I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie, but it had been on Joel's "to see" list for a while so we decided to give it a go! I'm usually not a huge fan of alien invasion movies, though I don't necessarily dislike them either. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this one! In the days of Hollywood remaking classics and churning out sequels right and left, it's nice to see a new story being told.
The story follows Peter (Michael Pena) his wife Alice (Lizzy Caplan) and their two daughters, one a teen, one maybe six years old. We see them living their normal life, going about their daily routines. Yet everything is not perfect, because Peter is plagued with dreams about a horrible future in which his family dies and there is nothing he can do to protect them. Eventually his nightmares start coming true, and we see the family struggle to survive a dangerous situation.
I will warn you, the first part of the movie is a bit slow. Stick with it, however, and you will be rewarded for your patience. The acting from Pena and Caplan is superb, the directing is great, and for a non blockbuster film I felt the special effects were good. The story is fascinating and I loved it - it was a very original one to me! (I'm not a sci-fi expert so there may be ones like it out there, but I haven't seen them). One annoying part was the children - they were super whiny and loud during intense parts, and I feel like real children, even at those ages, would have been able to grasp the gravity of the situation and follow direction from their parents a little better. It's a nit-picky thing, but it did irk me.
Mostly I found myself enjoying this movie far more than I expected to, it really brought out some conflicting feelings which was unexpected and kind of fun! If you like anything in the sci-fi/alien genre, or just like movies with a good story, I think you will enjoy this one.
If you watch, be sure to stop back by and let us know what you think!