VOD Verdict: Alien Country (2024)

Despite strong effects and obvious talent, “Alien Country” falters in its scripting, failing to deliver the charm and humor it promises.

The course of true love never did run smoothly, but it tends to run a lot smoother when you don’t have to contend with a bunch of carnivorous aliens.

Alien Country, written and directed by Boston McConnaughey (co-written by Renny Grames), pits two young lovers who must learn to work together against an Intergalactic menace. It promises action and laughs for those who come along for the ride.

A bright pre-credits sequence that harks back to the days when a simple car chase involving the police and a dirt bike was the easy order of the day gives us just the briefest of hints that this is above the low-budget, special defect offering that has become the norm in recent years. No clues are given as to who the rider is or why the police are chasing him except that something special is in his bag.

Fast forward 19 years, and we are introduced to Everly (Renny Grames), a frustrated singer stuck on a desert interstate after her latest attempt to leave town falls flat.

She’s late, and it becomes apparent just how late she is when Jimmy (KC Clyde) arrives to offer to help fix her car. It’s obvious that he is not on the same page as her and that the car is just the latest in a long line of things he has got wrong with her.

As soon as he turns up, you know that we are in that standard territory of gentle exposition (padding) that involves different threads that will undoubtedly come together by the time the end credits roll.

Meanwhile, two bikers are trying to track down the remaining UForbs and have managed to snag one on behalf of a shadowy organization.

Spooked by its effects, they bale leading to a police chase, and through blind luck, the orb falls into the hands of Jimmy, or more specifically, in the rear of his demo derby stock car. From this a picture forms that something will happen with it, it will look good at least initially and then things will go horribly wrong. The presence of one of the bikers at the demo derby later means that there will be at least two attempts to retrieve said orb as the tale progresses.

It’s not that I mean to sound like a smart-arse; it’s more like we have seen many, many films like this.

However, just before we get to them, the orb opens a portal that Jimmy and Everly enter, which allows some probably unfriendly creatures to escape. It unfolds at an unhurried pace, which involves singing at a bar, fighting at said bar, and changing Jimmy’s mind as he realizes that he has to do some serious growing up fast.

This is just as well as those two creatures that escaped are out looking for a snack. Of course, all points lead to Everly and Jimmy, but I’ll confess that I mentally checked out as the story unfolded. Everything you thought would happen did.

Both the main actors, Renny Grames and KC Clyde, did nothing for me in terms of being a believable couple and failed to make me get behind them as our last line of defense against this alien threat. The script they had was poor, and it was delivered that way; it felt perfunctory and without any substance.

Part of what drew me to ALIEN COUNTRY was its label as a comedy, and I have to say that I didn’t find any of it funny.

The Jimmy character is one of those supposed lovable goofball screw-ups who don’t or cannot take life seriously. The character suffers from flat dialogue and, as a result, comes across as annoying. There is no chemistry between them, so you don’t really care if they make it through/save the town/world, etc.

I watched a lot of films like this growing up, be it in the sci-fi or horror genres. There has always been something to keep me engaged with them, an energy that overcomes poor acting.

Sadly, Alien Country is lacking that “something special” and ultimately falls flat. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The visuals are effective, especially the early-on showing of the UFOs as speeding orbs of light. The way they have managed to make it look as good as it does shows that a lot of thought went into how they would put it all together.

Using night shots and mid to far-distance shots works in their favor, and when the practical effects show up, they are also well done.

The portal effect was presented well, and I must also say that the score does its job well and provides a suitable grandiose Sci-fi feeling to Alien Country, making it look and sound bigger than it is. You can see that there is a talent at work here; it’s just a pity that it didn’t have the same effect on the story itself.

Ultimately, Alien Country plays out generally as you might expect but without the necessary charm required in order to keep you in your seat.