15 YEARS AGO, FIVE MEN WERE ABDUCTED BY ALIENS. ONLY FOUR RETURNED. NOW THESE SAME FOUR MEN HAVE MANAGED TO CAPTURE ONE OF THE CREATURES THAT KILLED THEIR FRIEND & RUINED THEIR LIVES. IT'S TIME FOR PAYBACK, BUT PAYBACK... more » SWINGS BOTH WAYS.« less
Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL Reviewed on 8/15/2024...
This was actually a very good movie, the graphics were extraordinarily well done. I can imagine this actually happening.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Raymond D. (Draco) from LEBANON, OR Reviewed on 12/4/2013...
This a "B" rated movie, but was well done. I particularly enjoyed the fact the alien is sadistic homicidal maniac type character with psionic abilities. Their are other treats in the movie, but I don't want to give it all away. I enjoyed and own it.
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Nina D. (blackrainbow79) from CINCINNATI, OH Reviewed on 2/2/2013...
With this movie I was seriously shocked and surprised with the way that it ended. Seriously the whole movie it seemed to be leaning one direction and then BAMB! It completely started going in another direction. For myself, the last 30-40 minutes are the best. Plus again, it's not quite what you expect at times. This director did a good job with this film. I definitely enjoyed it.
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Don K. from BEAVERTON, OR Reviewed on 6/17/2012...
Sorry, but I really HAVE to give this "film" two thumbs down.
Serviceable acting, but terrible direction and very weak plot. Talk about low budget...almost the entire movie is shot in some guy's garage. Repetitive doesn't begin to describe it. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking, "haven't we seen this scene already, like five times?" For example, there are a bunch of scenes where the same actors in the same setting are yelling at each other, "I'm gonna do this!", "No, don't do that!", "I'm gonna do this!", "No, don't do that!", they could have just copied and pasted the scene and saved some more money.
And the gore? Eh. Not impressed.
And the alien? Soooooooo not impressed. Another reviewer described it as "an actor in a rubber suit." My impression exactly.
Pass on this one.
3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Steven H. (sehamilton) from BIRMINGHAM, AL Reviewed on 11/4/2010...
Nothing to recommend here. Low-budget flick with guy in a cheap, rubber alien suit attacking several people. Enough disgusting gore to satisfy anyone looking for it. Acting is serviceable, except for the over-the-top redneck. Very little background presented until about two-thirds of the way through the film, leaving viewer guessing why everything is happening. This is definitely not another Blair Witch Project, which was a fantastic film. Decent way to waste some time, but don't think it's worth re-visiting.
3 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Deidra C. (Deidra670) from GARRETT, KY Reviewed on 10/12/2010...
Let's just cut the crap. ALTERED is nothing short of amazing! And the fact that it came from one of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT creators, well that just means TBWP wasn't a one time fluke. The premise of ALTERED is a group of friends who were abducted ten years ago are trolling the badlands for one of the aliens that kidnapped them. These are not the E.T., warm and fuzzy aliens. No, these are bad, real bad. About as bad as it can get. ALTERED hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the mindnumbing conclusion. I can't understand why this didn't make a mint at the box office. I hope it receives the acclaim it deserves on DVD.
So stop listening to me, folks!! Run, don't walk and watch ALTERED. I'll never look at those crazy stories in the tabloids the same way again.
And watch out for those killer mental death rays. They're a bitch.
3 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.
Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL Reviewed on 4/9/2010...
A low budget film that delivers. Entertaining and creepy. During the 90s there was a film called Fire In The Sky that dealt with an alien abduction. Altered picks up where that film left off (Altered has nothing whatsoever to do with that movie) and shows the emotional damage such an event would have on the people involved.
2 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Ignore Negative Reviews, Movie is Great!
M. Randall | Allen Park, MI | 12/20/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The general public (sadly) enjoys only horror movies that deliver tons of action and a incredibly easy story to follow. Luckily for some of us, once in awhile there is a director that dares to challenge us and make us figure out things for ourselves. Altered is such a movie. Aside from the little paragraph on the back of the DVD, we are forced to put together the pieces of why these men are trying to catch this creature and why they need to keep it alive. Blair Witch fans will be expecting this to be a similar movie, but its quite the opposite. Without giving away too many spoilers, we get to see the creature this time around... a lot. Definitley watch this one at night time alone in a dark room for full effect. Haxan delivers once again!"
Great sci-fi thriller!
Kevin Stanton | Pittsburgh | 12/31/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie brings to the screen what a lot of 'thrillers' have lacked as of late. Tension, suspense, fear, dread... it's all here.
Granted the female actor could have been more in the movie than not, but aside from that it's a great movie.
It brings you in right away and keeps you with the characters. You get to know them and the story that brings them together. Good versus evil.... us versus them. It plays the plot out thoughtfully with the balance shifting many times throughout the film.
The struggles follow logically as control shifts back and forth. The battle escalates til the end. Not giving the ending away here, but it's left open for a follow up. Which I do believe I would like to see.
This is the old fashioned alien... evil... powerful.
Definitely a dark night/popcorn kind of movie with a few jump out scenes.
You won't be sorry you watched this one."
Maybe Eduardo Sanchez has a future in horror!
S. Marzioli | USA | 01/31/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Picked this dvd up on a whim. I personally hadn't heard anything about it, but I saw it was directed by one of the guys who co-wrote and co-directed (whatever that means) The Blair Witch Project. That's not great, but it was something to go on. In the very least it promised that the storyline might be innovative.
I thought Altered was really good! It's a pretty simple plot: three hicks, who have been hunting aliens for seven years, finally catch one and take it to their friend's house. The friend, Wyatt, has had contact with the aliens before, having been abducted nearly fifteen years ago. Most of the hijinks involves these four guys Wyatt's girlfriend and the abducted alien. The story is sort of derivative, combining elements from Night of the Living Dead, the original Alien and maybe a dash of Signs. But this managed to take those pieces and still make a highly suspenseful film!
The characters were fleshed out just enough where you cared what happened to them. Honestly Adam Kaufman's Wyatt stole the show. The man has charisma. As for the rest, in this day and age where every horror character is a sassy b*tch, it was nice to see dialog that was restrained and functional. They still managed to sneak a few jokes in, but they were so subtle and/or situational that it worked pretty well. The only one who comes across as an amateur is the girlfriend. I've seen oak trees that were less wooden than her delivery. Still, considering this was a nobody, no publicity, nothing, straight to video indie flick I'm surprised at how good she was in comparison to other similar projects.
The special effects were pretty good. Everything was hand made special effects, so you don't have any of that fakey CGI smeared around. Movies ten times the budget haven't learned that lesson yet. The character design for the alien was pretty good. It sported an animatronic face and probably a small, athletic bloke in a rubber suit with the result being some of the best monster realism since Aliens. The best part was the disembowel scene; realistic without being disgusting, a chuckling that's-gotta-hurt moment if I ever saw one. Really, this was a pleasant surprise, given where the sequel to the Blair Witch went. Maybe Eduardo Sanchez has a future in horror after all!"
Entertaining alien horror
Madelyn Pryor | Mesa, AZ United States | 01/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When trying to describe Altered to my friend, I said "It's like someone took Alien, Signs, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and a bad Jeff Foxworthy comedy sketch and put them all into a blender". That gives a fairly accurate picture of the movie.
Plot: It follows the fate of four friends who are haunted by a night years ago when one of their friends died, killed by a mysterious creature. At the time, they were little more than boys, but now that they're men, they're out to exact their pound of flesh from the monster. Yet, things are more complicated than they appear initially, and soon it is evident some creatures are better left undisturbed.
Positives: The monster itself is artfully designed to be rather horrific. A cross being HR Geiger's alien and a classic X-Files alien, it is interesting to look at. Adam Kaufman shows he's all grown up after his Buffy the Vampire Slayer appearances in season 4. His portrayal of the tortured and torn Wyatt is the biggest plus to the entire movie. Also, the ending was well done and entertaining. The special effects for the horrible fates of some of the cast are well executed, they made me a little nauseous (I shouldn't be happy about that, but I am)
Negatives: Some of the plot is trite- going in you know a lot of the cast won't make it to see the end, and about a half hour in, you have a good idea how it will end.
Still, with those few negatives and many positives, I recommend this dark sci-fi horror movie. It is fun and fast paced- a gory, chilling way to spend an evening.