Lifeform

If you like smart Sci-Fi you will like INVADER aka LIFEFORM. A Viking probe satellite mysteriously returns from Mars and like a Trojan Horse has a surprise in tow. A strange pod resembling an armadillo spawns a creature with a taste for blood and the curiosity to gather intelligence of Earth's inhabitants. The curious visitor takes on the form of an armored ape... albeit angry and clever with the ability to transform its shape. The story line is well thought out, but too similar to most "alien" movies. Is the Martian hitchhicker trying to prevent an invasion of the red planet? An abrupt twist at the finale leaves a few questions unanswered. The cast includes: Deirdre O'Connell, Cotter Smith, Leland Orser and Ryan Phillippe.

I caught this film on the Sci-Fi Channel. They were hyping it as a Ryan Philippe movie, though this is clearly not so. He plays a very minor part in the story. That's the Sci-Fi Channel for you.

The important thing is that this movie is not that bad. It suffers from lack of style, lack of cinematography, poor pacing and some annoying "rigidly following the groove of the genre" plot paths.

However, there are some good things.

The actors are high quality and deserve a shot at better films. Their characters suggest depth and background, making them almost well rounded, though such depth and background is only suggested (not demonstrated) in the film. The portrayal of the scientists and military types is non-cliched. They are intelligent and have intelligent dialog. They behave as real people would.

The science details are actually based on science and smarts, instead of gadgetry and nonsense. It is clear, as mentioned in another good review, that the scriptwriter researched the material, as there are correct descriptions of the Mars lander's capabilities and design and interesting concepts about the alien lifeform are explored.

The alien lifeform is extremely well thought out and designed. It looks great on screen, too. It is possibly the most interesting thing about this film, though treated a little more like the "creature we must hunt down and kill" than I'd like. It does demonstrate interesting behaviors and qualities not seen often before, as well as something most alien creature movies never consider: intelligent motivation.

The film does not end predictably and the process the film takes to get to that end is not that bad, either. It's just a bit anticlimactic and a little flat.

This review may sound unkind. I am simply being realistic and honest. The flaws are there and they keep this film from being high quality. Yet, there is much to like. The good aspects are plenty and are of higher caliber than you would expect to find in direct to video alien-invader flics. Normally these kinds of films rely of cliche, unintelligent characters, unrealistic scenarios, sex, gunplay and gore. This film uses mostly none of those items to make its attempt at entertaining you (some violence and gunplay, but not to rediculous extremes).

I found much to enjoy about the film, from a deconstruction point of view - the technical details, the story concept, the unique uses of the genre, the excellent alien design and portrayal, and as a general "learning tool" for film study.

As a feature film, it falls flat. As an extended length episode of The Outer Limits, it would have been a "top-ten" episode.

I think that anyone who can enjoy "flawed films with good intent" should give this film a shot; it isn't grade-A material, but it's worth a viewing or two and may inspire film makers to do better in different ways.

As my title says. Not bad. Not great. But for a low budget dtv movie made in '96 it actually holds up well; the acting isnt horrendous, they didnt try to do too much with the special effects, so while they are minimal they arent (too) cheesy, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and there are no glaring holes in the plot (the scifi element is pretty standard), not too far fetched, lastly the production values (sound, lighting, etc) are those of a made for tv movie (ie good not great- but you can see/hear/understand everything. Definitely suitable for family sci fi movie night (but make it the 1st in a double header). And the best part?-- there is room plotwise for a sequel (30 yrs later....)

"Lifeform" starts off with an intriguing mystery. Viking 2, one of the two landers that were dropped on Mars by NASA during the 70's, has returned to Earth. From the start we get the idea that Lifeform's scriptwriter did his homework, as one of the scientists examining the lander starts rattling off real-life technical details about the lander, rather than some spurious techno-babble. From there things rapidly switch to a monster hunt straight out of the '50s, as the scientists bicker with the military when the Lifeform in question breaks loose from it's hiding place in the lander and starts running around the sealed lab complex. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but the script never insults the audience, neither the scientists or the military act like idiots, and the f/x aren't _too_ cheap. There's even a genuine red-herring or two to keep the audience interested, not to mention some clever ideas about the Lifeform's biology. If you can't find anything else on the tube, you could do worse than to watch this.

Lifeform (AKA Invader) 1996 R

This film is about a team of scientists and military yahoos that end up fighting an alien creature. It's that simple. It's yet another film like Alien or Leviathan (which itself was a direct rip-off of Alien) or Species. In this one, intelligent life that reproduces asexually sends a Viking probe back from Mars (because Mars is new territory in the world of alien encounters you know), and that probe has been modified to carry this creature along with it. Of course, the alien gets out and gets hunted and gets killed.

Overall, the acting isn't too bad, and the special effects are competent. The alien is intelligent, so of course, the one woman in the film feels sorry for it. The design of the alien itself is kind of like those half-human, half-horse creatures. You know, a centaur. It looks all terrifying on the outside, but then it extends it's little alien body up (the part where the human part of the centaur goes) out of the normal trunk (the part that is the horse), and it looks all benevolent. The military base they're on is rather bland, and of course, Big Brother shows up and spoils the show. The Army folks saunter about trying to kill the alien and they're all afraid it may have some contagion that it's spreading around.

The atmosphere isn't bad, but the film is somewhat shallow—it's just a straight-forward science fiction/horror flick with some decent gore and a humorous kill (guy is stabbed with the blunt end of an M-16). Nothing really special, but nothing really horrible. Recommended to hardcore SF/horror buffs. And that's about it.

5/10