Stargazers

A sci-fi comedy adventure written and directed by Jonathan Brooks and starring Leo Cropley, Henry Richards, Lauren Cornelius, Neil James and Tony Way.

Something strange is happening in Drapery Falls, a lovely small town in England. Over the course of several years, unidentified signals have been transmitting around the area and Prof. Alan Parker (James), who works for the National Space Angency, has been investigating them, attempting to locate their source. However, his obnoxious boss, Smythley (Way) has had enough and has instructed him to move to Scotland in a few days. Following this news, lan's young son, Jack (Cropley) and his friend, Benji (Richards) set out to prove that Alan's theories about the existence of extraterrestrials are real, so that they do not have to relocate. Meanwhile, an evil alien arrives on Earth and takes the form of Lucy (Cornelius), a young woman.

The film wastes no time getting right to the point, revealing very early that this is going to be a fantastical and comedic story. To put it another way, it could be described as a mix between Stranger Things, Men In Black and E.T. Aliens, romance, meaningful moments, race-against-the-clock, mystery and plenty of humour and the story takes place in the nineteen eighties. Basically, there are two storylines, one being Jack and Benji wondering around town, trying to find the source of the signals and the other is the bad alien, exploring the area in the form of a female human, in pursuit of a fugitive alien. And there are extra events to the narrative, such as Jack developing a bond with his crush, Sadie (Mollie Thomson) and Lucy (this would be the evil alien) getting into all sorts of awkward situations, whether in a music shop, in a dance club or at a park.

As expected, since this is a Science Fiction story, there are spaceships and beings from another planet to be seen and they look pretty good. The film is beautifully shot, with Brooks directing in ways that capture the beauty of the countryside, enhanced by Jon Moy's cinematography. Since the plot is set in the eighties, the clothing and hairstyle are there too and they look appropriate. The addition of Stuart Hancock's lighthearted and adventurous music is a big plus.

Pretty much all of the cast delivers entertaining performances and the characters are likeable. Jack is the main character, a sensitive boy who is also sensible and courageous deep inside, much like Benji, his inseparable friend, who is a bit naive. James's character, Alan Parker (his name possibly an homage to the famous British filmmaker) is a single father who is an expert in his field and has a friendly personality. A very nice guy. Arguably, Cornelius is the one who steals the show. She plays a fish-out-of-water alien who is after someone and while doing so, she utilises a device placed around her forearm and gets involved in a variety of funny situations, like learning how to kiss, how to dance and interacting with a dog. The more menacing her character tries to be, the more amusing it gets. And last but not least, although his appearance is brief, Way is memorable with his over-the-top performance, creating a man who is a bully. He is supposed to be a mean guy, but comes across as childlike.

Danger, saving people, learning about the world, romance, coming-of-age and self-reflection are all part of this story. Additionally, this is a film about courage and the significance friendship and family.

Humour and discoveries as a bunch of people go up against an extraterrestrial with ominous intentions. A fun alien invasion feature.