Get a faceful of 1950s sci-fi homage in this quick flick about one-eyed space monsters on the loose in a California desert town in 1957. There are a few jokes about the conventions of 1950s movies, but director R.W. Goodwin mostly plays it straight here. The ultra-simple story recalls the likes of It Came From Outer Space and Invaders From Mars, the special effects are old-fashioned, and the soundtrack screams with theremin. The only note Goodwin misses—it’s a big one, though—is that he completely ignores the political subtext that’s so important to those old films. All of the great American sci-fi movies of the 50s are either Cold War allegories or fantasies about the effects of atom bomb radiation. This isn’t about anything other than homage to the old kiddie matinees.
There’s not much to it. It’s as light as can be, a little cinematic dust mite. See Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! for something more wild and satirical (and better).