Jon Wright’s Unwelcome

Redcaps are basically goblins or leprechauns gone bad. They are supposedly mainly Scottish, but also Northeast Ireland, where Jamie and Maya have just inherited a home. Locals call then the “Little People,” but if you cross them, you could get it right in the lucky charms. Criminal lowlifes are also pose a danger to their wellbeing in Jon Wright’s Unwelcome, which opens Wednesday in theaters.

Just when Maya’s pregnancy test finally tests positive (as they hoped), she and Jamie are badly beaten by a gang of thugs. Fortunately, a presumably safe escape from London estate violence suddenly opens up when Jamie inherits a somewhat dilapidated but cozy Irish country home from his eccentric aunt. The only stipulation, according to his late aunt’s friend, is that they leave a little bit of raw liver by the gate to the woods each night as a “blood offering” for the “Little People.”

Okay, fine—Maya will humor her. The problem is grouchy old “Dad” Whelan is the only contractor available to fix the hole in their roof. It won’t take long to figure out why he and his creepy family were idle. Things will take a Straw Dogs turn, but the Redcaps in the woods are the wild card that could save the couple, but at what cost?

Too much of Unwelcome focuses on the Irish-style Deliverance business, but when the Redcaps finally show themselves, they turn out to be awesome. They are actually laugh-out-loud hilarious, in a darkly macabre sort of way. They out shine the Leprechaun and Gremlin franchises when it comes to attitude. The creature design work is also pretty cool.

It somewhat makes sense Wright (who previously helmed Grabbers and Robot Overlords) tried to hold back and not show too many Redcaps too soon, to maximize their impact, but they are far and away the best thing about the film. Colm Meaney is appropriately sinister as Whelan, but his abusive behavior is not nearly as much fun. Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth are frankly a little too whiny and a little too drippy to embrace with much enthusiasm as Maya and Jamie.

Robot Overlords: Due for a Fresh Revisit

It is surprising this recent alien invasion has not already gained a fresh, new reputation for relevancy. The world has suffered a catastrophic event and now all of humanity is forbidden to leave their homes. Are you following me so far? The alien robots have taken over, but they still find home collaborators willing to enforce their dictates, in order to exercise a bit of power for themselves. Fortunately, there are still rebellious people out there willing to fight the invaders in Jon Wright’s Robot Overlords, which is currently available on Amazon Prime.

Since the alien take-over, Sean Flynn lives with his mother Kate and three foster siblings she took in out of mercy. She is sort of protected, because Robin Smythe, the district’s head collaborator is sweet on her, but he and Flynn make no secret of their mutual dislike. The suspicious teen still holds out vain home that his father Danny Flynn will eventually come home, but the RAF pilot has not been seen since his capture.

One day, Flynn and knuckleheaded Nathan try to run an old video-game console off a car battery, when an electric shock sends the latter flying. It also shorts out the controlling mechanism implanted in his neck—temporarily. Soon, Flynn, Nathan, Alex the surrogate sister he is sort of carrying a torch for, and young, bratty Conor are running through the empty streets undetected by the robot sentries. However, it turns out the short circuit only lasts thirteen hours—a fact they learn at an inopportune time.

It is easy to see the robot occupation as an equivalent analog to the CCP pandemic. Some might also compare the implants to face masks, but that really wouldn’t be fair, because facial coverings allow us to safely go outside, whereas the implants keep Flynn and friends captive inside. However, if you want to compare the power-tripping Smythe to heavy-handed politicians like Michigan’s Whitmer, that’s your right and your business.

As a film, Overlords definitely over-achieves, realizing some impressive visual effects on a relatively modest budget. As science fiction, it is just okay. Frankly, it is a little too convenient when Flynn turns to be like Neo from the Matrix trilogy, suddenly developing an almost mystical power to hack himself into the robots’ network. However, it is enormously refreshing to see a film that argues freedom is more important than security.