Just Watched: Unearthed (2007)

I guess Michelle Rodriquez was unavailable

In 1979 the world of sci-fi horror changed forever with the release of Ridley Scott's Alien. 35 years later the film is still iconic, hasn't aged much and is still the standard for the sub-genre. Many films have been inspired by it and try to make their own worthwhile addition to sci-fi horror, but ultimately fail. In 2007 Unearthed tried to do this, did it succeed or is it another sci-fi horror that failed as well??

In Unearthed a transport truck crashes and blocks off the only road through a small town. It also just so happens to be a gas truck, so the only gas station around is out of fuel. So, over time a group of people builds up and are forced to spend the night at the home of the gas station owner. It turns out the truck may have been attacked by some alien or creature and it decides to attack the gas station that night.

They get attacked by....a large lobster??

Right from the opening credits it seems obvious that Unearthed is of made-for-tv quality. It's another film that maybe wouldn't be so bad if it had an original idea in there somewhere. The movie slowly plods along agonizingly slow as it tries to explain how this creature came to be while it starts picking off the stereotypical cast. We've got the wise old Native American, the Michelle Rodriquez tough chick, the blond slut, the red neck with the guns, the profane gangsta black man, and more. There's no back story to any of these paper thin characters except one absolutely unnecessary one for the tough chick that attempts to explain why she's a heavy drinker.

To make things worse Unearthed has some of the worst special effects to appear in a theatrical release in some time. These are made-for-tv effects all the way. The alien itself is an unoriginal mix of alien and predator and even has a detachable part that somewhat resembles an alien face hugger. So the combination of awful effects, terrible generic characters and dull story make this one very difficult film to watch.

How many movies have had the old, wise Native American??

Availability: Unearthed is available as a stand alone DVD, a four pack with Dark Ride, The Gravedancers, and Borderland or packaged with all 8 films from the 2007 edition of the After Dark Horrorfest. It seems those involved didn't wanna talk about the film as there are absolutely no bonus features related to it at all.

So, unless you absolutely have to see every creature sci-fi movie out there, there is absolutely no reason to sit through this garbage, as like many in the genre these days, you've seen it all far too many times before, and done much much better.

Please feel free to comment on the movie and/or blog. Any constructive criticism or positive feedback is always welcome.