Double Feature: The McPherson Tape and Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County Review

(I couldn't even find a real poster for this so enjoy the snapshot)

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Aliens rudely crash a family get-together in these found footage films.

Review: First, let me say I will refer to "The McPherson Tape" as "TMT" and "Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County" as "AA" from here on out (no, not alcoholics anonymous); I really don't feel like writing out these ridiculous titles over and over again. Second, these films have multiple alternate titles and edited versions, so I have no idea what title or variation an individual may come across when dealing with these bad boys. Anyway, you may recall back to "My Top 10 Scariest Movies of All Time" list where I mentioned "AA" as an honorary mention. You were probably thinking, "what the hell is this guy talking about?" Well, "AA" needs a bit of an explanation for why I found it to be really scary upon an initial viewing when it first aired on TV. Before Blair Bitch had become popular, and epitomized the found footage concept, there were a handful of films that existed beforehand establishing the genre; as you may have easily guessed, these are two such films.

Essentially, "TMT" is the original version of "AA," but its release was so miniscule it's no wonder hardly anyone was aware of its existence. However, almost a decade later, "AA" was made by the same director as an update of "TMT" with more money and played into perfect timing to freak me out. Around this late '90s era there was a plethora of shit like "Alien Autopsy" that were purported to be real, and "AA" exploited this newfound trend. The version I remember originally airing was displayed in such a way to lead the viewer to believe the events were real...or the possibility to be real. I distinctly remember no ending credits since that obviously would have been a dead giveaway. At the same time, the ending to the version I saw was much creepier and foreboding than the ending you typically find while scouring the internet; the two movies depict people being aggressively abducted by aliens (in case the title didn't give that away). I was very much confused and thought in terms of whether it was a hoax or real, and the thought of it being real disturbed me greatly! Suffice to say, it was the way in which the network edited and aired the film that made it much scarier than it truly was--leading the audience to believe these people were genuinely missing and that it was up to the individual to believe whether or not the events were real. I know now that it was merely a movie, but, damn it, the context can really shape things differently! To sum my experience up: an unassuming, 13 year old boy casually watches a "movie" one night alleging to be the found footage at a missing persons crime scene. Said film depicts a family realistically abducted by aliens while interjecting "experts" discussing the validity of the tape. The film then ends with an alien coming out from behind a door and closing text explaining that the family has not been seen since. Keep in mind, there were no disclaimers or warnings, and in the version I saw those bastards deliberately cut off the ending credits--oh, and I had no internet in those days!

"The McPherson Tape:" I should mention how rare this movie is--I didn't even know it existed until very recently and thankfully someone uploaded it on youtube. So, the story is that, while celebrating a little girl's birthday party, three brothers stumble upon an alien spaceship in the woods. The aliens, noticing the brothers, follow them back to their home, and the rest of the family, as they slowly torment the group. At one point you think one of the brothers kills an alien and they lock it in one of the bedrooms, but you never get a good enough look at the creature. The aliens employ various technological and, seemingly, psychic instruments as they pick off family members. In the end, the alien in the bedroom escapes and later we see the aliens come into the home as the video cuts out. Then we receive a prompt to call a number if you know the whereabouts of any of the missing people; sadly the number is an obvious fake with the infamous "555."

There are two huge things they did right when making this: fantastic improvisation in the dialogue and that natural '80s graininess works wonders. At times the acting can appear a bit fake, but, for the most part, it feels convincing considering how few cuts there are; we're talking huge intervals of dialogue before a cut (which are masked or timed well). More so, there is a natural flow to the banter between the family members that felt realistic and much appreciated. As for the look and feel, it was genuinely shot on a cheap '80s camera and that indirectly lends to its sense of realism especially to today's audience; it looks exactly like the kind of shit you'd have in your own "home movies" collection. On the other hand, while the running time is odd enough to enforce the sense of realism, it hurts, in a way, because the movie is way too short. The budget is noticeably low when dealing with the aliens themselves who look like kids in black clothes with a Halloween mask on. You'd think with a shorter running time, they'd cram as much action in as possible, but there were many boring moments where it's like, "okay, anytime now, aliens!." Finally, there are blatantly stupid blunders like photos showing the missing family members and then forgetting to include the guy holding the camera! Overall, it's cool for what it is and I commend the ingenuity in its production and originality, but not much happens, it feels cheap, and noticeable flaws hinder the aimed goal of making you think it could be real. Oh, and there's not a single scare to be had.

"Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County:" I've already gone into great detail relating the circumstances and context as to why I felt this film was scary, so let's talk about the changes compared to "TMT." The story now takes place on Thanksgiving, includes more family members, higher production value, increased focus on the scares, and the acting has less improvisation. There was definitely a greater attention to detail and emphasis on wanting the events to feel real--adding fake experts to provide various testimonials helped add a certain flair absent in "TMT." The acting is debatably the same, more or less, with a decent sense of realism occasionally cancelled out by bouts of outright shoddiness (you don't know how often I wanted to kill that stupid little girl!). The aliens look better, but this is due to a better understanding of how to distort the camera to hide flaws; although, the aliens sheer presence distorts the camera? Uh huh. There is more room for speculation toward the alien's motivation since the original was like, "how dare you see us!" This time the brothers interrupt the aliens messing with a cow and shoot at them at one point--possibly provoking the aliens to become aggressive. But fuck, if I saw an alien trying to steal a potential cheeseburger in the making, I'd go all Will Smith on them and punch them in the face saying, "welcome to Earth!"

This may be redundant, but I'll quickly break down the story since I want to address certain ways the film was edited. With the family gathered for Thanksgiving, we get a better feel for who each character is and the relationship to one another that "TMT" lacked. Furthermore, the aliens cause electrical problems which leads the brothers to investigate, thus, running into the aliens and their shady operations; I don't know if the brothers had a real reason to be in the woods in the original. The brothers are more reluctant to get back to celebrating than they were in the original which makes more sense. The aliens break into the house early on in a "Signs" manner. Right about this point is when a major deviation occurs between different edits. In every version I've watched since the original airing, the alien that comes from behind the door is at the middle of the film rather than the end. I don't like that edit, so I will stick to the original order of events for dramatic purposes. One of the brothers locks an alien in a room and then when it tries to break free they shoot it...they think it's dead as with the original. This comes back to make more sense with the original ending given that this particular alien is seen to disappear. The brothers, other than camera man, still run off to disappear permanently, but during this time the aliens screw with the family in new ways not present originally. Not everything makes sense, because there appears to be no limit to what the aliens can do. So...they can lock and unlock doors, turn on and off individual appliances as well as all electricity, send out little laser probes that make you have seizures until you die, telepathically control your mind to the point that you seem possessed, use sonic weaponry of some kind or it's more use of the telepathy, freeze you in place while wiping your memory, distort the camera's focus at their mere presence, and turn off a camera with a Jedi-like wave of the hand? Oh come on. That's a bit much for some little bitches wearing black jumpsuits and seemingly wielding only a flashlight lightsaber! Anyway, the typical edits end like the original film with the aliens coming into the home and cutting out the footage. In the ending I prefer, the camera man appears like the last one left and he goes to his room when an alien suddenly appears from behind the door and slams it shut. This imagery is fucking scary, and considering you are to assume its the alien that was shot, you know he's pissed. This makes for a more fitting ending since we see the little guy coming right at the camera as the film ends leaving you unnerved as to the fate of our dear camera man.

Overall, these are decent movies and make for an interesting watch one way or another. I like "AA" more, because it holds a special place in my heart, and I know how unexpectedly scary it could potentially be with the right editing and situation. I mean, people were freaked out when "AA" originally aired, and I was unfortunately one of those initially duped. While both have serious flaws, they more than compensate in other avenues. Both deserve extra praise for probably inspiring Blair Bitch; yes, I know these weren't the first found-footage films, but they established the model Blair Bitch would later make famous, and that goes double for "The Last Broadcast." I know these are obscure films (check out youtube if in doubt), but if you can get ahold of them, I think you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Notable Moment: In "AA" when the alien comes out from behind the door and approaches Tommy. It still kind of unnerves me and made for the superior ending.

Final Rating: TMT: 5.5/10 and AA: 6.5/10