Occupation is a sci-fi action-packed movie that is based around a group of individuals fighting to survive against an alien occupation. This movie is a lot of fun, packed with plenty of explosions and drama to keep the plot interesting, yet the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, so audiences can stay engaged for the two-hour long film. Put together Red Dawn and Falling Skies and place the setting in Australia. Director Luke Sparke takes ordinary people and places them in extraordinary circumstances, forming the front line of resistance in a battle for the planet.
The adventure begins at a small town fair where individual lives with their joys, loves, and problems will converge to focus on the reality that their lives will be drastically altered by an alien invasion and their response to it. Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing) is a former rugby captain who is trying to navigate an ongoing relationship with his girlfriend Emilia (Stephany Jacobsen). Meanwhile, a family of four tries to rebuild their relationship on a family trip while the father (Temuera Morrison) looks to put his dark past behind him. These are just some of the stories of individuals and relationships that are defined or broken against the backdrop of an alien invasion.
Visually, Occupation does a decent job of putting together an invading alien force. The invader’s armor design conveys the correct balance of slightly over the top without being too hokey, and later on, when they are unmasked, the faces feed into our conception of the “little green man” narrative media have built upon over the years. The computer-generated moments such as ships are less crisp, but that is to be expected in a film with a smaller budget. However, if one does not take the plot too seriously, the computer effects seem to work well with the B-moviesque mentality.
The plot of Occupation does not take too many twists and turns. The main plot is very overt. Aliens are coming and a group of individuals is here to fight them. However, the individual stories and how it links our group of the main character together is what makes this movie work so well. There are even a few strange surprises along the way that are not expected, and yet these unique moments do not take away from the ultimate entertainment of watching sci-fi explosive goodness.
If you are into some old-fashioned human versus alien warfare with good character development and fun over the top moments, check out Occupation as it will be released to theaters and various video on demand streaming services on July 20th, 2018.
Ryan Files is an avid comic book and video game consumer, reviewer, and critic hailing from the boondocks of Illinois. He has taken his ethnographic cultural studies background and applied it to his love of geekdom. He is a huge Star Wars nerd, Castlevania
