone of Silence is far too similar to alien flicks before it. Like a mixture of last year's forgettable but entertaining Phoenix Forgotten and the indie horror film Banshee Chapter, this search-and-rescue mission has an ending that anyone could have seen coming, but without the horror that'd allow you to overlook it. It stars Sarah Hestler (American Satan), Peter Gesswein (A Plea for Tenderness) and Jed Maheu (51).


Aliens: Zone of Silence might be worth your time if you're looking to lose an hour and 20 minutes of your life with little recollection of how it was spent. But otherwise, it's best avoided. Less likeable and shallower characters leave this half-baked flick feeling like a dud. Sure it's not offensively bad, but in some ways, maybe it should have been. Then maybe it'd infamously be remembered for something; even if that thing is laughable.


Sure, Phoenix Forgotten was just the desert version of the Blair Witch Project, but at least the characters felt more entertaining and the scares were at least somewhat adequate. But, this bland copycat never really makes any progression or moves that haven't been done better a hundred times over. So much of it relies on shaky, broken cameras and bright lights in the sky that the shallow characters never seem to be in the great of danger.


The fact is, Aliens: Zone of Silence is just plain and boring. There are no thrills, no interesting characters and little to zero plot line. Horror films don't have to be perfect, but they should at least fulfill something. By the time Aliens ends though, you'll have instantly moved on, having forgotten what you wasted time on and that is almost worse than wishing you had your time back. 4 out 10.

Review: Phoenix Forgotten

(imdb.com)

Found-footage has been at somewhat of a stand still. While much of horror fans' hatred of the oversaturated subgenre has subsided into a place of apathy, and sometimes mild pleasure, found-footage has been unable to recapture the horror industry. But, some mildly successful attempts are being made- the harshly criticized, but not actually awful films, The Gallows and Blair Witch swept theaters and attempted to reinvigorate viewers' attention to the  gimmicky, but intimate shooting style, and with Phoenix Forgotten, the subgenre proves to still have legs.

Phoenix Forgotten tells the story of three local teens, Josh, played by Luke Spencer Roberts (Hail, Caesar!), Ashley, played by Chelsea Lopez (Novitiate) and Mark, played by Justin Matthews (The Interestings), who go missing during their tapped investigation of the Phoenix Lights Phenomenon.  The film also stars Clint Jordan (Down to the Bone) and Cyd Strittmatter (Gone Girl) as Josh's parents and Florence Hartigan (Shortland Street) as Sophie, Josh's sister. The actors of Phoenix Forgotten aren't awful and actually extend the movie's appeal past what it could have been. The teens are retro-fun, mentioning films like Contact and inflecting certain lovability to their characters and the actors playing the various parents each seem invested in their roles.

Phoenix Forgotten takes a while to get going, but once it starts it is interesting and entertaining enough to keep audience attention. There's some creepy tension and scares tossed in and the degradation of the teens' spirit is compelling enough. The movie is especially propelled by its alien lore and true-life backstory; something that it takes full advantage of. There's amazing abduction sequences and plenty of crazy-in-the-dark moments, too.

Like a desert-themed Blair Witch Project, the premise of the film follows near-exact lines except for a modern day documentary in production simultaneously with the discovery of the disappeared teens' tapes. This point of view, following Sophie, is never clearly laid out or concluded. When the final tape is revealed and plays out over the screen, that is the film's ending and we never discover the results of Sophie releasing the tape or whatever was supposed to happen. This is problematic, not because it could possibly open up to an unlikely sequel, but because while the final scenes are entertaining, they could only be considered a proper ending if the modern day storyline had some sort of final moment, as well. This is definitely the film's biggest failure. Even with too strong of similarities to The Blair Witch Project, a lot of this movie comes undone, not by a lack of scares or compelling storytelling, but because the ending feels blank and incorrect. This may have been the intent of the filmmakers, but it doesn't stop it from feeling off.

Is Phoenix Forgotten amazing? Certainly not. But, for a film that seemingly popped out of nowhere, it's a fun, intro-to-summer flick. It's got a lot of things that work and some pretty hefty things that don't, but there's enough to keep it moving along. Phoenix Forgotten doesn't deserve any point for originality, but it doesn't need to be decimated by its copycat result. It's a simple and fun found-footage horror film that people should consider, because while enjoyable, the fact is, Phoenix probably will be forgotten. 5. out of 10.