mugwamp-983

I was a little surprised at the low ratings. I think this movie is meant for people who can relate to Steven, the 10 year old boy. His perspective after being sent to live on his grandparent's farm for the summer in the 70's, is how we see most of the movie. Imagine catching glimpses of the Manson murders on the news and listening to grown ups talking about the gory details. Then your young mind starts seeing similarities in this new environment around you. A body is discovered, a boy gets lost in the corn fields, while locals seem to ignore the obvious, and go on with their simple life.

Its interesting because, as the story unfolds in the rural farmland, the boy is like a fly on the wall. Some scenes are very caricature like. The grand parents and boy visit his 2nd cousins, and they appear deformed with mental deficits like the hillbillies from the hills have eyes. For these scenes the camera focuses on the boy's eyes, then pans around and you have to decide what is literal, and what is not.

Its not a horror. Its a thriller. I thought every thing pretty much worked in this movie; from the claustrophobic scenes in the corn fields, to the distant pans and close up dialogue. Especially the dialogue. There is obvious foreshadowing from one scene to ramp tension in the next. Yes this movie worked for me.

Its refreshing to see a sci fi movie tackle a complex subject such as alien phenomenon while stringing the viewer along with a good mystery concept. Alien Code does a good job on some levels. But falls short in other areas.

Kyle Gallner does a great job of giving his all-in for this low budget indie. He plays the down and out cryptographer shanghaied by government spooks to decode a mysterious object. He wasn't the first, so what happened to the expert hired before him. Strange temporal anomalies start occurring. Not to mention visitations from other worldly men in black.

The story line is great. The editing perhaps falls short leaving the viewer grasping a few times to put the pieces together. The subject matter is cerebral. I like these type of movies.

When Scoot McNairy plays the lead you know the main character is an average joe. Because no one can play an average joe better than scoot. He does his part making the audience connect with his seemingly laconic life.

Scoots character, Cliff is not doing so good as a salesman. He has a kid in the hospital and a wife in group therapy. Much of his character development is spent at the beginning observing his time on the road. Its evident he has financial short comings.

There is parallel part of Cliff's character portrayal which reveals something flawed in his past. His past life does catch up with him in the form of a former associate called Ricky. Kit Harrington. We don't know what Ricky was like before, but it becomes apparent that he is a lot more calculating and capable of evil than Cliff realized he could be.

There are two superfluous dialogue scenes with Stephen Dorf then later Rose Mason which could have been removed and you wouldn't know it. Except they serve to reinforce two things. One, that Cliff really does try to do something other than take Ricky's offer, and two, he did lack scruples in his past.

Ricky makes an offer to Cliff he can't refuse. The movie picks up pace at this point. There is violence and double cross and everything you would expect. Cliff has no idea what he is in for.