MovieChat Forums > Alien Raiders (2008) Discussion > Inspirations of the makers

Inspirations of the makers

posted 15 years ago by MiyazakiMina
5 replies | jump to latest

Hiy there,

first time post here, but because i see that the director has posted too, i think i will try to ask. When i saw it, i really liked the movie, and i thought, that looks like a great update to The Thing with a little Faculty in it. (with more money i think it would have been much more like the Thing, am i right?)

But i wonder what the inspirations of the filmmakers really were.

Please no sarcastic or stupid answers from anybody but the makers, okay :)

Thanks

PS: I know my english is not so well, i am from Japan, but please be easy on me.

[–] Ben Rock 15 years ago

You nailed it. "The Thing" was the single biggest inspiration. I must have watched it 100 times during preproduction. It's one of my favorite movies, but I had never stopped and dissected exactly what makes it work before then. Other big inspirations were "The Hidden" and (obviously) "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers." I've seen "The Faculty," so I'm sure it was rolling around in my brain, but I wouldn't necessarily list it as one of my inspirations for the film (though it does have some similarities).

But I think I would be remiss to not mention the influence of "24" on the movie.

I have been an admirer of that show and the way it handles both action and story point reveals -- how it's not afraid to keep the audience in the dark as to what's going on for long stretches of time and how that engages the audience. Obviously, we cast Carlos Bernard (someone I immediately saw in the part when I read the script), and he brought a sense of immediacy right off of "24" just by showing up. As I look at it now, the cast is one of the things that works the best in the film (in my opinion).

I hope that answers your question.

Ben Rock

[–] MiyazakiMina 15 years ago

Hello again, i am sorry i am a little late.

I just wanted to say many thanks for your answers. I have not seen "The Hidden", but i try to catch up with a lot of horror movies, so i will see it if i can get it here.

I do not so much like the TV series "24" but the idea i think is a good one. It worked well.

It is interesting to hear how you get the ideas. Thank you once again, and i hope your next project is as good as this was :)

[–] DrHerbertWest 15 years ago

This is what makes (or made) IMDB great, to be able to interact and ask questions directly with folks involved with making a film is why I got hooked and keeps me coming back.

Thanks!!

PS I have heard good things about this movie and am about to pop it in.

stay tuned!

[–] fubared1 15 years ago

Congratulations, Mr. Rock. I am a seriously severe critic of most films made by what I call 'Hollyweed'. I think most of them are pure crap, in fact. However, I must say I was entertained by this little effort as it did not try to be anything but what it was, an entertaining little 'B' film, and it certainly deserved more attention than it got. The references to the original 'The Thing' and the much later 'Hidden' are pretty obvious, as well as the 'real time' association with '24' (one of my favorite TV shows). My one admonition would be to please don't 'go Hollyweed' as many other directors have, and subsequently become BORING directors. The prime examples in this genre being Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson. Both directors started out promising, then turned into directors without any noticeable personality. Use Mr. Welles as your example. He never made a 'hit', but he stayed true to his art and will be remembered long after many of his contemporaries have been forgotten. Now, I'm not saying you may be the next Orson Welles, but at least try to be the next John Brahm (if you know who I'm talking about).

[–] Symarip 12 years ago

Really? Peter Jackson is your ''prime example'' of a director who became boring? You think the Lord of the Rings movies are boring...?

Edit: Never mind. From your reviews alone, I can tell you simply hate everything that's popular, no matter the quality.

I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.