"First Contact" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s First Contact by Bruce Wemple (Wendigo, Monstrous) and Uncork’d Entertainment.

Synopsis

Two estranged adult siblings, Casey (Anna Shields) and Dan (James Liddell), travel to their late scientist father’s farmhouse to make sense of his incomplete work. They soon learn that their father’s work was far more dangerous than they could ever imagine: An evil entity, buried in time and space for millions of years, has been released and has begun wreaking havoc on the locals. Now, Dan and Casey must figure out the secrets of this extra – dimensional monster before it’s too late.

The Good

Joseph: First Contact boasts some impressive practical makeup and other effects. The film’s poster gives away that creatures of some kind are involved, so I consider that revelation to not be a spoiler. With that in mind, a transformation that takes place over the course of the movie becomes increasingly effective, and the look of the ultimate baddie brings some old-school monster coolness to the proceedings. Shields and Liddell bring reliable lead performances. The dialogue about the ultimate fate of the human race is well written and avoids sounding overly heavy handed.

Mike: First Contact provides an interesting take on a plot we’ve seen numerous times before, combining a few different things to add to the whole “alien arrival” thing - in particular, the seven mile deep borehole in Russia. While the plot itself has huge implications, the fact that this is a low-budget affair means that everything is grounded and presented on a much smaller scale than you would expect and that gives the film a certain gravitas as it really feels like Dan and Casey have a serious weight on their shoulders that they need to take care of.

Wemple utilizes practical effects as much as possible which doesn’t hinder any of the storytelling and Kevin’s (Chris Cimperman) transformation into [PLOT POINT REMOVED!] is quite effective and cool looking.

The Bad

Joseph: Wemple doesn’t offer much in the originality department — tropes at play include estranged siblings at odds with each other, a scientist leaving behind recorded clues to a mystery, and so on — and at times the subplots become convoluted. I think there was a time loop scene — I’m not sure exactly, which means that, at least for this viewer, the reason for that was unclear. Some more detailed back story for the multiple family dramas might have led to more viewer investment in the main characters. Kevin could have used some more back story too, as he is basically introduced as no more than a heavy drinker who has recently proposed to his girlfriend — and that’s it, yet his character is one of the most important in the film. Although the leads and some of the supporting cast members are fine, other supporting players don’t fare quite as well.

Mike: There are a handful of misfires that are attempts to flesh the characters out but succeed in only adding a few minutes of run time thanks to no clear back story or payoff. Why is Dan estranged from his wife and son? Why have Dan and Casey avoided each for so long? Some of the answers are hinted at, but to build emotional resonance with the characters we need some reasons to do so.

As for the plot and the story itself, a lot of world building takes place which seemed a bit much for a simple, low-budget sci-fi flick. In fact, it almost feels like an attempt at starting a franchise that would revolve around Dan, Casey, and their dad’s experiments and discoveries with dark matter, aliens, and other related things. While that would and could work (as long as it didn’t feel like an X-Files ripoff) and might be considered a ‘Good’ aspect, it tends to over-complicate things here in the hour and a half runtime.

The Verdict

Joseph: I appreciate that Wemple was reaching for a grand-scale story on a limited budget, and wisely chose to focus on story rather than trying to deliver special effects ideas that wouldn’t fit that budget. He also presents a story that provides more than another mere alien invasion. Aficionados of thoughtful creature-feature science-fiction and well-made independent cinematic sci-fi fare should find First Contact to be an entertaining view.

Mike: First Contact is a decent enough small-scale sci-fi film that would work better as the pilot for a TV show. The practical effects are a welcome sight and the story, while a little denser than it needs to be, is engaging enough to keep your interest from wavering. Shields and Liddell do a good job playing believable siblings and Cimperman is effective as a regular guy who experiences an unfortunate turn of events. Despite a couple of missteps, this is certainly worth a watch to anyone who enjoys a grounded sci-fi film with an interesting take on some familiar plot lines.

First Contact, from Uncork’d Entertainment, is currently available both digitally and on DVD.

First Contact