Review of Alien Hunter

Introduction

When a strange object from space is found buried in the desolate region of Antarctica NASA sends a former SETI cryptologist (James Spader) to try to decode the signal being emitted from the object. Unfortunately he manages to decode the signal only to find too late that it`s a warning about the contents of the object, too late they release a deadly plague on the inhabitants of the Antarctic base. Just what exactly is the source of the virus though and how can they stop the plague from wiping out human life.

Video

In terms of video quality the DVD transfer is good, in terms of actually content such as special effects then it`s a bit more random. For the most part the special effects are actually reasonably good however there is an over-reliance on ropey CGI effects on some later parts.

Audio

Fairly standard fare here again, a DD5.1 soundtrack is featured but the content of the film will never really push your sound system. Vocal quality is good and the dialogue is clear and concise throughout the film. Music is a relatively bog standard affair, most of which could be used for almost any other film.

Features

The DVD features a decent range of extras; the director`s commentary is one of the more interesting giving you an insight into the film and it manages to cover a range of aspects. The DVD also features the usual assortment of Trailers, Deleted Scene`s, Photo gallery`s, Making Of features, etc. None of which is particularly of note however except for a behind the scenes style look at location scouting, this is a lot rougher in terms of editing and visual quality than the other stuff however it is one of the more interesting looks at the film making process.

Conclusion

Watch this DVD and you`ll soon recognise many aspects from other films present. James Spader`s character is rather like James Spader`s character in "Stargate", a mysterious object from space frozen in ice ala "The Thing", threat of a deadly virus outbreak…it`s basically borrowed various bits from other films of this genre. Unfortunately it doesn`t manage to do any of these as well as the films it`s inspired by! The virus threat is handled laughably badly and misses a great opportunity to build up a tense atmosphere.

The DVD is a decent quality release but again nothing outstanding so ultimately you have a pretty average film coupled with an average release. That said it is perfectly watchable but it`s no-where near a cult classic. Worth renting rather than buying I`d tend to say.