Rented a sci-fi action flick called Occupation… which is in the same wheelhouse as Red Dawn… only with ALIENS instead of Russians or North Koreans. It’s also set in Australia so it has a little of that Tomorrow, When the War Began vibe. All of these are better movies (except maybe the Red Dawn remake).
Occupation is set in a small backwater Australian town. The aliens launch a surprise attack on their weekly rugby match, sending everyone fleeing. A lucky few escape and set up a resistance while the surviving townsfolk are rounded up and put in pens. Eventually they meet up with the remnants of the military who explain what’s going on in the rest of the world. If you are a fan of Red Dawn, this sounds very familiar to you.
This is clearly a low budget film that they are trying so very hard to make work. But it has really choppy editing, hokey action scenes they certainly think are cool, and a production that is too small for what it’s trying to do. It just feels and looks cheap. That isn’t a crime; low budget movies can be made well when they know their limits. And certainly a better director could have kept the pacing snappier. This one tries too hard and faceplants.
There are a few decent points in the flick so I can’t say it’s completely without merit. I just can’t think who I’d recommend it to. I’d say skip and check out Tomorrow, When the War Began if you want a little Australian invasion fun… or watch Red Dawn again or, if you want your sci-fi mixed in, the pretty decent tv show Falling Skies.
Score: 68