Alien Hunter (2003)

An alien black box is found in the South Pole, where a government agency is conducting botanical experiments.

Director:

Ron Krauss

Writers:

J.S. Cardone (story), Boaz Davidson (story),

Stars:

James Spader, Janine Eser, John Lynch

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Spader	...	Julian Rome
Janine Eser	...	Dr. Kate Brecher
John Lynch	...	Dr. Michael Straub
Nikolai Binev	...	Dr. Alexi Gierach
Leslie Stefanson	...	Nyla Olson
Aimee Graham	...	Shelly Klein
Stuart Charno	...	Abell (as Stu Charno)
Carl Lewis	...	Grisham
Svetla Vasileva	...	Dacia
Anthony Crivello	...	Pilot
Kaloian Vodenicharov	...	Co-Pilot (as Kaloyan Vodenicharov)
George Stanchev	...	Airman
Rufus Dorsey	...	Navigator
Roy Dotrice	...	Dr. John Bachman
Woody Schultz	...	Sam

Storyline

In 1947, in New Mexico, a radio operator receives a signal following patterns and while investigating the occurrence, he vanishes. In the present days, the same signal is transmitted from a base in the Falkland Islands to United States of America, and a satellite captures images of a unknown object in Antartic. The cryptologist Julien Rome (James Spader) is invited to investigate the mystery in the South Pole, and he flies to a research base. While a team tries to open a weird shell probably from the outer space, Julien solves the message, indeed a distress signal ordering not to open the case.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | ice block | stabbed in the throat | airplane | agriculture | 

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Taglines:

Earth just got its final warning!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Country:

USA Bulgaria

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

19 July 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Beacon

Filming Locations:

Newhall, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nu Image Films, Millennium Films, Sandstorm Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Lynch broke the glass in the first lab door for real.

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Goofs

Some of the spoken Russian is complete gibberish.

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Connections

References E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

User Reviews

Low Paced Unoriginal Collection of Clichés

In 1947, in New Mexico, a radio operator receives a signal following patterns and while investigating the occurrence, he vanishes. In the present days, the same signal is transmitted from a base in Malvinas Island to United States of America, and a satellite captures images of a unknown object in Antartic. The cryptologist Julien Rome (James Spader) is invited to investigate the mystery in the South Pole, and he flies to a research base. While a team tries to open a weird shell probably from the outer space, Julien solves the message, indeed a distress signal ordering not to open the case. The writer of "Alien Hunter" used parts of many sci-fi movies ("The Thing", "Predator", "Alien", "Contact", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "X-Files", "Outbreak", "Alien Vs. Predator", just to list some of them), put them all in a mixer, but the result was a very disappointing low paced unoriginal collection of clichés. All the characters are non-charismatic, specially the nasty one performed by John Lynch, and James Spader does not have any chemistry with any woman. The performances are very "cold", and the actors and actresses seem to know that the movie is not good and do not show any enthusiasm. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Contato Alienígena" ("Alien Contact")