[wp-review id=”94636″]
In a small Australian country town, there is a large gathering for one of the largest football (soccer) rivalries in the area. During the game, there is an eerie grouping of lights that are hovering over the pitch. It becomes very clear that the lights are aliens and they aren’t here to simply make contact with the humans, they are here for war. The people of the area ban together and make a resistance to push back the invaders and, for the sake of the world, they need to win.
OCCUPATION is directed by Luke Sparke. He also co-wrote the movie with Felix Williamson and they are already working on the sequel. There are some familiar faces Temuera Morrison, Rhiannon Fish, and Stephany Jacobsen. Morrison is best known for his work as Jango Fett and all of the clones in the STAR WARS prequel movies.
In this movie, it begins with the focus on character building with the individuals and the people who they are most attached to. Things then play out like most alien invasion movies with the military and civilians joining forces for a common goal. The effects are mostly practical with the aliens looking very old school. That being said, it’s a nice change to see more practical effects and prosthetics rather than a mess of CGI.
Cast
Dan Ewing – Matt Simmons
Temuera Morrison – Peter Bartlett
Rhiannon Fish – Vanessa
Stephany Jacobsen – Amelia Chambers
Trystan Go – Marcus Chambers
Zachary Garred – Dennis
Felix Williamson – Seth
Izzy Stevens – Bella Bartlett
Charles Mesure – Arnold
Charlie Terrier – Jackson
Jacqueline McKenzie – Colonel Grant
Aaron Jeffery – Major Davis
VIDEO QUALITY:
The video is a 1080p AVC presentation that looks like if seeming from a digital source. There are a few moments at the start that look like they appear to be filmed on a phone but probably a digital with a fisheye to looks different. The transfer is clean and it remains that way until the invasion gets into it. The character’s faces as well as clothing goes from no dirt to grimy as things progress. The colors have an earthy tone with one of the standout colors being yellow. The faces have a lot of details and the characters look weathered as the fighting gets into it. Like the faces, the clothing goes from no dirt to grimy as things progress. The colors have an earthy tone with one of the standout colors being yellow. The faces have a lot of details and the characters look weathered. The darker scenes don’t have any issues that I could catch and look very nice.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that has a lot of effects and explosions. The human and aliens weapons have nice surround action. The huge amount of explosions hit the LFEs in the subs and the bass in the speakers in all directions. The dialogue is a clean and well prioritized with the effects as well as the music.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
There are no extras on the release.
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Digital Copy
Running Time
119 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH
Spanish
THE BOTTOM LINE:
OCCUPATION is about an average alien invasion movie and I do love the use of the practical effects. The story itself is easy to follow and pretty good. There is a lot wrapped up by the end but leaves enough for a sequel (that is in the making). The video has a nice transfer and the audio does some decent work on the home theater. There are no extras included and it’s a bit disappointing. Overall, this is a sci-fi movie to check out and see if you like it for yourself.
