Area 51 (2015)
Genre: Horror / Scifi
Duration: 91 minuten
Country:
United States / United Kingdom
Directed by: Oren Peli
Stars: Suze Lanier-Bramlett, Sandra Staggs and Roy Abramsohn
IMDb score:
4,3 (15.943)
Releasedate: 15 May 2015
Area 51 plot
"They're Here."
Three young conspiracy theorists try to uncover the mysteries surrounding Area 51, the secret government location that is rumored to have met with aliens. What they find at this facility reveals horrifying and unimaginable secrets.
Actors and actresses
Frank Novak
Reid
Darrin
Ben
Jelena
Employee
Employee Daughter
Jennefer Ludwigsen
Jim Nelson
Glenn Campbell
Reviews & comments
SamDekker
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- 25 messages
- 25 votes
I have often seen Area 51 on Netflix, but have always avoided it due to its low score on IMDB. Gave it a chance today. It is a nice suspense film with a number of 'nice' scare moments and a little bit of creepiness here and there - the handheld camera work certainly contributes to this. I think the low rating and negative reviews have to do with the fact that people had wrong expectations of it (including it is not horror) and/or did not find the ending satisfying. Of course there could have been more in it, but for suspense/science fiction fans with sympathy for the found footage genre, this film is well worth seeing.
Below is my own (con)plot theory for viewers who do appreciate this film (big spoiler alert!)
Reid's urge to want to visit Area 51 was probably not entirely a coincidence. At the party at the beginning of the film he was suddenly absent and his friends later found him in a kind of trance in the middle of the road, a long way from the party. We don't know what happened to him (abducted?), but something triggered him to want to infiltrate Area 51. It is not unlikely that something hidden in Area 51 lured him into (unknowingly) helping him escape...
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Peli on the road.
On the road to area 51 this time, a concept that is ideal for both science fiction films and horror films. Unfortunately, Peli seems to be holding back, like most people when they cross the border of Region 51 and are chased by police. However, Peli is not behind the wheel, but behind the camera.
In any case, nothing happens during the first hour of this film. We follow some characters who plan to visit the infamous area 51 without official access. Nice idea, but we actually get to see more of the car than the inside of the building. Always a shame, because the film only gets better when they kick the doors down.
Towards the finale, the film has some interesting images that manage to transcend this subgenre. To get there, however, you have to wade through less interesting images that don't transcend the subgenre at all. The acting is mediocre and the characters are boring. Mystery doesn't really hold up if you, as a director, don't focus on it at all.
There is actually no tension, the main thing is that what you see in the finale is still fun, even if it is not the aliens. These are completely left out of the picture, with the exception of some quick shadows and glimpses. I understand that as a director you sometimes want to go in a different direction instead of always teenagers against the aliens, but then choose a path that goes over it and not under it.
Not really entertaining until the last half hour arrives, but that is far too long an introduction to keep a fairly standard project afloat. Area 51 contains too little to hold up against similar films. It's actually a shame about the budget, because Peli was able to spend more on this film than he could have spent 8 years before this film came out.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 6070 messages
- 2476 votes
Well, you have to love that Fake Found Footage, but that narrative style is very suitable for this plot, and the good editing does the rest. Nice game, both at the carefree beginning and at the exciting scenes on the grounds, and the tension about what they are going to find does the rest. It's a pity that the last scenes feel a bit like an anticlimax, yet again people being sucked into a UFO (just like in The war of the worlds and Skyline)[/ spoiler] – that is a cardinal sin for a film like this and also takes a bite out of my star rating.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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