Although the scenario throughout may seem science-fiction generic, I really enjoyed this creepy invasion of the body snatchers riff with shades of, The Faculty (1998) Night of the Creeps (1986) capturing solid action in an independent creature feature complimented by good lead actors and a somewhat slow reveal of the aforementioned monsters.
Reminding me of a young Jennifer Lawrence, already impressive in the popular Halloween reboot of 2018;
Andi Matichak is the highlight of the cast, she whirls as Kayla, commanding screen time without even trying mostly alongside long-time friend Zach (Joel Courtney) who both end up dealing with tragedy, then survival together.
The connection of these two teens works.
Something is not right around their small-town community, normal members of society become weird, stilted and robotic.
Zach and best mate Randy (Calum Worthy) are documenting on mini-cams the mundane existence of their town for a show upload. They begin to get footage of the unexplained occurrences.
Local Deputy officer Josh (Cam Gigandet) seems to be unaffected, eventually assisting the teens who know a takeover is happening.
Clever scenes keep momentum on the move, I especially like how the vicious soul taking critters are actually shown in the opening scene, whilst still remaining mysterious.
Duplicates of characters keep viewers on alert, who’s who?
Although no classic, it’s indeed well worth a look for genre fans.
The balls of co-writer and director John Murlowski (auteur of largely unseen Christmas classic, Santa with Muscles, 1996) must be massive deciding to finish with an open ending…..for sequels / prequels?
★★★
Sci-Fi, Horror | USA, 2019 | 15 | Digital Download | 12th April 2021 (UK) | Blue Finch Film Releasing| Dir.John Murlowski | Joel Courtney, Andi Matichack, Calum Worthy, Katherine McNamara, Cam Gigandet
