There’s a remarkable story behind this one.
It’s writer/director Simon Cox wrote the script back in 1993 and spent years trying to get it produced. He even tried to shoot it as a super-low budget DIY film before he finally got his funding.
In fact, his DIY efforts were so good that the scenes he shot of crowds of unpaid extras filling the streets of London ended up in the final film.
The story has a classic British feel to it, as if it were an episode of Dr. Who — or perhaps Blake’s Seven (or, considering what happened in the Who-niverse after he started this project, Torchwood).
The world is in turmoil.
War and terrorism have shaken the major powers — and then, all around the world, people start having visions of a terrible disaster.
That’s when the alien invasion starts.
A psychologist, Thomas Dunn, and several of his patients are among the first blasted by the aliens. Only they find themselves aboard the alien ship.
Which is when things start getting interesting.
Now with a low budget, you know the effects aren’t going to be up to the Hollywood standard. Instead it looks a lot more like what you might see on TV — perhaps on the current Dr. Who revival.
It’s mostly CGI, in other words.
But there’s a strong sense of design at work, and the big alien ships aren’t at all what you’d expect. They have a very organic feel to them, with very little that looks like our idea of a spaceship.
Which, you have to admit, is pretty cool.
I liked this one. It’s not a great film, but it’s the sort of solid, character-based science fiction we used to expect from British filmmakers and TV shows.
I suppose some viewers might find the sequence of events which follows the attack on the psychiatic institute to be confusing. But then, they probably aren’t the people who are hoping to find a story-heavy British film with a strong emphasis on character.
Now I will note that, as in Alien Outbreak someone here seriously needed better P.R.
But then, there’s would have been much of a story.
While it would have been better under it’s original title, “The Kaleidoscope Man,” there is no question that this film is an amazing accomplishment, made by a man who fought his way to the end of a very difficult project, despite countless obstacles.
And, what’s more, it actually is reasonably entertaining, with an interesting plot and yet another variation on the classic and much used alien invasion plot.
If nothing else, it should ease your Doctor Who cravings.
It’s not like you’re going to get the real thing anytime soon…
rivets on the poster 
Thanks for the great review Mark, deloghted you enjoyed my movie.
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Thanks for your kind words — and thanks for sticking with this one till the end!
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