If any of you have seen V/H/S/2, you may remember the very final segment where a bunch of kids at a sleepover are attacked by aliens. For some, it’s hard to remember since it comes immediately after the epic ‘Safe Haven’ segment, but for others this was considered a strong entry in the anthology series. 9 years later, the original director of the segment decided to expand it into a feature length film. Enter: ‘Kids Vs. Aliens’.
In line with expanding the lore, this story revolves around a young boy named Gary who loves filming short films his friends. His hobbies array from ultra-cheap slasher films to wrestling in a giant ring they’ve made in an unused barn on the property. His older sister Samantha is always down to hangout and wrestle, but one day a group of bullies break into the wrestling barn and humiliate Gary and his friends. When the lead bully, Billy, flirts with her, she begins to think she has a shot at being part of the cool crowd.
They throw a Halloween party while their parents are out of town, and during this party an alien invasion begins. They storm the party, ripping kids’ heads off & abducting countless others. Samantha manages to hide long enough for them to flee with their bounty – which includes Gary. She decides to follow them to their secret underwater base and save them. What ensues is a long showdown with 6-foot tall aliens and arguably pre-pubescent teenagers. It really doesn’t go much further than that in terms of plot, but it ultimately doesn’t think it needs to.
Overall, the film is fun. The kids are super realistic to the point that they are almost annoying. The bullying is over-the-top and there’s an event that happens at the party (right before the invasion) that just bothers you to watch. When we get to the showdown it’s filled with buckets of goopy gross effects, entertaining violence, and decently creative twists. You’ll see people get their faces melted off, you’ll see aliens severed down the middle, and you’ll see a 9-year-old get stabbed. You’ll be happy to hear that the aliens are 100% people in costumes and most of the gore seems practical, but it’s very short and to the point. There’s some scenes that just feel like filler – including a scene where the kids are on a dock trying to perform CPR on a drowning friend, and you see aliens approaching them from the other side of the dock, but each time the camera cuts and returns they have never made it any further.
It’s a fun and silly time that really doesn’t have a whole lot to offer, but it accomplishes the very premise it promises with its title. In choosing to watch this, one thing to remember is that you absolutely can do much better, but you can also certainly do much worse.
3/5
“Kids Vs. Aliens” is now streaming on Shudder & available on Bluray/DVD.
‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra
