Nerdly » ‘War of the Worlds: Annihilation’ VOD Review

26th Apr2023

‘War of the Worlds: Annihilation’ VOD Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: William Baldwin, Arie Thompson, Michael Marce, Kennedy Porter, Noel G, Rashod Freelove, Emree Franklin | Written by Conor Dowling | Directed by Maximilian Elfeldt

Originally released in the US at the end of December 2021, with no fanfare, publicity, or (at the time) even an IMDB page, War of the Worlds: Annihilation is the latest film made by The Asylum exclusively for US streaming service Tubi and now making its UK debut via 101 Films. Like their first Tubi original film, Swim, I’ve found their films to be hit or miss, usually miss and the way this was originally dumped quietly in the middle of the holiday season didn’t do anything to make me hopeful about what I was about to watch.

A massive group of meteorites, which for some reason the characters keep calling asteroids, fall from the sky all over the globe releasing a strange toxic smoke. The military, led by General Skuller (William Baldwin; Minutes to Midnight, Backdraft) assumes it’s an alien attack and is looking for a fight. Cyber ops specialist Ashlaya Wellish (Arie Thompson; Doctor Death, 4 Horsemen: Apocalypse) however sees several flaws in that theory but is, of course, ignored.

Meanwhile, her husband Jutta (Michael Marcel; Atlantic Rim: Resurrection, Alien Convergence) is being sent out on patrol and their son Lucas (Kennedy Porter) is locked down at school, trying to make the building safe from whatever this substance is.

Writer Conor Dowling and director Maximilian Elfeldt (Dracula: The Original Living Vampire, Apocalypse of Ice) establish War of the Worlds: Annihilation’s basic scenario and then throw everything they can think of at us. Giant tentacles, robots and looters all quickly come into play. Throw in a prepper named Tiago (Noel G; 7 Deadly Sins, Dragged Across Concrete) and Patlin (Rashod Freelove; Women of Heart Baptist Church) a doctor who barely survived the attack on his hospital and you have plenty of activity even if it only loosely holds together as a plot.

Unlike most of The Asylum’s films, War of the Worlds: Annihilation has a long running time, an hour and fifty-three minutes to be precise. This means that since it won’t have the budget to be a non-stop effects show, it needs all the plot it can get to stay interesting. What we get is a series of encounters that leave our main characters alive while everyone they meet gets killed. Eventually, Ashlaya and company end up back with Skuller and what’s left of his command while Patlin rescues a female alien named Gwen (Emree Franklin; Last Seen in Idaho) which ends up taking the plot in a direction that resembles Independence Day crossed with Beyond Skyline and the Occupation films.

As I mentioned, we don’t get many of them, but the effects that we do get in War of the Worlds: Annihilation are surprisingly good for an Asylum film. The CGI for the various alien craft and giant mecha-like robots is for the most part convincing. The things that don’t work, such as fire and explosions, are kept to a minimum. The same could be said for the plot I suppose, it’s patchy and derivative, but it sticks to what works. It also stays serious and avoids the winks and nods that turn up in other Asylum films like Meteor Moon and The Devil’s Triangle.

While a bit long, War of the Worlds: Annihilation is an enjoyable film. I’m at a loss as to why it was unceremoniously dumped like it was back in 2021. I didn’t see any press announcements, they didn’t even cut a trailer – much like the film’s CURRENT planned UK release! But if you can see it, give it a watch, it’s certainly a worthwhile alternative.