Attack of the Unknown [2020]

Brandon Slagle‘s Attack of the Unknown is a fun and fantastic sci-fi film that makes you feel like you have partially found your way to some of the great sci-fi films of the 90s, but with better production value. This movie is sci-fi that does not take itself too seriously, in the best possible way. We get a driven story, great characters, portrayed by fantastic actors like stars, Richard Grieco, or underutilized, Robert LaSardo… and Aliens! This well written film plays joyfully with a lot of the tropes you expect from a film like this, while giving us a compelling story to follow along the way.

Attack of the Unknown gets our attention from the beginning and sends us on a journey of ups and downs, as the adrenaline gets you with the camerawork during the action, then lets your heartbeat finally settle back down for a few minutes, before getting you again.

The camerawork from cinematographer Michael Su, mixed with the directing of Brandon Slagle and the score from Scott Glasgow, all help pull us into this world of criminal violence and invading aliens. What really makes this film fun is the back and forth we get from Richard Grieco and Robert LaSardo as they give us the standard Cop and Robber routine, if not slightly more intense.

The Action between humans is solid, however it does get a little shaky when the Aliens are involved.  They move in a rather bulky fashion and a lot of their attacks are performed with VFX instead of practical FX, which I prefer. While the Creature Design with the helmets on is very solid, once the helmet comes off, I was not as impressed with the Alien head design. It is a bit more of a throwback design to older sci-fi classics. The Armor though, is fantastic!

When it comes to the practical FX of the film, they were done very well. Some real fun blood and gore in this one. While Visual FX (CGI) were used for some of what the aliens do, the practical FX people were following up, adding the damage done to the body, making it cohesive. It is something I have seen overlooked in more than one film, so the fact they paid attention to it here, makes me happy.

If you are looking for a science-fiction film that takes itself seriously, this might not be the movie for you, but if you are out for modern sci-fi film, with a throwback feel, a solid story and some good indie film fun, then Mahal Empire‘s Attack of the Unknown just might be perfect for you.

Rating: 7/10