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Altered (2006)

DVD Cover (Rogue Pictures)
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Overall Rating 56%
Overall Rating
Ranked #4,427
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Fifteen years ago, five men were abducted by aliens. Only four returned. Now, these same four men have managed to capture one of the creatures who killed their friend and ruined their lives. It's time for payback but payback swings both ways. --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: January 1, 2007
Eduardo Sánchez is a name that many of you may have forgotten, and if you have, I can't say that I blame you; after all, he only has one film under his belt, and that movie was made about eight years ago. However, that one film just so happens to be The Blair Witch Project, a movie that had horror fans split down the middle due to its unique way of doing things. Personally, I think that it was one of the better horror movies to hit theaters during the last decade, so it should go without saying that I've been eagerly awaiting the follow-up effort for quite some time. Is the man a one-trick pony, or does he truly have the talent that many have claimed? Read on.

Much like Blair Witch, this movie is one that really needs to be seen in order to fully grasp the storyline. What I mean is that it's hard to give a proper synopsis without spoiling things: on paper, Blair Witch basically boiled down "kids get lost in the woods and bad shit happens", and while that doesn't exactly sound like a thrill-packed evening, it was the execution and plot twists that made it worthwhile. The same thing happens in this film, so I'm going to keep my description short so as not to spoil things - just keep in mind that a lot of things happen and plenty of details are explained that I'm purposefully omitting from this review.

The movie doesn't take long to pick up, as the opening scene puts us in the woods with a couple of good ol' boys who are packing some big guns. They appear to be hunting something, and when one of them tells the other to "watch out for traps", we quickly get the idea that it's not an animal that they're after. We soon discover that there's an alien running around in these woods, and these men - Duke (Brad William Henke), Cody (Paul McCarthy-Boyington), and Otis (Michael C. Williams) - actually manage to capture it. They tie the little green man up, load him into their van, and head towards home... when the idea that maybe he wasn't alone and that maybe they're in some really deep shit dawns on them. They decide to keep the alien with them and hole up with Wyatt (Adam Kaufman), a former friend of theirs who just so happens to have a heavily-barricaded cabin out here in the middle of nowhere, and that's when things really get interesting.

Again, I want to stress that there's much, much more to this storyline and that the questions you probably have are answered in due time. How did a group of bumbling rednecks manage to capture an advanced (and vicious) lifeform? Why were the aliens hanging around at that particular spot, and how did these men know about their location? Again, everything is explained as the movie progresses, and much like Blair Witch, the main plot is right there in your face while the details are filled in along the way.

Now, I've mentioned Blair Witch repeatedly throughout this review, but if you're one of the people that hated that shaky-cam romp through the woods, don't hold it against this movie. The footage, the editing, and the acting are all professional here, and nobody's trying to sell you on the "fact" that this is a true story: it's a traditional horror film, and it's a damned fine one at that. Sánchez definitely shows that he has some talent behind the camera, as this storyline could have easily been nothing more than another Sci-Fi Channel movie of the week in lesser hands.

What I particularly enjoyed about this movie was the fact that it moved along at breakneck speed, but at the same time kept raising the tension level. As things move along, you start to expect this otherworldly prisoner to do something at any moment, both when it's tied up and when it gets loose (oh, c'mon - none of you expected the damned thing to be tied up throughout the entire movie). This tension level is handled via a true horror auteurs touch, and it's completely different than those shitty Hollywood films where the writers believe that more cats jumping out of cupboards and louder musical cues equals more tension. You truly start to believe that something could happen at any moment, and given the pacing that I've already mentioned, something actually does happen more often that not.

This film may not have been as innovative as Blair Witch, but it's still a damned good horror film. There are a few flaws to be found (the ending was a little sketchy, I'll admit), but overall, it's definitely worth a viewing regardless of whether or not you enjoyed his first effort. 8/10.
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