The Silencers (1996) User Reviews

The Silencers: 90's cheesefest

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 7 May 2018]

Remember pre-1997 when the Men In Black were dark mysterious shady characters who were better suited for horror movies than anything else? The days before Will Smith quipped his way through a generic sci-fi trilogy?

Well here we have said Men In Black, except these guys are the aliens and aligning with some parts of the government in scheme to bring more of their kind to earth through a portal and stuff.....

So this is the very definition of 1990's b-movie cheese. Car chases, gun fights and all the usual cliches.

Along for the ride we have another alien of a different species who teams with the secret service to take them down. Said alien is played by Dennis Christopher and that's just weird. For those unfamiliar with Christopher he's generally a weedy, sneaky, weak character and has been in movies such as the original It (1990) and Fade To Black (1980). He's a great actor but seeing him in such a role was odd and more than a little questionable.

Not great but not entirely awful The Silencers is an interesting enough take your brain out movie, probably best you take your expectations out as well.

The Good:

Old school cheese

The Bad:

Dennis Christopher in an action role is a bizzare thing

Not constructed very well

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Mysterious long blonde haired guys were a big thing in the 90's

Who knew aliens had such great hair?

[merde · 6/10 · 17 January 1999]

I have no joke, I just like saying "Your methods are crude. Effective, but crude."

Cheesy, but decent. Car chases, train chases, gunfights, explosions, people who emit mysterious cool-looking force waves from their mouths, and of course the required anti-violence, pro-environment message. As a bonus, the aliens are total hotties. If nothing else, watch it to see Dennis Christopher communing with a potted palm.

Just an action film with Jack Scalia.

[RodrigAndrisan · 4/10 · 11 October 2018]

A story with aliens who have nothing else better to do than to come banging each other here on our planet Earth. To be able to distinguish them, the good guys look like us, the others, the bad ones, have black eyes and are ugly. There's some tension in the tracking scenes, the stunts did a good job. The script is almost bulls..t.

not great, but certainly not bad!

[dex-12 · 29 April 2000]

"The Silencers" is one of the most ambitious (and enjoyable) low-budget DTVs I've ever seen. Jack Scalia and Dennis Christopher are good, and the film is highlighted by a nearly-10-minute-long chase sequence involving a fuel tanker hauling mysterious cargo, numerous military and pedestrian vehicles, and a helicopter (the fate of which you will be amazed by!) The music by Louis Febre is very good as well, and while the effects of the subway collision are clearly models, the rest of that action sequence makes up for it.

The funny thing is, however, for a film that has an anti-violence message, it sure does have a lot of violence. Comdor (Christopher) explains to Scalia's son that there are better things to do with one's life than desire to play the role of action hero, and that violence isn't always the solution, then the two infiltrate the villain's secret complex and have a huge gun battle.

Still, a rousing adventure/sci-fi flick that was good enough for me to order a copy.

THE SILENCERS: 4.5/5

Far from PM's best but watchable enough nonetheless

[HaemovoreRex · 5/10 · 6 December 2009]

Jack Scalia headlines in this somewhat low brow effort from the PM guys as a government agent who goes head to head against a Men In Black plot to bring forth unto our world, a conquering army via an inter-dimensional portal. Sounds bad eh? Well, luckily for our hero, he is aided by a friendly alien named Comdor who has been sent through the same portal in order to close it forever. Yes, it's a buddy movie at heart with Scalia as the hard as nails and down to earth 'cop' and Dennis Christopher playing the naive yet charming alien who eventually, naturally wins over his new found partners hard exterior and warms his heart etc.....(the sort of plot we've seen a zillion times before in fact).

What can I say? Sadly, this turns out to be a strictly by the numbers affair and is not helped any by some particularly groan inducing attempts at light hearted humour. It's doubly a shame as the notion of covert agencies such as the infamous MIB's provide such wonderful scope for storytelling; Alas, it was sadly mostly squandered here and cheap special effects scenes such as the actual portal itself hardly help matters any.

Having said the above, all is not entirely lost for this is after all a PM Production and if there's one thing that you can always count on from a PM flick it's plenty of crazy action scenes! Sure enough this delivers insane stunts and action aplenty from insane freeway chases to some well handled shoot outs.

For fellow PM fans it's certainly worth a peek but don't expect too much - you'll likely be somewhat underwhelmed.

Alternatively boring and silly

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 21 December 2016]

This routine alien invasion film eschews storyline and originality in favour of a non-stop stream of shoot-outs, car chases, and the like. Although there's an 18 certificate, there is little in the way of gore (or anything else for that matter) and bad computer effects are predominant. They're very colourful and pretty but not in the least bit plausible and they simply look like they've been superimposed on the screen. There is hardly any plot and the alien invasion idea was clichéd in the '50s, 40 years later it looks like it has actually regressed into simplicity instead of developing further.

The acting is all on the bland side, with the exception of the two leads. Dennis Christopher is an interesting, peace-loving alien while Scalia is the tough yet sympathetic cop who wins our hearts. The aliens all have slightly effective looking black covered eyes and are of the typical men in black variety, but more imaginative makeup could have been used.

The time tunnel is frankly pathetic and looks like it has come out of a cartoon rather than this feature film. Lowlights include the aliens speaking and being subtitled (atrocious idea) and the alien leader having long hair and looking about twenty. More like a student than an alien. However the action sequences are all competent and fairly entertaining, and the long truck chase is a showstopper (as is the hilarious cow abduction at the beginning). But what's the point of good action when there is no substantial backbone of plot to back it up? Unfortunately, it's just the one good moment of a boring, seen-it-all-before film.

Bloody Terrible

[ireallydoseedeadpeople · 1/10 · 6 May 2007]

Oh...my god. This movie is terrible, I don't know how they came up with it. I'm not sure who actually gave these people funding, but goddamn. Like seriously, they can fund this, but cancel Arrested Development?

Although, it was better than Signs, but not by much, but that's disputable.

In fact, Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever was a better movie and it was pure unadulterated garbage.

This movie isn't even good enough to sustain a cult following, that's how bad it is.

I'd rather go watch Masters of the Universe...seriously.

Low budget Sci-Fi movie that is lots of fun.

[jhpstrydom · 7/10 · 26 March 2010]

THE SILENCERS is a low budget action Sci-Fi thriller produced by the PM entertainment group and if you know their films you already know that almost every scene is a set up for either a major gunfight, a high speed chase or a lot of very big explosions, with that said THE SILENCERS delivers on everything.

The film does have a plot of course although I'm not going sum it up because the main reason to recommend this film for is the action scenes, they are thoroughly entertaining, very well staged and they don't appear random or forced.

The acting is pretty good, the best performances are given by Jack Scalia and Dennis Christopher in the lead roles and the direction by Richard Pepin is well handled.

Other films from the PM entertainment group include FIREPOWER, RIOT, RECOIL, LAND OF THE FREE, T-FORCE and HOLOGRAM MAN and this is just naming a few.

Slowly developing story and incredibly stunts

[alexfromhorn · 7/10 · 20 September 2015]

This movie developed it's story pretty slowly, like it really needs you to watch it for about 35mins so that you start to know what's really going on. But when you know what's up you will most likely enjoy it, because the story is a good combination of so many science fiction elements you probably know about very well. They made the aliens quite well and in the credits I could even spot some guy who was credited for the alien language... It's really a typical 80's flick in so many ways, but that's why I liked it. The stunts and their coordination was totally amazing. I can't remember any kind of chasing scenes like those with real people and no blue-screen. The ending is a bit less well written but it's OK. It was really a movie me and my friend could enjoy, because it had enough suspense, action, interesting ideas and funny moments ...

Action-packed, Well Scripted Entertaining Sci-fi B-movie Thriller

[lukem-52760 · 8/10 · 1 March 2023]

PM Entertainment did it again by delivering another action-packed Sci-fi Thriller starring the Awesome JACK SCALIA!!!

B movie action star Jack Scalia made an excellent Trilogy of Action Sci-fi Thriller's including: T-Force, The Silencers & Dark Breed, all three are Awesome.

I've become a Scalia fan since watching these three kick-ass films.

It's nice to see that Jack Scalia was also a producer on all three of his Sci-fi films which tells me he liked what he was making & it wasn't just an easy paycheck.

I love B movies & i love PM Entertainment's films & along with the cult classic ZERO TOLERANCE with Robert Patrick, these Jack Scalia films are up there as some of the best.

Jack Scalia is perfect as tough government agent Rafferty that gets partnered up with an Alien peace-keeper warrior sent from deep out there in the Galaxy far, far away & is here on Earth in Los Angeles to stop a terrorist group of evil Extraterrestrials. The setup is so beautifully 90's with some cheese & plenty of explosive action. There's a feel of The X-Files & Men In Black & Alien Nation with a little They Live mixed in to make an impressive piece of sci-fi action. The Silencers is better than most mega budget movies so yeah this is a real gem just like Dark Breed & T-Force.

For a low-budget movie it's fantastic what they pulled off. The movie moves at a decent pace with a few stops for human moments & back to explosive action again. I like how the MIB here are actually evil Aliens that turn up after any Close Encounters & threaten those that witnessed it, these aren't nice guys like Agents Jay & Kay.

The Good Alien peace-keeper named Comdor, is a very likable character played by Dennis Christopher who done a great job of displaying a good-hearted Alien warrior that only wants peace throughout the Galaxy. The peaceful Alien warrior & hard-ass government agent team up worked so well with a Buddy-cop feel. In T-Force Jack Scalia was partnered with a Robot & now he's partnered with an Alien, i think Jack liked that fun scenario & it worked. Our two mismatched heroes are up against a bunch of Alien terrorists that have built a gateway portal type thing from our world to there's accross the Galaxy & are planning on taking over Earth when their Army comes through. There's plenty of witty banter & fun moments scattered throughout with our two heroes & a few deeper character moments that show the script had heart as well as Action.

The film was directed by Richard Pepin again, he also made Dark Breed & T-Force with Jack Scalia & seemed to work perfectly together.

I totally enjoyed this blast of witty & fun sci-fi action.

Real UFO buffs will love this movie.

[gregorywatters-33289 · 7/10 · 4 November 2017]

On the surface, THE SILENCERS is a run-of-the-mill "aliens on Earth" movie, filled with action and yet has a lot of heart. Yes, it's low budget, and some of the special effects are cringe-worthy, but despite this, it is an interesting film, especially for those that know their UFO lore. The screenplay is packed with obscure references that are based in actual UFO case studies that are found in many, although little known published accounts. Most notably, the alien backstory is taken directly from the "Billy Meier" UFO contact notes that gained international attention back in the late '70s and other "true" UFO accounts from that era. Obviously the story was well-researched and is faithful to actual UFO case histories. For the casual viewer, the film holds your attention and is surprisingly enjoyable extraterrestrial romp, but for the hard-core UFO enthusiast, there is a lot to appreciate.

Insane alien invasion film is lots of fun.

[FlyBoyDC · 16 July 1999]

I can attest that THE SILENCERS does not have either deep insight or much depth, but this motion picture is refreshingly entertaining and sometimes hilarious thanks to some extensive action scenes and an affable performance by Dennis Christopher.

The government has denied their existence...but they are here, waiting for mankind to show mercy. Intergalactic space fugitives who call themselves the "Men in Black" claim that they come in peace. However, wherever they go, death and destruction follow...

These Men in Black are here to make sure mankind disavows any knowledge about a superior extra-terrestrial race. Their job though is more than coercing people to deny the existence of aliens. Rather, the primary goal of these Men in Black is to bring mankind down to their knees. In order to accomplish this, the Men in Black must work in collusion with the U.S. military. Both sides are helping to construct an "inter-dimensional portal" (or something like that) which will serve as a gateway for both worlds. What the people do not know is that these aliens have already conquered four worlds...and Planet Earth is next.

Only Secret Super Agent Rafferty (Jack Scalia) has the will to stop these bizarre fiends. However, when the challenges become overwhelming, even the hero could use a little backup. That's when galactic officer Comdor (Dennis Christopher) enters the battle...

UFOs, inter-dimensional portals, government conspiracies, military cover-ups, and Clarence Williams III are the main features of this contrived but gratifying sci-fi action flick. THE SILENCERS is another fun production from none other than the PM Entertainment Group, Inc. There is really nothing new here, but this film does generously offer plenary ingenious action sequences and violence. There is a lot to recommend in this surprisingly amiable action movie. One of this movie's shining moments was when a car crashed right through a helicopter. That scene rocked! Probably the most amusing scene in this movie was when model toy trains were utilized to simulate a train collision(!) Man, there is no stopping the Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi twosome. They just keep on grinding out sensational spectacles! These guys are the harbingers of slick B-movies.

What makes THE SILENCERS better than the typical sci-fi offering is this film's astute sense of humor and touches of assiduous artistry. The levitating cow in the movie's prelude is a jocular gesture of how often aliens love to study "intelligent" life forms. Also, those aliens, the Men in Black look so freakishly scary with their darkened eyes. The co-star of this movie, Dennis Christopher is smooth in this movie too. He plays an appropriately valiant hero who manages to maintain a soft side. It is humorous how Christopher, the alien warrior, speaks so eloquently about the beauties of nature and how human beings can sometimes take their lives for granted.

As an added bonus, the filmmakers were conscious enough to throw in a nice message promoting a clean environment. I am also glad that there is a statement in this film about how youths should expand their minds rather than relegate themselves to playing an "action hero."

Considering the low budget production values, this film still manages to retain a modicum of dignity. THE SILENCERS may be short on plot and logic, but long on action scenes so hey, this is my type of movie. It is aimed specifically for those germane, macho trigger-happy male crowds! There are no excuses to be made, just revel in the gunfire, chases, explosions, and stunts. THE SILENCERS may be generic, formulaic, and cliché, but it is still moderately sustainable. This is even enjoyable especially for genre fans. I found this film to be much better than what my original disposition has been. This movie is a good rental for a rainy day.

Forget MEN IN BLACK...see this movie instead! THE SILENCERS does not rely on big bucks for fabricated special effects. This film zooms at a fast clip with eye-catching action. If you have a penchant for glass-breaking excitement, then this movie is for you. Have fun...and leave reality behind for once!

RATING: **1/2 out ****.

For a totally entertaining night of VHS fun, do check out The Silencers!

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 21 January 2019]

Rafferty (Scalia) is a U.S. Secret Service agent. When evil aliens from another planet assassinate the Senator he was assigned to protect, he gets deeper into a governmental conspiracy than he ever dared to before. Evidently, the Senator knew too much about alien technology that is being negotiated and sold to Earth, the main proponent of which is General Greenboro (Williams III). Sinister Men In Black are making sure their investment isn't compromised, and they'll go to any means necessary to ensure that. When Comdor (Christopher) comes to Earth from the Pleiades, he ends up teaming up with Rafferty to fight the evil Marcabians. But the important thing to note is that what follows are an almost non-stop barrage of action scenes that aim to please the viewer. Just who are THE SILENCERS? Find out today!

PM turns in yet another winner with The Silencers, a completely fun outing that delivers the goods. Probably figuring that their classic action formula was getting a bit repetitive (though if they kept up with it, that certainly would have been cool with us), the PM crew decided to keep the shootouts, stunts, fights, blow-ups, and car flips that they are renowned for, but give it a sci-fi twist.



They were obviously influenced by the big-budget Hollywood hits of the day - there's even a full-fledged, unapologetic Stargate in this movie for God's sake - but it must be said that they predated Men In Black (1997) by one year. We're constantly saying how the world of lower-budget, independent filmmaking is at the forefront with their ideas because they have to be. Hollywood always lags behind, and here is no exception. But here the MIB's are evil baddies. It's almost like the government stepped in and told Hollywood to whitewash the image of Men In Black and make them likable and cuddly like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Now why would they want to do that? (Hey, watching The Silencers made it fun to put on our tinfoil hats for a while).



Seeing as how The X-Files was one of the hottest shows on TV at the time, PM decided they wanted to get in on that action. We're not sure which movie came first in their production schedule, but that same year's Dark Breed (1996) - another sci-fi/action hybrid starring Jack Scalia - was also released. However, The Silencers features Scalia at his absolute best. He bellows "Nooooooooo!!!!" with the best of 'em (not once, but twice), tells his compatriots that "we've got company!", gets into gunfights with aliens, befriends other aliens, and also is a caring father torn by the demands of his job. He's usually in motion - sliding, running, driving, being pulled up a chain, or otherwise in the midst of other physically-demanding events. He also makes funny noises when he's under pressure. He's a great everyman action star.

So, it's perfect he'd be teamed up with Comdor. They're the original odd couple! Not since Jay Leno and Pat Morita were, and we quote, "as different as hot dogs and sushi", has a law enforcement duo this different come along. It must be said Dennis Christopher does a great job as Comdor. He's playful and childlike, yet wise. Almost like an extraterrestrial Teddy Ruxpin. Rafferty and Comdor are both likable in their own way and they make a winning team. You gotta love it.

So if you love that action/sci-fi style - and The Silencers is seemingly influenced by everything from The Terminator (1984), to Peacemaker (1990), to I Come In Peace (1990) (that phrase is even said in the movie, as if the comparisons weren't obvious enough) - this is a great example of action mixed with sci-fi at its best. And not that it needs to be said again, but here goes: our hats go off to the utterly amazing stunt and pyrotechnic teams that put together the fantastic stuff we see on screen. In the good old days of pre-green screen and pre-CGI, actual people had to create actual destruction. It's totally impressive. We never fail to marvel at not just the work involved, but the final payoff when the cameras roll.

For a totally entertaining night of VHS fun, do check out The Silencers!

'Three Days of The Comdor'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 1 March 2022]

Inventive indie-impresario Richard 'Dark Breed' Pepin's 'The Silencers' (1996) is a pleasingly noisome, deliciously goofball Sci-actioner starring that stolid B-Movie stalwart Jack Scalia, with Dennis 'Fade To Black' Christopher ruling hard as the endearing cosmic do-gooder 'Comdor.' I'm an unapologetic long-time fan of this blissfully ballistic, pizza n' beer, bargain bin brain-battery, and, while flawed, it's tremendously silly fun nonetheless, and that's usually enough to gleefully gloss over a B-film's rougher edges! 'The Silencers' righteously remains a hysterically hyped-up, not altogether credible MIB pilfering Sci-fi hoot! And the talented Pepin frequently tends to get a far bigger bang from his meagre B-movie buck than most, thereby making his engaging alien-invading shoot 'em up 'The Silencers' considerably more of an impactful low-budget, higher calibre action-fest than some might initially expect, and the splendidly charismatic Dennis Christopher's undeniably luminous presence dazzlingly dominates every scene he's in! All that hoopla being said, 'Dark Breed' is, perhaps, a better pace to start for Pepin/Scalia neophytes!

Brilliant 10/10 More than worth the watch

[thedoortodecember · 10/10 · 13 June 2023]

Despite what alot of people have said this is not a cheesy movie at all. It's quite excellent and a serious take on extraterrestrial invasion and incorporates current conspiracy theories regarding the military industrial complex working with et's from another planet or dimension.

The story in compiracy circles was actually that the paladins or the white Nordics made contact with the US government and offered to share technology on the basis that it was used for peaceful purposes and to uplift humanity and that should the grey alien's made contact the government was to reject their offer for weapons which the government refused.

So the government ended up doing a deal with the greys a spieces commonly referred to in the early 1920 or 30's as the little green men.

The deal was they would give the US government/ military industrial complex weapons only if the greys were allowed to abduct humans and experiment on them, which the government agreed to.

Even though this movie makes the paladins out to be baddies the movie is still telling you the truth about what happened.. the rest of the story used to bulk up the truth is still brilliantly done, and the cgi I'd great not over yhe top, so the whole movie holds together very well... I wasn't going to watch it mased on all the reviews on those page, but I thought why not.

I will say one thing, I don't know which film these people who have reviewed the movie watched, because the acting very well done, and nothing, and I state again nothing was cheesy about the acting.

Lastly low budget movies which yhis is not do not have good citizen like this.. I'm sure you've seen the very low budget modern sci fi movies that are made for TV that they are calling sci fi movies.. even though the children is so terrible, and the story plus acting sucks... Will those movies aren't even in the same dimension as this movie.. this could easily go head to head with big budget movies of those days..granted this uses cgi and the big budgets of those days used anamatronics 🤔

But hand on heart this is worth yhe watch.

Me... I try and find old school sci fi from 70's to end of the 90's because they had good stories in those days.

Lastly it's strange all yhe reviewer seem to be trying to put people off this movie.

Maybe they're really the men in black trying to stop the information getting out .

Enjoy the movie friends 🙂👍

Gary Birmingham England Uk.

Another Winner From PM.

[magilvilla · 29 February 2000]

This is another excellent action movie from PM. Lots of shootouts and car chases make the movie very exciting and never boring. Jack Scalia makes a cool hero. The villains are menacing and look very cool. Action fans should check this one out. It definetly delivers the goods.

Send more aliens like Comdor

[slater-7 · 14 March 2001]

The movie is low budget but a lot of fun. Dennis Christopher shines in every scene and makes this a must keep for me. Unique twist in MIB and the bad aliens have cool eyes. If you can find it it's worth a watch.