Alien Invasion: S.U.M.1

I think this is one of those movies that is good if you like the character / actor playing it. If you don't enjoy them after the first 5 mins, it won't work, and you can safely skip it.

Story-wise it is something that echoes other movies, the basic ingredients are quite similar. It is also obvious that they had a pretty tight budget, but the sets hold up well enough to not look cheap.

Since it lacks the elements that most people appreciate about other movies, mainly drama, social stuff, explosions, pointless sex scenes, cars, it will not appear to mainstream viewers.

The ending surprised me (in a positive sense), not what I was expecting.

Why all the hate? Who knows, really. Go read my reviews, you'll see that I love sci-fi. Particularly of the low-budget kind, so "sum1" is right up my alley. Is it mind-blowing? Nope. Is it fast-paced? Nope. But I don't mind slow-paced movies, so it held my interest, and the tension really ratchets up as it goes along. I also have a fondness for rats, so that may help too. They make great pets actually,. Though they are indeed smelly.

I can't say much about the plot, only that it is well enough executed, and well-paced. If you don't like single location movies with a slower plot, why would you watch this? I recommend that you don't. I will say, I was wrong in my guess at how it would end, and as another viewer said, there aren't many choices. It is a mystery, and it does well at that. It doesn't over explain things, and it leaves a lot of questions by the end. It answers enough of those questions, however, that I feel it satisfies the mystery that was built up.

The acting is well-done, so no faults there. The script is good enough, the sets are well-done, the cinematography is good, sound is good, technically, this is a good movie. Your enjoyment of it, again will hinge on whether you enjoy movies that are in one location, with very little seemingly happening, if you're not, I'd avoid this one.

For a plot summary please look at the start of the page.

Film feel: The exposition and and main part of the movie is eerily similar to the likes of Moon and Oblivion. But in contrast, this film drags on much more because there is no funny dialog or a subplot. The dominant grey-blue colour palette doesn't help either. The film wants to showcase the monotonous and boring routine of the main character but takes it too far and bores the viewer.

The film tries to have a twist ending but is to simple to really pull it off. The story is so bland that one can count the possible endings on two fingers.

If you're a cynic (like me) then you will like the ending. More would be spoiler.

Exposition: 1/10 (if you have seen Oblivion and/or Moon you can skip it) Main Part: 1/10 (too bland and simple) Ending: 6/10 (good ending for cynics; I couldn't stop grinning)

TLDR: if this was a 20 min short film it might have been good. Like this it drags on for 90% of the run time.

Overall an average film, CGI is a bit scretchy in certain places but the suspense within the film makes up for it. The ending will leave you wanting just a bit more of an explanation.

It's not as bad as the reviews make out, I've seen far worse films which I've been unable to watch to the end with higher ratings. Ok it is a little slow, especially the first 30mins and the CGI at the beginning isn't great. But it's got an interesting story, excellent acting and a good twist at the end which was totally unexpected but in a good way. Give it a go, sure it's not to Oblivion standards but it's definitely worth a watch.