Not at that time in the wrong place. From this low-budget thriller could get quite a tolerable movie, the good almost all the elements are needed for this: gloomy locations, a good cast, a good soundtrack and camera work. But it all went wrong almost immediately.
Traditionally, horror begins with the scene when villains deal with another innocent victim in some sophisticated way. There is this in the "Invaders", only the audience still do not understand anything: who killed, whom and for what. Well, they killed and fuck with them.
Then two other couples come to the same house in the desert to have a fun weekend. True, they did not get along with fun: neither coke, nor pot, nor strong alcohol help. Still, the guys have boring conversations, dull dancing and lethargic sex by the pool. I want to yawn.
With the appearance of a clumsy nameless aunt performed by Fayruza Balk, the action is slightly animated. There is distrust, suspense, intrigue and growing passion. With the advent of cops, anxiety only grows and, it would seem, this is the culmination! If the writer wanted to, and the director could, at this point the movie could turn into a good chamber thriller about how one awkward action can change the fate of several people at once. For this there are all the components: committed by negligence crime, something suspicious cops and a huge house in which you can hide a lot.
But it’s too difficult and tedious to write a good script, play out emotions and try to make the most of a modest budget. Screen time is only 20 minutes, and the desire of the team of filmmakers was not initially. Therefore, the film slides down to a banal slasher from the 1980s-1990s, where there will be very evil villains with not the most understandable motivation, a lot of screaming and fake blood. At least she'll be fine. And there is one good battle scene too, but no more.
But no matter what happens on the screen, the characters - neither "good" nor "bad" - do not empathize at all. Why do you do that when no one is trying to do anything? They either ramble memorized phrases from the script, or frankly overplay, trying to portray a nervous breakdown. They are not that Stanislavsky, even Sarik Andreasyan will not believe. Either the guys were not paid a fee, or the director is a supporter of Trump, or the coke clean was not brought to the set - in any case, nobody tries in the frame.
But the operator, lighting director and composer is worth commending. Maybe the entire budget was spent on visual and sound? I willingly believe this, because these components are not to blame. Only this is too little for “Invaders” could be called at least a tolerable film.
3 out of 10