‘They’re coming’
Invasion Planet Earth is a 2019 British science-fiction film that focuses on one man’s attempt to save humanity from marauding aliens.
Directed by Simon Cox from a screenplay co-written with Simon Bovey, the movie stars Simon Haycock, Lucy Drive and Julie Hoult.
Plot:
After the death of his young daughter, Tom Dunn is a broken man. When his wife falls pregnant again, he cannot believe their luck. However, his joy is short-lived, as, on the very same day, the people of Earth become plagued with terrifying visions of the end of the world.
When a gigantic, all-consuming alien mothership appears in the sky and launches a ruthless attack on Earth’s cities, chaos and destruction follow!
Tom must find the strength and wisdom to save his wife and unborn child. However, first, he must confront a shocking truth. A truth which threatens the key to the survival of the human race. The ultimate war for Planet Earth is about to begin…
Release:
Invasion Planet Earth will be available in the UK on Digital Download from 16th December and on DVD from 30th December 2019.
In the USA, the movie arrives on VOD and Digital HD on streaming platforms and DVD on February 4th via 4Digital Media. Meanwhile, Screen Anarchy has posted a clip from the movie online (scroll down).
Reviews:
“You can see the ambition and scale of this movie. The scope of what the filmmakers were trying to achieve here on a low-budget is admirable […] I think ambition as overtaken the core basics of filmmaking here. The story, characters, dialogue and more take a backseat. It’s all a bit of a confusing mess at times.” Back to the Movies
” …Simon Cox has such a clear grasp of dramatic oomph, and puts such an original twist on the familiar, that Invasion Planet Earth, is bound to find an audience. Sure, there are rough edges, and giggly worthy moments, but the film is saved by a true desire not only to entertain, but shout out its message to the world.” Brit Flicks
“Some clarity during the middle section would have made it more immersive and more entertaining. Invasions are by their nature chaotic, and while as a viewer I envied the ISS astronauts, observing from afar, I felt like one of the Londoners down below, desperately battling mayhem and confusion.” Caution Spoilers
“Yes it does on occasion have the feel of a Sunday teatime TV series, but that’s not a criticism: H G Wells’ War of the Worlds was as homespun as you like (it was the movie adaptations that removed the home-counties-in-peril atmosphere of the book) and in some ways Cox’s film retains that domesticity, while adding in some very Arthur C. Clarkean concepts.” Dark Eyes of London
“The twist in the plot helps to overcome the restrictions to a certain extent, but the scenes featuring the emotional conflict of doctor and patient relationship keeps Invasion from being just another run of the mill Britflick.” Filmuforia
” …props are due to writer-director Simon Cox, the several dozen producers credited and cast and crew who sunk time, money and effort to make something so ludicrously ambitious with such meagre means, even if the end result is markedly uneven.” The Guardian
“Invasion Planet Earth should be applauded for its intentions and Simon Cox has bags of potential as a director but, frustratingly, it’s too often brought crashing down to Earth by a script that reaches for the stars, but fails to take-off.” The Movie Waffler
“I like and greatly admire the ambition with Invasion Planet Earth and I do dig the story and really liked the twist, the big reveal, why are these visitors here? But it takes far to long to get there and the dialogue is cliché and often sounds like a bad eighties action film.” OC Movie Reviews
Background:
The film, originally titled Kaleidoscope Man, is the brainchild of British filmmaker Simon Cox, who directed, co-wrote, edited, as well as supervised and produced the VFX. Taking inspiration from movies such as Star Wars and The War of the Worlds, Simon began working on the film in the 90s, spending six years filming around the Birmingham area.
After years of pitching to the UK film industry and private investors, a small amount of money was raised which Simon used to produce a pilot and for concept art to be created. However, it soon became apparent that funding this movie in what was then, the traditional way, was not going to happen. In 2012, Simon took the bold decision to crowdfund the film using social media.
It took two years and seven campaigns for Simon and his team to raise a significant amount of money which enabled them to shoot around a third of the movie. These included a spectacular scene in Central Birmingham where nine hundred extras turned up, in an epic, War of the World‘s style battle scene.
Simon then found some investors who financed the rest of the movie. However, this took time and once the live-action scenes were finally shot, the special effects took another two and a half years to complete. In total, the movie was in production for seven years with ten years before that in development.
Invasion Planet Earth also includes an end title song by Toyah Willcox (Jubilee, Quadrophenia) who also stars in the film. Matt Allsopp (Godzilla, Rogue One) provided original concept art for the film.
Both Munro Films and Lightbulb Film distribution were delighted to be releasing this testament to independent British filmmaking.
“Simon Cox had the vision and drive to make the kind of film he and sci-fi fans want to see. It’s the ultimate nostalgic homage and very effective,” says Munro Film’s managing director, Frank Smith. “There’s a clear fanbase, and Simon should also be applauded for engaging a community of fans for the film over the years, many of whom featured as extras in crowd scenes. They, along with sci-fi fans across the UK can now enjoy Invasion Planet Earth and we are very happy about that.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be releasing Invasion Planet Earth,” said Lightbulb’s Commercial Director, Matthew Kreuzer. “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this film for the past few months with Simon and his team. What he has created over the past 20 years is a fantastic action/sci-fi film with a nod to the sci-fi programmes we used to watch in the ’70s and ’80s (Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Space 1999 and Buck Rogers). It has such a cool retro feel about it and yet he has combined this with strong CGI elements, bringing it up to the modern-day.”
