"UFO: It Is Here" or "UFO - Es ist hier" is a German 80-minute movie that premiered in October 2016, so this one is still really new and fresh. It was written and directed by German filmmaker Daniele Grieco and it is not the first film I have seen from him. The good news is that it's better than the last work I have seen from him, but the bad news is that this is only because that one was really bad and not because this one here is any good. For another work, Grieco got Liv Lisa Fries, a relatively successful young German actress and for this one here he got Laura Berlin, also known to German film buffs perhaps. The title is already a giveaway what the movie is about. It is about a supernatural threat. A group of 20somethings is at a zoo making a documentary and they witness something that seems like a meteor, so they go to find out what it was exactly and what they find is certainly not what they hoped for.
There is a touch of Blair Witch Project here as the danger is relatively unseen, but always present apparently. Well.. it is also heard though, kinda sounds like the creatures from "District 9". Anyway, BWP is one of my all-time favorites and this film here is about everything that can go wrong while making such a movie that cost it its quality so much. In these films, it always matters much how they explain the unrealistic moments. Why there is no police? Why the characters do not return to civilization as quickly as they can, but decide to sleep in the woods. Even after one of them disappears / gets killed. Why their mobile phones aren't working? Et cetera. So even if these films are supernatural horror movies with creatures that have nothing to do with realism, realism is still an important subject in this movie. But of course, other components matter as well, like the overall writing and the performances. And one very important aspect is the presentation of characters. Especially if there are more than just two or three, it is crucial that you find out defining characteristics of them not just in order to feel and care for the characters, but also in order to understand and memorize as quickly as possible who is who because that's a vital aspect if they keep disappearing one by one as the film goes one the way they usually do, also in this one here of course.
Overall, these particular areas have not really been elaborated on convincingly in here. I would not really blame any of the actors as they can only do as much as the script lets them, but admittedly they also do not really elevate the mediocre material. In terms of the camera work, there are okay moments like the scene at the very end with the camera under the bed, but it's also one of very few memorable moments. As a whole, I guess you really need to love this genre a lot in order to appreciate this film and you still shouldn't be fed up with everything that has a similar plot and story development and even then you may end up being disappointed with the overall quality as I myself do not really see a single great aspect from these slightly over 80 minutes. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.
There is a touch of Blair Witch Project here as the danger is relatively unseen, but always present apparently. Well.. it is also heard though, kinda sounds like the creatures from "District 9". Anyway, BWP is one of my all-time favorites and this film here is about everything that can go wrong while making such a movie that cost it its quality so much. In these films, it always matters much how they explain the unrealistic moments. Why there is no police? Why the characters do not return to civilization as quickly as they can, but decide to sleep in the woods. Even after one of them disappears / gets killed. Why their mobile phones aren't working? Et cetera. So even if these films are supernatural horror movies with creatures that have nothing to do with realism, realism is still an important subject in this movie. But of course, other components matter as well, like the overall writing and the performances. And one very important aspect is the presentation of characters. Especially if there are more than just two or three, it is crucial that you find out defining characteristics of them not just in order to feel and care for the characters, but also in order to understand and memorize as quickly as possible who is who because that's a vital aspect if they keep disappearing one by one as the film goes one the way they usually do, also in this one here of course.
Overall, these particular areas have not really been elaborated on convincingly in here. I would not really blame any of the actors as they can only do as much as the script lets them, but admittedly they also do not really elevate the mediocre material. In terms of the camera work, there are okay moments like the scene at the very end with the camera under the bed, but it's also one of very few memorable moments. As a whole, I guess you really need to love this genre a lot in order to appreciate this film and you still shouldn't be fed up with everything that has a similar plot and story development and even then you may end up being disappointed with the overall quality as I myself do not really see a single great aspect from these slightly over 80 minutes. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.