Synopsis
Two couples looking for something to do on the weekend decide to drive down to BeavertailLake and look for a UFO that supposedly landed there. (There’s a $100,000 reward if they findevidence.) Along the way, they squabble, meet odd characters, and get lost in the woods. Thisis another film with improvised dialogue. Improv is a tricky form to get right in films. It worksin films like Best in Show and The Blair Witch Project because a) the very forms of thosenarratives (pseud…-documentaries) make the improv appear natural (you aren’t aware that you’rewatching improvisation); and b) the final versions are cut down from countless hours of footage,and so we get the cream of the improvisation. People From Space, on the other hand, was shotin 3 ½ days, and though the actors riff off each other quite well, the result is scenes that go onforever with nothing much happening, and a story that takes too long to get where it’s going.
Audio
The sound is 2.0, and is pretty good for such a low-budget production. The music inparticular sounds great, with excellent separation. The dialogue is very clear, though there issome slight surround reverb on the voices. The sound FX aren’t bad (there is some nice left-rightseparation going on here too), though the sense of environment is sporadic, cutting in and outrather suddenly.
Video
The case boasts of a 1.85:1 ratio, but what I saw on the screen was only barely letterboxed,looking an awful lot like 1.66:1. The image is very clear and sharp, and the transfer is as goodas possible given the shot-on-video nature of the film. I should also add that, as video shoots ofthis type go, the cinematography is sometimes quite imaginative, making the film look morehandsome than you would think 3 ½ days would permit.
Special Features
The primary extra is a commentary by director/star Mark Berlin and co-star Cindy Klayman.Though they are perhaps a little too amused by their own film, the discussion is quite interesting,telling you everything you might want to know about how this little feature was made. Also onoffer is a still gallery. The menu is basic.
Closing Thoughts
Nowhere near as successful an SF parody as something like Top of the Food Chain, and theimprov just slows the whole thing down too much for me. Some pretty solid improv for all that,with some funny moments and consistent characters.
Special Features List
- Audio Commentary
- Still Gallery
