People love aliens. As a culture, we’re oddly obsessed with that mysterious plot of land called Area 51 where there may or may not be aliens alive in captivity or dead on a dissection table (or floating in a cool tube of ambiguous liquid). Earth-based alien horror is a field the 50s mined thoroughly, and yet for some reason Hollywood seems reticent to return to those fertile grounds to try their hand again. Don’t get me wrong, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial was sweet, and Mars Attacks was funny, but considering that the genre is done wrong more often than right, it’s time for someone to step up and give this subgenre another good entry. Otherwise, we’re going to keep getting dreck like 51, a Syfy-produced flick in the After Dark Originals catalog that despite a few entertaining bits just drags along and will only disappoint audiences with its lack of alien goodness.
On the eve of a benchmark venture into the depths of the fabled Area 51 by a press crew consisting of hard-hitting reporter Claire (Vanessa Branch) and connected media man Sam Whitaker (John Shea), the true secret buried in the bowels of the base threatens to break out. The shapeshifting alien known only as Patient Zero organizes an escape that sees all the other aliens being held for study simultaneously released, including a big bad alien mother and her child. As Col. Martin (Bruce Boxleitner) attempts to save the people in the base from the alien menace, soldiers like Aaron (Jason London) and Sgt. Hannah (Rachel Miner) handle the alien threat as it emerges on the surface.
While it’s tempting to admire 51 for its adherence to a few rules it set for itself early on and for using rubber suits and prosthetic work to create its aliens instead of cheap CGI as is the trend in far too many Syfy produced projects, half the time the result here looks about as good as the monsters in old Godzilla movies, maybe a step above, but only slightly. What the end result really tells us is that there is a prime opportunity for someone to create an excellent (well-funded) Area 51-based franchise and deliver some great visuals. Whether it’s based on the video game series or just an independently created franchise, it’s remarkable that there isn’t already a major franchise running wild with sequels of alien-born terror every year or every other year. So while 51 has a surprisingly good cast for what it is, it requires quite a bit of forgiveness on the part of the viewer in order for it to be a film worth watching to the end.
DVD Bonus Features
A brief behind the scenes featurette and a trailer are all you’ll find here.
"51" is on sale September 20, 2011 and is rated R. Action, Horror, Sci-Fi. Directed by Jason Connery. Written by Kenny Yakkel (story), Lucy Mukerjee (screenplay). Starring Bruce Boxleitner, Jason London, Rachel Miner, John Shea.
