Rednecks Vs. Aliens delivers the goods in “Altered”

Eduardo Sanchez, the director of “Altered” is one half of the team that brought us “The Blair Witch Project” and….

HEY! Wait a minute! Don’t hit your ‘back’ button just yet. Just hear me out.

Yeah, yeah, I know there’s a lot of you out there who absolutely despised “Blair Witch”. That’s understandable. I, for one, really dug it, but it seems the more people I talk to about that movie, the more I feel I’m in the minority. Still, you can’t argue the film’s success. It made millions and revolutionized internet marketing. I’m not here to sway your opinion of the “Blair Witch” movies, so don’t worry. But if you’re one of the folks who didn’t like the movie I just want to say: everyone deserves a second chance. Especially Eduardo Sanchez.

His “Altered” came flying in under the radar and appeared on video store shelves with very little fanfare. Sure, the box cover boasts “From The Director Of The Blair Witch Project” and for a lot of people that meant KEEP AWAY, but for me it meant “Hey, here’s something that may be worth a look”. And after viewing it I can honestly say that I am an Eduardo Sanchez fan. In my humble opinion he’s created two fine films and I hope he continues to find work within the genre.

“Altered” begins with three rednecks walking in the woods, trying to catch an alien in a UFO hotspot. And they succeed. Yep, these hillbillies catch a bonafide ET, wrap him up, and drive off to their friend Wyatt’s home. As the plot unfolds we learn that these four fellas have a history with these aliens, and before long our redneck friends are fighting for their lives.

You see, it seems that 15 years ago five children were abducted by said aliens, subjected to some truly horrific experiments (of which one of the children did not survive), and then re-released. Now grown, the survivors have become obsessed with getting even and getting answers.

After some tense scenes with the captive alien, who is tied down to a table, our rednecks discover that the alien is capable of two things: the first is mind control (which eventually leads to the alien escaping within the compound), the other is a bigger problem. Seems the alien has sent out a distress signal to let the mothership know that he’s in trouble. And help is on the way.

I don’t want to say any more about the plot…that would just ruin the fun for you. But I will touch on the fun stuff - yep, the blood and guts. Seems the little alien is more than capable of taking care of himself and in the process of doing so does some heavy duty damage, including one disturbing scene involving intestines. It’s pretty messed up stuff. That, along with some other neat gags gives you lovers of the red stuff enough to chew on.

The acting is really good, especially from our leading man Wyatt (Adam Kaufman). He is spot on 100 percent of the time. Usually in these kind of movies involving southern characters I get ticked by the overly thick accent that actors give their characters, but here it’s ok. Mainly because, as a southern gentleman myself, I’ve known more than a few people who sound exactly like these rednecks (and kinda look like ‘em too….mullets and all). So the typical stereotypes are here, but they’re not done to death like some other genre flicks do.

As for the direction…forget the shaky-cam, handheld, amateur feel of “Blair Witch”. This one is stunningly and beautifully shot and you never get that motion-sickness feeling that you’d expect from the guy who helmed B.W. This is much better narrative-direction than Sanchez’s previous effort.

“Altered” is pure-and-simple a creature feature. A fun monster movie. It has all the right elements for a film of its type that I hope it one day finds a suitable and sizable audience. It’s been available on DVD for a while now, one of those undiscovered gems that gets overlooked for one reason or another. If you’re one of those people who hated “Blair Witch” and think that the filmmakers were hacks, I strongly suggest giving “Altered” a chance…you may just be singing a new tune.