Sci-Fi in the old west... High Plains Invaders

One of the latest movies I've had the time to sit down and watch was the Sci-Fi Western "High Plains Invaders". Sure, it's one of over 150 SyFy channel original movies, but this one is better than most. The film, set in Avaranth, Colorado in 1892, opens with preparations to hang repentant train robber Sam Danville (played very well by James Marsters). However, before the local Sheriff can comlete the grizzly task the town is beseiged by 10-foot tall quadruped aliens. The resulting chaos allows our train-robber Sam to show he's the real hero and escape the gallows but perhaps only to killed by these outer-space visitors.

It seems the aliens are there to consume the uranium ore that local college-boy Jules Arning (Sebastian Knapp) has been mining and refining from an aparent mother-load of radioactivity beneath the town. Aided by nurse Abigail Pixley (Cindy Sampson) and less-than-convincingly-played bounty hunter Rose Hilridge (Sanny Van Heteren), Sam tries to get the survivors of the initial attack out of town while taking out a few aliens as they go with some dynamite from the general store.

The story is not a bad one, and except for the lack-luster performance by Ms. Van Heteren, it is well acted (for a SyFy film). Shot on location in Bucharest, Romania it surprisingly looks very much like the old west in the United States. The effects are pretty good and the aliens are rendered and inserted much better than other SyFy fare. Director Krisfotter Tabori gets a kudos for pulling it off as well as he did.

Released by RHI Entertainment in 2009, the DVD hit the streets April 9, 2010. You can rent it from Netflix and Blockbuster or purchase it at Amazon.com for under $15.00.

If you a fan of Science Fiction I would definately recommend this one. The "aliens in the old west' theme is a refreshing change from the often high-tech future of the genre.