Attack of the Unknown (2020)


REVIEWER RATING: 
9/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


Independence Day has just collided with Alien and it is one wild explosion! Attack of the Unknown is the perfect reminder as to why I love Richard Grieco so much – his tenacity to stay bad ass!

As expected, most alien films are far-fetched, some even hokey to the point of paying homage to the 1960’s Monster Sci-Fi movies. Attack of the Unknown generously slips into the same category, but with more ferocity and bleakness.

Vernon (Grieco) is a SWAT team leader with the LAPD. Going through a divorce, losing a colleague while capturing a cartel kingpin and receiving more devastating news about his health means Verne is clearly going through a horrible rough patch in life. What does he have to look forward to? Cue in the alien invasion!

Verne and his SWAT team are literally trapped within a small jailhouse station in the middle of this apocalypse, after having relocated their newest delivery - drug lord Miguel. Faced with their inevitable death just looming several feet away, the SWAT team uses Miguel’s recollections to educate them in the folklore of these “vampires from the sky.” In the hunt for blood, these creatures are smart, menacing and yes…horribly ugly. As legend has it, human blood is their medicine. They are the Terminators and humans are all Sarah Connor. Verne’s only device is to figure out the most salvageable weapon to use against aliens before the world is completely wiped out.

As his character opens up into a considerate yet guarded man completely dedicated to upholding the law and apprehending criminals, the new threat released in the world puts him at a standstill. Verne tries to hide his vulnerable side while searching for the intruders’ weakness and staying alive in the process.

Grieco’s 21 Jump Street’s “Booker” is reminiscent of this current portrayal: Sarcastic and a bit aloof, but incredibly charismatic and thoughtful. Fighting head to head with a creature in order to save a comrade is second nature to Verne, which had me biting my nails down to the core. Damn you Grieco – making me love Vernon!

Although the aliens themselves aren’t the most complexed looking monsters (think of humans in costume with helmets), the fear component is still apparent through these tentacle-retracted killer hands and grotesque slime-filled faces once the head contraption is removed.

Remember this is another battle between good vs. evil, although with the unforeseen twist at the very end…who is the ultimate evil?

OVERALL: 
Attack of the Unknown is unsurmountable fun. Grieco is raw and selfless in this lead “come back” role. Clearly he is an underrated actor who shows controlled force amongst complete devastation and pulls it off with perfection. This is nothing short of an engaging armegeddon…to quote the old lady in the car “Don’t curse at me, it’s fucking judgement day!”


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