Atomic Brain Invasion

Director - Richard Griffin (Dr. Frankenstein's Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead)
Starring - David Lavallee Jr. (Nun of That), Sarah Nicklin (The Witching Hour), and Michael Reed (The Disco Exorcist)
Release Date - 2010
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Sci-Fi
Tagline - "The Dream of the Atom Unleashes A Nightmare from Outer Space!"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

      Once again I am shocked that all these amazing low budget affairs are being produced and released with very few people discussing them or even sharing them.  This is another one of those flicks that I have not heard anyone mention and with all the horror and movie related sites I visit that is quite a shame.  Anyway, one day I was checking out some stuff on amazon.com and this film was in the recommended for you section.  I started to by pass it but I could not resist.  The cover art (shown above) was just too amazing to pass up.  I ordered the DVD and put it on my shelf to wait patiently until I was ready.  That, however, took some time.
     The film follows a small town filled with geeky teens, bullies, a military base disguised as a bicycle repair shop, and an alien enthusiast as they are thrown for a loop when a capsule from outer space crashes to Earth.  The canister contains a slime that, when in contact, allows the brains to explode from the skull and run a muck all over town.  What do the alien brains want you ask?  Well they want the king of rock n' roll, Elvis Aaron Presley.  The atomic brains will stop at nothing to get their hands on him, however, they are not the only extraterrestrials that want a piece of the king.  A set of humanoid aliens are also on Earth to see the Elvis concert that just happens to be taking place in town.  The teens and aliens have to partner up with the military who has been in contact in aliens for years.  They are actually sitting on an alien bomb that they will have to detonate in order to save the day...but can they?
     I absolutely love when a director makes a film and does not take himself seriously.  He sets out to make an enjoyable film and have fun doing it.  When the director has fun then it shows tremendously on the final product.  That is what happened here.  The director took everything fun and campy in 50s and 60s cinema and compiled it all into one fun film.  The acting in this one is hit and miss.  A majority of the cast did an amazing job and make the film easy to follow.  Unfortunately, the acting is not consistent.  A select few cast members lacked the experience or talent and made some of the scenes awkward to watch.  The story is a culmination of many sci-fi and horror classics from the 50s and 60s.  Though it is not original it is very well written and offers up a lot of entertainment.  Finally, the film is filled with great special effects with a majority being practical effects.  To be honest, I was a little shocked by how great the special effects actually are.  We do get some CGI and it is rather poor but it does not take away from the film at all.  Overall, this is a fun romp into 50s and 60s horror and sci-fi films that will leave you laughing.  I highly recommend this fun little film.