‘They went for help but must fight to survive’
Invasion Earth is a 2016 British science-fiction film about a group of addicts in therapy who are threatened by an alien lifeforce.
Written and directed by James Twyman (Lead Me to the Dark), the Greenway Entertainment-Welsh Film Institute production stars Charlotte Gould, Phoebe Delikoura, Tony Fadil, Jon-Paul Gates (The Howling), Nigel Thijs and David Shaw. Prolific filmmaker Steven M. Smith (director of Dead Again; Doll Cemetery; The Haunting of Borley Rectory; The Doll Master; et al) produced.
Plot synopsis:
Famous self-help guru, Doctor Carson (David Shaw) travels to his new rural facility with eight young addicts with the aim of helping them through their troubles and integrating them back into society. Meanwhile, a cynical self-interested TV journalist joins the group to try and expose the therapy as a fraud.
Unfortunately, for them all, society is about to be dismantled as a military force, not from this world, begins a hostile take-over. Can these youngsters escape the facility and if they do, will it even make a difference?
Reviews:
“If this was a short it would be incredible. As a feature, it’s just not working for me. A wonderful ending cannot make up for what was as a whole, a rather dull and lifeless movie. Sorry guys but maybe that film title needs a changing or that cutting room needs to get chopping away.” Back to the Movies
“There’s nothing to particularly dislike about Invasion Earth, the acting standard is okay, no better or worse than that you’ll see in your average TV soap, but despite insights into the youngsters receiving therapy they still play as caricatures rather than fully-fleshed out characters. I guess for many the real issue for most will be the fact that they would be expecting Independence Day-sized thrills…” My Bloody Reviews
“This is all just a colossal misfire of a film. Given the running time, there’s no reason Invasion Earth couldn’t have cut the drama in half and gotten to the promised invasion sooner. It would still have been underwhelming, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as hard to sit through.” Voices from the Balcony
Release:
In the UK, Invasion Earth was released on DVD by 101 Films on 3rd October 2016. It was released on Amazon Prime worldwide in 2017 (it is now no longer available on Prime USA).
In the USA, Midnight Releasing released Invasion Earth On-Demand and DVD on August 4, 2020.
Cast and characters:
Charlotte Gould … Ada
Phoebe Delikoura … Vicky
Nigel Thijs … Thomas
David Shaw … Doctor Carson
Sammy Johnston … Kelly
Cameron Bell … Simon
Darren James King … Derek
Colette Hughes … Tina
Cavan Holsgrove … TBC
Jonathan Jules … Tyrone
Jon-Paul Gates … Johnny Pierceson
Tony Fadil … Robert
Steven M. Smith … Helicopter Pilot
Technical details:
106 minutes
Working title:
Into the Light
Full film free to watch online:
