Ah, Area 51, the place that gives conspiracy theorists a boner. “They hiding aliens and UFO’s in there!” is the major claim many of them make. Whether or not it’s true, Area 51 has become something of legend and a pop culture phenomenon. It was only a matter of time before someone made a found footage film about it, and who better than Oren Peli, the guy who brought us Paranormal Activity back in 2009? As far as found footage films go, it’s not bad, but it’s not anything great either. It’s average, if not formulaic.
The film follows a group of friends who break into Area 51 and after one of them was supposedly abducted by extraterrestrials three months prior. They record their adventure via camcorder.
It follows the basic found footage structure with the 1st act devoted to character development and interviews that give exposition, the 2nd act where they slowly make their way into Area 51, and the third act where they discover the truth and suffer dire consequences. It’s all fun to watch, but is predictable. We know what’s going to happen because of the by the numbers approach the film takes. To the film’s credit, it does have a good share of tense moments, especially in the third act. It also takes a minimalist route of not showing you much, which is okay, but disappointing if you’re expecting something big.
Overall, it’s an average found footage film that could’ve been better given the premise. The troubled production and re-shoots make you wonder if we could’ve gotten something different.
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