Alien Love

Alien Love asks a simple question: would you still recognise your loved one if their behaviour suddenly changed? Described as ‘a sci-fi erotic exploitation film’, Alien Love combines elements of romance and drama with the story of a man who returns from space, perhaps a little different from when he left. There is fun to be had with a pulpy premise that absolutely feels like a throwback to the 1950s, but unfortunately the film is surprisingly tiresome, and the execution leaves more than a little to be desired.

The audience is first introduced to Sadie in her kitchen, watching a live feed of her partner Ryan, a NASA astronaut, blasting off into space. While Ryan is away, Sadie is visited by a NASA intelligence officer who informs her that the mission has hit a slight hiccup: contact with Ryan was lost for one minute. The officer reassures Sadie that, despite this, Ryan is expected home at the normal time and there really is nothing to worry about. All seems well again after Sadie is reunited with her husband, and their hot and heavy sex life soon resumes. However, unbeknownst to Sadie, Ryan seems to be behaving erratically, jogging around the neighbourhood with some kind of goal in mind. He appears to be drawn to images of UFOs and other extraterrestrial-looking objects, and it’s not too long before he’s getting into mischief. It’s not long before NASA catches on to what’s happening, and the stakes are raised considerably. Alien Love’s tone is somewhere between soap opera and a social guidance film, and any moments that audiences might laugh at will have undoubtedly not been intended to be funny. It’s a self-serious affair where the drama takes the centre stage. Sadly though, the drama isn’t all that compelling, and there’s a lack of interesting character dynamics between our protagonists. Sadie is frustratingly oblivious to Ryan’s change in behaviour to begin with, and when she notices that something is different about him, she doesn’t seem all too worried that it might have been involved with the mission. Audiences may need to give the performances the benefit of the doubt; the acting across the board is spotty at best, but the cast seem to be well intentioned and it’s more than likely to be inexperience than apathy.

Silence bookends most shots in Alien Love, and there’s a general lack of flow in the film’s edit. Most shots start and end a fraction of a second too long, and there are a number of scenes which linger awkwardly before cutting. A tighter cut could give the film some much needed energy. Many of the scenes in the film feel like they aren’t connected together, instead feeling like a sequence of events strung together for 80 minutes. The pace begins to pick up towards the end of the film, but by this point it’s too little too late, and the audience may well have checked out. There’s a more interesting cut of Alien Love at only 30 minutes long hiding in there, trapped within 50 minutes of superfluous filler.

If anything can be praised in Alien Love, it’s undoubtedly the effects and the makeup. The elements are extremely impressive for the film’s limited budget, and it would have been interesting to have seen these elements leaned on more. The concept of a loved one changing into something not quite themselves is a fertile one in science fiction and horror: look no further than Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing, and most notably The Fly. Alien Love could have used a lot more horror or tension in its script, really exploring the tragedy of Ryan’s fate and Sadie’s powerlessness to the entire situation. Alternatively, the film could have aimed to playfully parody or caricature 1950s science fiction with the heightened melodrama of films like Roger Corman’s The Wasp Woman, or the infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space. As it stands, Alien Love is sadly lacking in much of an identity, and while the effects are impressive, the drama is woefully undercooked.