Eduardo Sanchez's new film is everything it looks to be. That's kind of a problem. You get the setting, the creature and the action that you expect, but little else. The movie moves along with some solid entertainment, but there is no sense of originality and spirit that you can hold onto. Mr. Sanchez claims that "Altered" is a film he has wanted to make since high school. Why can't the audience grasp the magic and wonder that made this story so appealing to him through all these years?
Sanchez is one of two directors who banded together on the luckiest student film of all time, "The Blair Witch Project." "Blair Witch" was a movie that got by on its so-real-it's-scary thrills, despite technically home-made production values. "Altered" is a movie where the opposite must be achieved; fantastical, cinematic scares must be created through impressive production values. Good influences are drawn upon to reach such a goal, with some scenes that whiz by on doses of Speilbergian suspense and Raimi-like atmosphere. Sanchez himself is a competent director, but doesn't prove to be a strong enough force with "Altered." This is the kind of marketable, cheaply enjoyable movie you'd expect to see on a late night stretch of Sci-Fi channel, when it should be a sound directorial piece for fans of the science fiction and horror genre.
As I said earlier, "Altered" is certainly well-done. Great things are done with lighting, cinematography, production design, sound design and special effects. The creature is detailed and scary and a lot of fun scenes are done with it. The opening is absolutely terrific, with an attack of creative sound design and a sequence which plunges you right into the story with no questions asked. I liked how an elaborate back story on extraterrestrial life is pushed aside, as to prevent any distractions. The movie is about five or so people in a small house combating the complications of a kidnapped alien life. Action and suspense are on the top of the priority list, and the point is understood as is the audience. If only more films were this straightforward!
The problem with "Altered" is that it doesn't push quite far enough. It is perfectly comfortable being a mediocre, marketable sci-fi picture to turn heads on the New Release rack. "Altered"'s comfort with itself is a good thing, because the movie doesn't take itself too seriously and it delivers the goods with no distractions. It is a bad thing too, because when the fun is all over, there is little to remember or hold onto. Eduardo Sanchez may be perfectly fine making slick movies with good distribution deals. Who wouldn't? However, film fans and sci-fi/horror buffs surely should expect more from him.
Sanchez is one of two directors who banded together on the luckiest student film of all time, "The Blair Witch Project." "Blair Witch" was a movie that got by on its so-real-it's-scary thrills, despite technically home-made production values. "Altered" is a movie where the opposite must be achieved; fantastical, cinematic scares must be created through impressive production values. Good influences are drawn upon to reach such a goal, with some scenes that whiz by on doses of Speilbergian suspense and Raimi-like atmosphere. Sanchez himself is a competent director, but doesn't prove to be a strong enough force with "Altered." This is the kind of marketable, cheaply enjoyable movie you'd expect to see on a late night stretch of Sci-Fi channel, when it should be a sound directorial piece for fans of the science fiction and horror genre.
As I said earlier, "Altered" is certainly well-done. Great things are done with lighting, cinematography, production design, sound design and special effects. The creature is detailed and scary and a lot of fun scenes are done with it. The opening is absolutely terrific, with an attack of creative sound design and a sequence which plunges you right into the story with no questions asked. I liked how an elaborate back story on extraterrestrial life is pushed aside, as to prevent any distractions. The movie is about five or so people in a small house combating the complications of a kidnapped alien life. Action and suspense are on the top of the priority list, and the point is understood as is the audience. If only more films were this straightforward!
The problem with "Altered" is that it doesn't push quite far enough. It is perfectly comfortable being a mediocre, marketable sci-fi picture to turn heads on the New Release rack. "Altered"'s comfort with itself is a good thing, because the movie doesn't take itself too seriously and it delivers the goods with no distractions. It is a bad thing too, because when the fun is all over, there is little to remember or hold onto. Eduardo Sanchez may be perfectly fine making slick movies with good distribution deals. Who wouldn't? However, film fans and sci-fi/horror buffs surely should expect more from him.