BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

brando647 With all of the borderline unwatchable Z-grade garbage I've subjected myself to in recent months, I've been tormented often with the question of "Who is this movie for, anyway?" Never has that question been as booming in my mind as it was when watching EXTRA TERRESTRIAL VISITORS. I can't remember the last time a movie was so tonally disjointed. This movie came hot on the tails of E.T. from the prior year and you can tell the filmmakers were hoping to capitalize on the success of that lovable little alien. It goes without saying, but they failed miserably. I'm not entirely sure anyone involved in EXTRA TERRESTRIAL VISITORS ever actually watched E.T.; I expect one of them saw the trailer and figured they knew enough to make their own. There are two seemingly separate movies happening here (until it all "comes together" in the final act), focused on a meteorite crash in a forest that brings with it a series of alien eggs. The first thread has to do with a little boy finding one of these eggs and bringing it home to raise with his other pets. The egg hatches and the little boy names the alien Trumpy; hijinks ensue. The second thread follows one of Trumpy's more murderous siblings and the havoc it reeks on a group of poachers and, eventually, a group of musicians who've come to the woods for a camping trip. When one of their friends is injured, they find shelter with the little boy and his family in their remote cabin. These two plot threads continue almost completely independently of each other until the end for the anticlimactic conclusion.Let's start with the fact that these aliens look ridiculous. Trumpy and his kin are a bizarre mixture of Greedo (from the cantina scene in STAR WARS) and ALF. They can't speak but they're apparently born with hyper intelligence because Trumpy understands little Tommy just fine. They've also got a vague set of powers that are never really defined. Every so often Trumpy's eyes will begin to glow awkwardly and then he'll bust out with telekinesis or mental projections, and it's always accompanied with the absolute worst flatulent synth music. Trumpy displays his powers through playful means, such as parading Tommy's clothes out of his closet or projecting images of wild African animals (with which Trumpy has no reason to be familiar) into Tommy's telescope. He also has the ability to kill with his glowing eyes, as we learn when he fries one of Tommy's toy robots. Nothing ever comes of that, or any of his powers, ever again. Trumpy also seems to understand that he's an alien and can point out which star system he comes from on a map. Again, how he knows any of this is never explained. Not that it matters anyway because he arrived via meteorite in egg form so he really has no means of leaving Earth anyway. Instead he hides in Tommy's closet and narrowly avoids discovery by Tommy's mom between such classic scenes as Trumpy snorting a line of Planters peanuts with his snout or Trumpy completing a jigsaw puzzle with his mind. Oh, the fun to be had. And real quick, on the subject of Tommy, I don't know who dubbed his voice but I swear I've heard it in other crap movies and I hate it. I hate it so much.While Trumpy is engaging in non-adventures with his new friend Tommy, his evil twin is wandering around the woods in a state of bloodlust. After slaughtering his way through a team of poachers (and dragging their bodies to a ranger station solely so other characters can stumble across them when looking for help later in the film), it turns its attention to the group of musicians who've taken shelter in Tommy's home. These are some of the most unlikeable characters ever put to screen. The lead singer, Rick (Ian Sera), is a major tool and it's baffling that his backup singers and engineer are bothering to spend time with him outside the studio to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, they're all interchangeable and I have no idea who is who when bodies start to drop. The portion of the movie dealing with these idiots is obviously meant to lean more toward horror, which makes it all the more confusing when we cut away from these people dying off to revisit Trumpy and his ability to snort a bowl of milk. I'm pretty sure one of these people also manage to drop an F-bomb into the dialogue when the "tension" reaches its boiling point so, again, who is this movie for anyway? The Trumpy stuff is definitely for kids. Tommy's innocence, Trumpy's goofy nature, the stupid hijinks…these are tropes for a kids' movie. But then spliced in right alongside it is this poorly made alien horror. Neither story thread functions well enough on its own to be interesting and, smashed together, it's almost painful to sit through. I've managed to do so twice now and each time I'm too mentally checked out by the end to remember how it all concludes. Skip it.

geminiredblue Whoa man, have two words ever described a movie better?! Ironically, one of the characters in the film says just that. And is he ever right! It's gone under several names but in English, it's commonly known as either the UNEARTHLING or POD PEOPLE. Years ago, Mystery Science Theater 3000 tackled this one. And, as usual, struck comedic gold! There are three stories that are supposed to tie everything together. I say "supposed to" because it's not always clear what's going on.STORY 1: A trio of poachers sneak into a darkened forest. However, they witness something crash land. Upon investigating, they discover a cave of eggs and a very unhappy alien. STORY 2: A little boy happens upon one of the eggs and takes it back. It hatches, producing a cute cuddly alien that he annoyingly calls Trumpy. Why? Probably because the writers wanted to cash in on the "lovable Alien" theme started a year earlier by E.T. STORY 3: A rock band goes for a vacation in the woods and... *Sigh* Must I go on? Eventually all three stories collide. And the survivors must protect themselves from the rampaging alien outside. All the while, the boy does his best at hiding Trumpy indoors. Until... This pitiful French/ Spanish co-production has little to recommend it. None of the characters are interesting, the alien is obviously a man (or perhaps a midget) in a suit, the stories are dull, and the ending (though it's supposed to be cute and preachy) just feels so false and tacked on. However, if you're planning to bash it with a 10-ton anvil of wit, then invite over your friends and bash away!!!

JeanFrancoisTheriault I just finished watching The Extraterrestrial Visitors from director Juan Piquer Simon who made the great slasher flick Pieces. I got this little obscure sci-fi film from a Mill Creek Entertainment box set i just purchased, titled, Sci-Fi Invasion 50 movie pack....which by the way makes it worth every penny for b-movie film buffs on a budget..lol...sometimes the only way to get to see these movies...and cheaply. Anyways, i popped the disc into the DVD player and as soon as i saw the director's name appear on the credits, i knew i was in for a treat...I loved the horror film Pieces, one of my all time favorites! Now, Juan Piquer Simon delves into the sci-fi genre this time, and despite all the bad reviews on here, i actually enjoyed this little film. Now, it is a low budget b-movie! do not expect a Hollywood blockbuster here. If you like that kind of stuff great! it is bad, bad dubbing and laughable at times, but i really liked the beginning with the eerie atmosphere....really starts off like a horror film. it has a bad alien that kills people and a good alien...this is more like a kids movie at that point, but only briefly as it always continues with the killer alien...So, i liked the atmosphere throughout the whole film...not a bad chiller. Overall, i had a lot of fun!

MinusMikey Pod People??? Humnnnnnn. Well, if Pat and Chris from Saturday Night Live-fame had a child, it would resemble Pod People's little femme boy waif, Tommy... a bug collecting, perky little blonde he/she that spends too much time to itself... of whom finds itself more comfortable with circa 1970's shag-carpeted, peanut-snorting, karate chopping aliens, rather than his alcohol-soaked uncle (I think) and his Bonnie Frankin (One Day at a Time TV series) haired mother. And how about that rock band? Let's hear it for the "Loverboy" look of love... leg warmers, headbands, Toni-Perms and snappy dialog. "Hear the Engines Roll Now", their claim to fame sounded to me like... "Idiots in Trona" (If you knew what & where Trona is, you would completely understand). The fog scenes were really well done. I highly recommend that wonderful little movie off that had been passed on as being "written". Definitely... "Must See TV"