Alien Abduction (2014)

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Aside from the generic title and some pretty bad "Airforce" footage, this film is quite the little found footage chiller. It is hard to make the silliness of alien abduction scary, but director Matty Beckerman does an admirable job with a sometimes repetitive script.

The Morris family- Dad Peter (Peter Holden), Mom Katie (Katherine Sigismund), teen son Riley (Riley Polanski), teen daughter Jillian (Jillian Clare), and young autistic son Corey (Corey Eid)- is on a camping trip to Brown Mountain in the backwoods of North Carolina. You've heard of Brown Mountain, haven't you? Strange lights, creepy disappearances, and such? Well, the Morrises aren't concerned and head out. The entire film is edited from Corey's video camera, and according to some beginning graphics and footage, this was found by the United States Air Force's Project Blue Book- a government program to investigate UFOs. The family sees the strange lights one night, but still head deeper into the woods the next morning, coming upon a tunnel full of abandoned vehicles. Peter is attacked by a shadowy alien creature, and the rest of the family must survive in an isolated cabin after being taken in by Sean (Jeff Bowser).

While many jump cuts provide the most scares, director Beckerman seems to have actually planned out many of Corey's camera shots, meaning the shakiness is convincing without making you want to throw up. There is more than enough tributes to "The Blair Witch Project," this film stands up well against the grand daddy of all found footage horror flicks. The special effects are effective because they don't try to do too much. Some of the scenes get bogged down in familiarity. It is intimated early on that Corey's camera goes a little haywire when the aliens are around, so it's a safe bet that when it is working fine, then the scary noise the cast hears is something harmless. I also doubt the servicemen involved in the Project Blue Book events wore uniforms with "PROJECT BLUE BOOK" written on them. I'm an Air Force Brat, and that scene had me laughing. I was impressed with "Alien Abduction," and watching it in a darkened room in the middle of the night only heightened the suspense. Nicely done all around.

Stats:
(2014) 85 min. (* * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Matty Beckerman
-Written by Robert Lewis
-Cast: Peter Holden, Katherine Sigismund, Riley Polanski, Jillian Clare, Corey Eid, Jeff Bowser, Walter Phelan, Jordan Turchin, Kelley Hinman, Ben Sharples, Matty Beckerman, Rich Chambers
(Not Rated)