Alien Outbreak remastered and re-released in the US available on Amazon. Tubi and itunes

Sergeant Zoe Norris (Katherine Drake) has just been relocated to a small rural town far from her hometown. She’s starting up what should be another boring day on the job with her partner, Patrick (Ritchie Crane). Like anyone moving to a small town, she’s expecting a boring day on the police force. Soon, though, Zoe begins to see bizarre events unfold before her eyes. While it seems there’s a bizarre illness going around, what starts as a pandemic turns out to reveal itself as a rash of suicides. Whatever is going on, people are getting sick and then killing themselves. Zoe sees a devastating six suicides in one day.

Soon, though, Zoe and Patrick discover a twist in this already insane story. Alien machines are laying waste to the quickly quarantining and dwindling population. Suddenly their normal day on the force has become a war against huge otherworldly machines. Teaming up with locals, and hunkering down to stay safe, Zoe and Patrick begin to unravel an unimaginable truth to an already unimaginable world.

Writer/Director Neil Rowe makes a splash with ALIEN OUTBREAK. With only a few films under his belt, teamed up with wife Amanda, the visceral impact of ALIEN OUTBREAK blows away any and all expectations. No big names are on the screen, but the B-movie horror power punch of production company High Octane Pictures is potent. Incredible creature effects and digital effects astound. The reveal of the alien creatures is undoubtedly one of the best creature design reveals I’ve ever seen, even in bigger budget, bigger name films. Truly heartstopping and beautiful work, far beyond the scope of a “B-Movie”.

ALIEN OUTBREAK also has one of the most satisfying final twists of recent memory. I know I’ve mentioned in other reviews that I usually catch a twist miles before we hit it. I never saw the ending of ALIEN OUTBREAK coming. It’s not easy for scripts to convey such a huge plot twist  without telegraphing things from the beginning of the film. Worse, in an almost unforgivable offense, many films choose to recap a highlight reel of all of the moments you could have been clued in to the twist. Thankfully ALIEN OUTBREAK didn’t fall prey to this trap, and that made for a truly satisfying outcome.

There are a handful of flaws in ALIEN OUTBREAK that unfortunately distract from what a good movie this could be. Cheap costuming and set decoration, particularly some wrinkled/peeling Police decals on our lead’s vests, cheapen the overall look of what is otherwise a beautiful film. In a classic mistake of female leads written and directed by men, Sgt. Zoe never pulls her hair back or into any kind of professional and utilitarian style after the first act of the film. I don’t know about you, but all the women I know would get their hair out of their face in the apocalypse. It’s funny how quickly these small things can detract from an overall wonderful film. It’s disappointing and distracting, and can drive the overall production value down so fast.

ALIEN OUTBREAK hits close to home in our current climate, and does so with style and panache. There are homages to films like Alien and the Resident Evil series, both in the story and in the overall film style, which bring a smile to the face of any classic or modern horror fan. As always it’s a treat to see a strong female lead, and Katherine Drake has charm and beauty in spades, along with her capable strength. ALIEN OUTBREAK is bound for success in streaming and home video sales, without a doubt, and I hope it makes its way into the lexicon of B-movie horror.

7/10 stars