Outlander (2008)

Director:

Howard McCain

Writers (WGA):

Dirk Blackman (written by) &
Howard McCain (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (Latvia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It destroyed his world. He won't let it destroy ours.

Plot:

During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

Plot Keywords:

Viking | Alien | Monster | Norway | Fireball

Cast

James Caviezel	...	Kainan
Sophia Myles	...	Freya
Jack Huston	...	Wulfric
John Hurt	...	Rothgar
Cliff Saunders	...	Boromir
Patrick Stevenson	...	Unferth
Aidan Devine	...	Einar
Ron Perlman	...	Gunnar
Bailey Maughan	...	Erick
John Nelles	...	Donal (as John E. Nelles)
James Preston Rogers	...	Bjorn (as James Rogers)
Scott Owen	...	Aethril
Petra Prazak	...	Mara
Owen Pattison	...	Galen, son of Kainen
Matt Cooke	...	Captain

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Norse, Old

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Ireland:15A | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | France:U (with warning) | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Bay of Islands, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Company:

Virtual Films

Trivia:

Thomas Jane and Sean Bean were among those considered to play Kainan, before James Caviezel agreed to the part.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Freya comes face to face with the creature in the cave, saliva from the creature's mouth drops on her cheek. On the next shot we see her face is clear. Then on the next shot the creature's saliva is on her face again.

Quotes:

Wulfric: This is where your ship went down?
Kainan: That's right.
Wulfric: In a lake?
Kainan: Don't ask.

Movie Connections:

References Dragonslayer (1981)

Outlandish!

Outlandish. Howard McCain's Outlander may be the best B movie you never saw. This release dumped unceremoniously into theaters in the early year scrap heap is certainly a movie that is fully aware of its preposterous nature and approaches it with a straight face, a talented cast and premier production values that all work oddly well to produce an entertaining if far from perfect Sci-fi cult classic.

Originally slated for a normal wide release, a series of setbacks plagued production to an extent where it was deemed no longer feasible for such distribution. Why is this important you may ask? Well, thanks to the original and best laid plans producers threw a whopping $50 million into the film which provides us with some damn good effects for a film you would all but assume to be a low budget, straight to DVD release.

The plot is as tantalizing as they come; an alien, Kainan played by James Caviezel crash lands in ancient Nordish territory in the age of the Vikings. But along with his technology he brings a foreign parasite, a deadly creature known as the Moorwen. Caught in the middle of two warring Viking clans headed by Rogthgar (John Hurt) on one side and Gunnar (Ron Peralman) on the other, the primitive tribes must ban together to defeat their new common foe. oh yeah, it is in fact that awesome. The 'modern' story is framed by an interesting if slightly preachy back-story of past betrayal and genocide throughout the history of Kainnan's homeland.

After all this financial mumbo-jumbo is put to the side, what we are left with is a deliciously acted, well made period/sci-fi/creature feature/action film that only works at all due to all originality and the bizarreness of the plot. A few elements keep Outlander from being a cult-masterpiece however; it is too long, there are too many false climaxes and the goofy plot only just holds up. That being said the good news is that this film will make a quick trip to your local movie store bargain bin which means that you can score it for about the cost of a rental. Outlander is worth a look and even if you don't like it, you can't deny how perfectly it defines the so-bad-it's-good adage.

Read all my reviews at: http://www.simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com