A remake of the 1989 film U.F.O Abduction that takes the form of a genuine documentary instead of just found footage.

• Entertainment factor: ★★★★☆
• Scare factor: ★★☆☆☆
• Alien factor: ★★★★★
• How shaky is the camera? Sometimes rather shaky

Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County is a more elaborate remake with more characters, more strange things happening to them, while among them the tensions rise. With interviews in between the footage, this is more a documentary than just found footage. It stars Benz Antione, Kristian Ayre, Gillian Berber, Michael Bule, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Marya Delver, Ingrid Kavelaar, Aaron Pearl, Katlyn Ducharme. Directed by Dean Alioto, Written by Dean Alioto, Paul Chitlik. 

Duration: 1h 33m

Plot

The McPherson family is celebrating Thanksgiving in 1997 at the house of their mom. Sixteen-year-old Tommy is filming everything. Present are son Kurt and his wife Linda and their little daughter Rosie. Son Brian with his girlfriend Renee and daughter Mel brings her new boyfriend Matthew. 

The eight of them are about to start dinner when the power goes out. Kurt, Brian and Tommy go outside to fix the fusebox, but it seems to be broken. Then they see the power line badly damaged and hear a gunshot at the neighboring farm. When they get closer they see an U.F.O. in the field and aliens doing something to a cow. They are startled and when the aliens see them, Brian is shot at with a laser gun which hits his hand. Scared they run home and tell the others what happened but nobody believes them. 

Until they get attacked with a high frequency tone, they hear them on the roof and Tommy sees one of them entering the house on the second floor. When he and Kurt take a look, Tommy finds one in his bedroom and locks him up. Things are starting to get worse form here. Tensions rise, frighting among themselves, while Renee is being hit by a red laser leaving her unconscious, Kurt and Brian go get a truck but don’t come back and Matthew goes missing when he tries to look for them. That night the family vanishes and is never seen again. 

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Short Review

This is a remake of the original movie U.F.O Abduction (1989) which is also know as The McPherson Tape, both directed and written by Dean Alioto. The story is almost exactly the same, the power goes out, they find a U.F.O. and aliens, are under attack and go missing. The original 1989 film barely survived a fire and was bootlegged, so there was much confusion about which tape was the original, and the name and title was mixed up. So while the original film goes by The McPherson Tape, this remake is actually about the McPherson family. 

The two films that circled the internet also caused much confusion about being real authentic footage. Especially when this remake also includes interviews by the Sheriff, Damian Hawkins a filmmaker who says it’s hard to make these special effects so it definitely can be real. Julian Bond, a musician tells about his own encounter with aliens that went exactly the same. Dr. Benjamin Green a clinical psychologist says he’s worried about Rosie’s behavior. Aileen Burchess Ph.D. cultural anthropologist speaks about the behavior of the aliens and makes an interesting point about the family’s behavior as well. It remains unclear if the aliens merely reacted to hostile behavior of the family or that they intended to take them. And finally Col. Ronald Hampton, USAF retired speaks of more alien reports. All these interviews add to the credibility of the footage and try to make it a real documentary. 

Still I found the original 1989 movie much more scarier. That movie was more simple, no family tensions, and there was less going on within the family. And exactly that simplicity made it more believable. I think that the acting was better too. On top of that the camerawork seems more professional in the 1998 movie. Tommy is exactly where he should be to film everyone at crucial moments. He never lets go of the camera pointing at nothing because he is shaken up, which Michael did do in 1989 making it more realistic. This 1998 film feels more staged with thought out settings, conversations and actions, which felt more random in the 1989 film and thus more realistic. 

While Kurt and Brain are a bit racist, having trouble Matthew is black and Mel should have told them (why?) Matthew is the only one who remains calm although he also gets under the influence of the aliens. Speaking of which, the alien attacks feel very random and illogical. Causing the family to behave oddly, attacking them with high frequency sounds and a red laser. This remake is much more focused on actions that are scary or strange instead of creating an uncanny atmosphere. 

I found one thing really funny, although it’s actually a bit sad, but still very absurd in this situation. They talk about Mom having a drinking problem and that Tommy has to talk to her and do something about it, because Kurt, although he is the eldest, is too busy with his business. If you pay attention to Mom she is never not holding a glass of wine, a full glass, even when they are running outside and hiding she is still holding her wine. It’s a fun gimmick that if you start noticing it’s really funny. 

There should be two endings. The original ending where Tommy talks to the camera and later on when they sit at the table and aliens come in, they are out in a trance and taken away, while the camera is disabled. The alternate ending doesn’t include Tommy’s testimony and Rosie walks away from the table and aliens come in and put the family in a trance and they follow the aliens outside and the aliens disable the camera. 

Just like the original 1989 film and later in 1999 The Blair Witch Project people thought it was real footage. While the 1989 film was just footage shown that Michael shot that night, this is more a combination of found footage and a documentary creating the illusion that you’re watching something real. These films are all pioneers in the found footage genre and paved the way for a very fun and an often scary horror genre that includes many great films. 

Alien Abduction: Incident at Lake County is a remake but has created it’s own vibe with more action, tension and a scary ending.