Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A team from the intergalactic fast food chain Crumb's Crunchy Delights descends on Earth, planning to make human flesh the newest taste sensation. After they wipe out the New Zealand town Kaihoro, the country’s Astro-Investigation and Defense Service (AIaDS) is called in to deal with the problem. Things are complicated due to Giles, an aid worker who comes to Kaihoro the same day to collect change from the residents. He is captured by the aliens, and AIaDS stages a rescue mission that quickly becomes an all-out assault on the aliens’ headquarters.
Peter Jackson's debut is a gloriously unhinged zero-budget splatter comedy that earns its Novelty score through sheer audacious singularity — the DIY ingenuity, the relentless practical gore gags, and Jackson's manic personal energy (he plays multiple roles) make it utterly unlike anything else. Plot is bare-bones alien-invasion schlock held together by enthusiasm rather than craft, and the amateur acting is charming but undeniably rough. Cinematography is scrappy and functional, shot over weekends for years, though occasionally creative given its constraints. The ending delivers satisfying escalating chaos and a memorable finale, punching slightly above the film's average.