An interesting misfire, this is a love story and a political allegory
semi-disguised as a monster movie. Thematically, it calls District 9
to mind; stylistically, it reminds you of [REC], had that film moved
outdoors. The creatures themselves are almost tangential, the
“MacGuffin” if you will that brings up everything from journalistic
ethics (he's a photographer inured to misery looking for that killer
shot which will land his picture on a magazine cover) to America's
losing effort to keep aliens (get it?) from crossing the border by
means of a gigantic, lengthy wall. The leads, two unknowns, aren't
quite good enough: while imagining a more high-powered version, I cast
Cameron Diaz and Justin Bartha. But as an attempt at a thinking
person's horror flick, it has enough going for it to keep watching,
including a lovely scene with a Central American mother who takes the
couple in on their journey to safety. This is the first feature for
director Gareth Edwards; he's someone to watch. — Jeff Schultz