Alien Outpost (2013)

Dir: Jabbar Raisani

In 2021 aliens invaded the Earth and by 2033 they have been beaten back to a few strongholds by the United Space Defense Force (USDF), a collective of the world's soldiers. Orbital satellites help defend the Earth from further intrusions by the aliens preventing reinforcements from landing. Feeling safe now after years of fighting and devastation, the world begins to forget that the fight is still ongoing in remote corners of the planet.

Two documentary film makers grab their cameras and tag along with a USDF squad being sent to Outpost 37 (the original title of the film), one of the few remaining bases still engaging the enemy, located in a DMZ between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yes, this is a mockumentary or found footage film. And yes, there are shots where it would have been impossible for the documentarians to have captured the shot. We follow the yet to be battle tested squad from their last few days at home prior to being sent into action to their arrival at Outpost 37, and through the bases' destruction. Interspersed are interviews with the squad.

Visual effects artist turned director Jabbar Raisani does a fine job of capturing the look and feel of a military base under attack both the locals and aliens, forgotten by a war weary world. That look and the squad interviews reminded me of the documentary RESTREPO (2010) about a platoon of soldiers manning an outpost in Afghanistan. The action scenes are nicely done despite the low budget being obvious at times (in a shot of an artillery bombardment of a valley filled with attacking locals it's easy to see that the enemy are propped up dummies). The scrip however really needed another pass or two. The alien invaders, nicknamed 'heavies', come across as more bumbling than menacing as they stand in the open and seemingly fire their advanced weaponry randomly. The on camera interviews with the soldiers confused the timeline of events for me as they jumble past and present.

An interesting idea not fully formed.

**1/2 out of ****