It Came from Outer Space II

Despite its poor reputation, I really wanted to see this sequel that's actually a remake. I'm a big fan of the original It Came from Outer Space. I missed this when it originally aired and these days it's hard to find streaming. Finally I got a copy of an old dvd set that has a bunch of 90s sci-fi tv movies on it. Having just finished the film I can say it's nothing great but also not the compete dud its ratings would suggest. It's a perfectly watchable time-passer. I don't regret watching it.

The cast is nice even if many of the notable character actors that make up the supporting cast aren't given much to work with. Of the main cast, Elizabeth Peña is the best. Brian Kerwin does fine. He's just a little vanilla and the wide-eyed expression does start to remind you of the kazoo kid meme after awhile. The child actor in this is annoying but tolerable when onscreen with Peña. The stock music and poor 90s CG effects are strictly no-budget. The script is nothing special. Not a lot happens in the movie until the final third. Still, I was never really bored which is a testament to the actors I think. They're a mostly likable bunch who did well with what they were given.

As is common in very bad films plenty of face to face shouting by the macho men of the town to go with the other many instances of bad acting, just about the whole film was very bad acting. Odd that the main character's Toyota had a "GB" sticker on the back of it, were they pretending that it was a Land Rover but couldn't afford one?

This is a very bad film in every way possible and should be avoided as it's not in the category of being too bad that it's good, it's just very bad with zero redeeming features.

Do not waste any of your time watching it as you will never get that time back again.

The opening was a steal from "Eight-legged Freaks", a film that is everything this one isn't. Stilted and pedestrian are the words that apply - along with others that can't be repeated..! Drifter type returns to his home(?)town, meets up with old friends etc.... the usual annoying kid, single mother,local loudmouth and so on..Bad special effects, alien ship, atmospheric disturbances, (hey, didn't the Director see "Close Encounters"?). Good acting? Good story? Good camera angles? Good cutting? Not here! Do not rent, unless you are sharing the cost and have a lot of beer handy. Do not watch on TV, go and drink a lot of beer instead - you'll enjoy it more!

Based on a Ray Bradbury story; a professional photographer(Brian Kerwin)returns to his modest home near a tiny desert town, where most of the citizens wishes he stayed away. A lonely boy(Jonathan Carrasco) latches onto him for the attention; and the two witness the landing of an alien craft in the rocky region of the desert. The aliens turn themselves into the images of townspeople. Kerwin must convince evacuation of the town and falls in love with the young boy's mother(Elizabeth Pena). Acting is pretty shallow; the story line is no worse than some others; this movie leaves you feeling that you got shorted on a decent ending. Supporting cast includes: Howard Morris, Dean Norris and Mickey Jones.

It was Ray Bradbury's name that brought this movie to my attention. Just before Christmas and before I started reviewing I had watched, and enjoyed, the original. So there wasn't much choice but to view the sequel... even though it's not. This is actually a brought-up-to-date remake.

However, even though it has Bradbury's name it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. That is probably due to him not having his screenplay filmed. He actually had four screenplays for the movie and none of them was chosen, not for the original and not for this remake (Harry Essex scripted the original while Ken and Jim Wheat have written this one.) I've not read the Bradbury versions, though being a fan I can honestly believe they might be better than what we received here. Since he was still alive when this was filmed I would have asked him to update the script for the modern age. Had there been issues with the original, his gained experience from 1953 to '96 should have been able to smooth them out.

That said, Ken and Jim Wheat don't do a bad job of bringing this film up to date. However, they're not too good at characterisation or flow. Though some of this could be down to the director Roger Duchowny. What this needed was an injection of excitement and relatable characters. Most of the people in the town are bleak and depressing; though this is believable, the way they are handled makes them more two-dimensional than possessing deep personalities and was a major cause of my boredom. Even the likes of Elizabeth Pena, Dean Norris, and Mickey Jones who are good actors and had a few decent scene's still couldn't inject life into the dullness.

The other cause of my dissatisfaction is the slowness of the pace. This could have been used to create atmosphere and draw the viewer in. Sadly this wasn't the case and only added to the films dullness.

The special effects are okay for the period and there are some nice ideas though due to the slow pace and the way they were shown their impact is dulled and not fully utilised.

This is one of those films I would recommend to only the die-hard sci-fi fans and lovers of the original film. However, if you want to watch a decent film I'd say watch the original as it's much better on every count, especially if you've never seen it. There's a reason it's a classic and this one is seldom heard of.