Occupation - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Occupation

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I’m a notorious sucker for bad movies. I don’t give a care what a movie makes at the box office, and I REALLY have a weak spot for B grade cinema (a side effect of being a horror fan, as a good majority of horror fare is B grade stuff), but there are just some movies that really aren’t redeemable. Sadly Luke Sparke’s 2018 Australian film Occupation falls into that category. Sparke (who is mostly known for make up and wardrobe design) embarks upon directing and writing a science fiction flick that is what happens when you mash up Red Dawn and Independence Day together, with the added “benefit” of a shoe string budget and a lack of proper writing (not to say that Independence Day or Red Dawn were exactly bastions of excellent writing), and even worse acting. While I tried my best to enjoy at least some of the film, the end result is a jumbled up mess that would be an embarrassment on anyone’s directing resume.

The story of Occupation is about as simple as they come. A small town in rural Australia gets invaded by a giant space ship that just starts laying waste to them in the middle of a rugby match. Ground troops descent to Earth and start killing anyone in their past. The humans run like rats to the forest where they set up a small resistance force, which attempts to push back the invading horde of unstoppable aliens. Years pass and the only thing that changes is that the humans numbers are rapidly dwindling. Even rationing food and getting alien weaponry through scavenging does them little good. With their forces out numbered and the human population on the verge of becoming extinct, a small band of freedom fighters find out that there is a chink in the alien’s armor (so to speak), and with one fell blow they could reset the Alien’s invasion to ground zero for them, turning the tide of the war.

If the description above seems overly simplistic, that is because the description fits the narrative to a T. The film plays out much like Red Dawn does, just with the alien invasion trappings of Independence Day. Characters are one dimensional, with silly dramatic moments being squandered, and the traditional “oh, they’re living beings just like us, we can find common ground!” trope smashed into our faces a dozen different times. Not to mention that Luke Sparke’s script is about as banal and bland as they come. The super duper aliens have come down to Earth because they messed up their own world, and since we aren’t really doing too hot with it, they figure they can take over.

The film tries to give itself some depth and dimensionality with interpersonal relationships, but you really don’t give a flying hoot one way or the other about the characters by the end of the film. Kiwi actor Temeura Morrison (most notably Jango Fett from the Star Wars prequel films) is probably the best actor in the bunch, with the rest being your typical B level actors who can’t seem to act their way out of a paper bag. Sadly, his solid talents are wasted by poor direction, miscasting and not enough screen time to do anything but growl at his family and kill a few aliens.




Rating:

Rated R for some language




Video:

Shot digitally (as any low budget film in the 21st century will do), the 2.39:1 framed AVC encode is probably the best part of the Blu-ray disc. It’s a fairly clean production, with the film starting out with bright daylight shots in a small Aussie town, and then shifting towards darker forest shots as the surviving humans make their homes in seclusion. Darks are rather revealing, with good shadow detail and only moderate banding in the darkest shots. Colors (especially primaries) do pop off the screen when they come into play, but mostly dark alien uniforms, or drab military fatigues show up a majority of the time, so it’s a bit more drab and dulled than usual. Facial details are quite good, with the audience able to see bits of grime, dirt and blood caked on the resistance forces, but sometimes that is not a good thing. Mostly due to the fact that the aliens are just cheap paintball uniforms with rubber masks and any revealing factor makes them look cheesier than ever.







Audio:

The single 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is almost as good as the video, and ascribes to the “good, but not great” mentality of B movies on home video. The track is a bit more front heavy than most, even with the copious action scenes, but does bring in the surrounds a bit when battles are fully underway. Dialog is mostly crisp and clean, but some of the Aussie and Kiwi accents are a bit rough for my midwestern American ears and I was forced to pop on subtitles a few time. Bass response is solid, with LFE additions being added to the battle scenes, but usually ONLY during the battles. The rest of the movie is a bit soft and laid back, with the front heavy nature of the track taking over. It’s a good track, and one that is competently done, but one that doesn’t really stretch or strain the confines of the B level budget and try to be anything more exciting.


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Extras:

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Final Score: ​

I try to find the good in every film I watch, and even relish “so bad they’re fun” movies, but Occupation just doesn’t inspire even the smallest modicum of enjoyment for most people. It tries too hard to blend Independence Day with Red Dawn on a SyFy channel budget, and the results are simply “so bad it’s awful”. The Aussie film is pretty much DOA and not even worth renting in my humble opinion. Audio and video are quite good though, but there’s a noticeable lack of extras which doesn’t help the package that much. Honestly, this is one of those rare circumstances where skipping the movie without even giving it a chance isn’t something I’d condemn. The movie is awful on soooooo many levels, and is something that would feel right at home on late night SyFy channel fare. Just Skip It.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, Stephany Jacobsen
Directed by: Luke Sparke
Written by: Luke Sparke, Felix Williamson (additional dialog)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 119 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 25th 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will skip it.