DVD Review: Altered

Every so often a movie gets released that gets very little push behind it, yet it winds up being a killer movie. Last year we had Dead Birds and Satan's Little Helper. You didn't see any publicity about either of those films and you only found out about them when you noticed them on the shelves of your video store. Altered is another fine example of a good movie that had no publicity behind it, and it's a shame because this movie deserves a fan base. The story is about a group of friends who, at one time, were abducted by aliens. Ever since being returned, they each have their own troubles and emotional problems as a result. That is, until one night when they actually catch one of the nasty bastards. It's payback time! But sometimes, things just don't go as planned. Altered is very well acted and it's directed without a flaw. If I have to pick one thing bad about it, it was showing too much of the alien. When the alien was tied to the table, with the welder's mask on its head, man, that was eerie. But when we see the alien's face and body, it tends to take some of the effect away from the thing. Not that it wasn't an impressive piece of FX, it was just more effective when it wasn't directly seen. Other than that, the film is an atmospheric gem that has a claustrophobic subtlety about it. The tension builds and builds up to the end. All in all, a very satisfying film from beginning to end. Altered gets ****1/2 out of *****.