A spaceship crash in 1957 California leads to the escape of the Ghota, a murderous monster bent on destroying all life forms. In order to capture the Ghota, a benevolent alien named Urp takes over the body of an astronomer (Eric McCormack) and enlists the aid of a waitress named Tammy (Jenni Baird) . But, unless Urp and Tammy are successful, mankind is doomed in Alien Trespass.
Coming soon to a theater and drive-in near you: Alien Trespass, a thrilling sci-fi adventure from three-time Golden Globe winner and five time Emmy Award-nominated director/producer R.W. Goodwin (The X-Files) and brought to you in glorious color! Alien Trespass is a homage to the great science-fiction movies of the 1950s, the post-war boom period when the country was filled with great hope and prosperity and, at the same time, lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation. The story begins in 1957 in the star-filled skies above California's Mojave Desert. It is a special night for noted astronomer Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack), who is preparing a special dinner for his beautiful, adoring wife Lana (Jody Thompson) to celebrate their wedding anniversary. In another part of town, Tammy (Jenni Baird), a waitress at the small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams. But what Dr. Lewis and Tammy assume is a shooting star, is really an alien spaceship. The fiery ball hurtles toward earth and crash-lands on a butte in the desert. The only witnesses are Dick (Andrew Dunbar) and Penny (Sarah Smyth) who are necking in a nearby lovers' lane. A tall, metallic alien named Urp emerges from the craft unharmed, alarmed to discover that the monstrous Ghota, who was also on board, has escaped. The menacing one-eyed creature's unquenchable appetite could mean the end of civilization as we know it. Urp is the only one who knows how to stop the hideous extra-terrestrial, but to do so he has to take over the body of Dr. Lewis and enlist the aid of Tammy, the only human in town willing to believe and trust in his mission. The local police - including police Chief Dawson (Dan Lauria) and officer Vernon (Robert Patrick) - are confirmed skeptics and offer little help. Together, Urp and Tammy must hunt down the Ghota and neutralize it before it consumes all the local inhabitants and uses the human fuel to multiply and conquer the world! Some snacks, or maybe a stiff drink, might have increased the fun level for Alien Trespass, a deeply silly movie that pays homage to the 50s classics in a way that would be welcome at Disney World. Director R.W. Goodwin and writer Steven P. Fisher have concocted a deadpan homage to the flying saucers of the past, and while it's clear they love this genre a whole lot, there's no telling what exactly we're supposed to appreciate about it. Sure, the overblown dialogue and deliberately bad special effects are fun for a while, but watching the trailer for the original Day the Earth Stood Still would probably give you the same amount of laughs. The production is lucky to have found Eric McCormack to play the lead, jutting out his square jaw and playing both the dashing astronomer Ted and the alien creature Urp, who takes over Ted's body when his spaceship crashes outside a desert California town. But Urp isn't alone-- he's accompanied by a big blue monster called a Ghota, and while the Ghota chews its way through most of the town's innocents, Urp and a clever waitress named Tammy (Baird) try to track him down and save the world. This small town is populated by all kinds of oddballs, including an intense cop played by typically intense Robert Patrick, a weathered cop played by typically weathered Dan Lauria, and a gaggle of fresh-faced teenagers who seem to be giving deliberately bad performances. They and a handful of others are threatened, and some devoured, by the Ghota, and if there are any other subplots beyond that one, I've already forgotten them by now, a few days after the screening. One subplot does stick, being Tammy's desire to get out of town and make something of herself. Either because Baird is so gifted or because Tammy is the only character who seems remotely real, her emotional connection to Ted/Urp sticks with you, and her moment of triumph at the end genuinely sweet. On the other hand there's Lana (Thompson), Ted's sexpot wife, who makes bedroom eyes at the camera and seems shoved into frame directly from a pinup. Alien Trespass might have been able to capture a little more of that innocent monster movie fun if it had stuck with effects more like the Ghota, which is a goofy rubber suit making no attempts at realism. But the flying saucer at the beginning is CGI, as are occasional flames, and the movie's claim of being a "forgotten classic" gets less believable as the effects start looking more realistic. CGI is probably cheaper now than even the worst looking fake blood of yesteryear, but the cheesy special effects were always a key part of the fun. There's fun to be had in Alien Trespass, especially for anyone who's already seen all the old classics and is dying for a new one. But most anyone else would probably be better served watching one of the actual originals. This gets a 2 on my "Go See" scale for just being too damn cheesy for my tastes.
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