Kids vs Aliens (2022)
directed by Jason Eisner (Hobo With A Shotgun, V/H/S/2, The ABCs Of Death)
starring: Dominic Mariche, Phoebe Rex, Calem MacDonald
watched on: Shudder

Right off the bat I got Psycho Goreman vibes from this film. Aliens, siblings at odds, weird parents, gore, ooze… The writing was better in Psycho Goreman though. That being said, despite all the swearing Kids vs Aliens is likely meant for a younger audience whereas Psycho Goreman was made for adults with kids. Psycho Goreman was an homage to practical effects, a labour of love to create a movie Steven Kostanski would have wanted to see as a kid. Kids vs Aliens is more an introduction to the genre for younger viewers. Mimi and Luke in Psycho Goreman are characters written to be enjoyed by adults whereas Samantha, Gary and his friends are written to be relatable to actual kids.

Hats off to Dominic Mariche for a great performance as the most annoying little brother Gary. He is annoying not in a fake, cinematic way like hogging the bathroom. He is annoying in an actual emotionally damaging way that perhaps hit a little too close to home for this card carrying older sibling. Allow Samantha some room to grow in to her own person for Pete’s sake, ya little booger!

The types of relationships kids have with each other is definitely showcased in more depth in Kids vs Aliens. There is a tight friend group that tentatively includes an older sister who is beginning to outgrow her younger brother’s interests. There is the introduction of the manipulative bad boy Billy who is a catalyst in Samantha breaking away from her brother and his friends. The fickleness of teens’ loyalties and just how cruel they can be is also shown in how Billy treats his so called friends and the younger kids. He does not hesitate to protect himself before others and even tries to make Gary’s friends watch as Gary is about to be harmed by the aliens. In Psycho Goreman, there is pretty much Luke trying to learn to stand up to Mimi’s controlling behaviour. Both movies feature dysfunctional parents but in Kids vs Aliens the parents are mostly just absent whereas in Psycho Goreman we get all most too much information in to how messed up they are.

Circling back to the effects – they were mostly practical and felt just right for the movie. The movement of the aliens did creep me out at times. There was an awesome scene with ooze and a body disintegrating and it was the perfect amount of gross to scare a kid. Nothing is going to top Psycho Goreman’s Power Rangers-inspired monsters for quite some time.

I am all for anything making the genre more accessible for younger viewers, something perhaps usually strict parents may overlook. With a fairly innocent-sounding title, Kids vs Aliens could be just that.