Fantasia 2014: Ejecta Review

Remember those alien-themed movies from the ‘70s and ‘80s? Ok, well maybe those from Steven Spielberg, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. Or maybe Nick Castle’s The Last Starfighter or Joe Dante’s Explorers. All of those made you feel good, triggering a sense of wonder and exploration. Well, forget all that sentimental crap. Forget all of it, except for the spirit of the era.

Ejecta, written by Tony Burgess and directed by Chad Archibald and Matt Wiele, tells the story of what happens when the government gets involved, after the invasion, after the alien sighting, or after crash landing. It’s the story of interrogation and torture, of what we’ll do to our own to get at the truth, and it ain’t pretty.

Featuring a stellar performance from Julian Richings, Ejecta also tells the story of alien possession and a man’s desire to get it out. I’m assuming that the alien technology allows Julian’s William to be possessed in much the same way that a demon possesses most characters in supernatural horror.

The strength of Ejecta is in its story, which is reason enough to see it, but there are faults. First, while I personally loved the faux sincerity of Dr. Tobin (Lisa Houle), it could be argued that she overacted the part. I did have a problem with the sound effects, which at times made it impossible to hear the dialog. I’m hoping that what we saw at the Fantasia screening wasn’t the final sound cut, or that Fantasia had somehow fucked up the sound levels. I also found it odd that the government already had some “found footage,” when they discover the person shooting it from the interrogation room.

The Verdict:

Ejecta is definitely a film you’ll want to see if you’re a diehard fan of the alien genre. If you’re not, then you might not enjoy it so much. It’s low-budget goodness and it takes the audience to places beyond where we usually finish up in typical alien films. If you want to see what happens after the government gets involved in an alien case, then you'll want to see this. If you're an alien reading this, note that we're not all so eager to tear you apart.