‘Taking Earth’ Review
Stars: Ronan Quarmby, Brad Richards, Barbara Harrison, Marco Torlage, Richard Sorensen | Written by Grant Humphreys, Michael Harrison | Directed by Grant Humphreys
There is definitely a lot to be said about the independent movie market right now (its bloody exciting). Every now and then you will come across an absolute gem of a movie and other times you will come across an absolute turdfest. I have been pretty lucky as of late that most of my picks are falling into the former. Now, this could be my ex Video Store clerk elitist personality shining through or maybe that clover my daughter shoved in my face, along with a handful of grass, really did have four leafs.
However Taking Earth has left me wondering (dumbfounded even). I’m really not sure which bracket to put this flick in because it has all the hallmarks and some of the effects of a big budget summer blockbuster but the execution of a SyFy Sharknado style movie. I guess what I’m trying to say is that, while I give this flick more credit than I feel it deserves, I cant quite get to grips with how I felt about it.
Taking Earth is a alien invasion movie set in the beautiful land of South Africa (awesome accents and all). That’s about it really, all you need to know is that aliens have invaded earth and they are looking for one boy in particular. We spend the bulk of the movie with David and Cameron two lads brought together after the invasion but Cameron holds a dangerous secret (could he be the key to all of this?) The duo must make there way to a safe zone while avoiding their hunters.
One of the things I liked about Taking Earth was that it jumps straight in on the action. Yhe invasion has happened and the cat and mouse chase is already in progress… this I liked. However I also kind of hated this because by the end of the flick [no spoilers], it felt like they were strongly hinting at a whole extended universe – before, during and after this movie – that my guess is… we may not get to see; although the ending screams sequel. I loved the fact that the movie was reportedly made for 5 million and, to be completely fair to this first time writer/director/editor, it looks like it cost so much more. In fact I would say this movie looks better than 90% of those B-movies we all seem to love these days.
The cast are all doing there best with the dialogue they have and delivering the best of it with such passion that it kind of makes it hard for me to shit on the flick. So this time I wont, but cross me again!
For me Taking Earth is a soft recommend, mostly because it screams expanded universe, this movie needs a prequel and screams for a sequel just to scratch the surface of the story I believe they want to tell… Would I watch either of them? Probably not. The shining light is the unknown cast and the director are all invested and as a movie lover such as I am, I can not only respect them for it, but I can also love them for it. There is a definite audience for this low budget movie with great effects and aspirations, so like I say I think you should check it out… At your own risk!
Not exactly what I would call a hidden gem but Taking Earth is by no means a turdfest. The filmis available on DVD and VOD now from High Fliers.
