Starring Joel Courtney, Calum Worthy, Andi Matichak, Katherine McNamara, Cam Gigandet, Mason McNulty and Terry Dale Parks

Directed by John Murlowski

Joel (Zach Henderson) and Randy (Calum Worthy) are the two kids every town has. Not bad, not broken, but not a good fit for any of the tiny social groups in the tiny place they grew up in. With high school ending, Zach is working up the courage to tell his other best friend Kayla (Andi Matichak) how he feels about her while Randy is struggling to deal with the freedom he’s always wanted suddenly being imminent. And then, they hear a scream…

This is an extremely loose and very unofficial Invasion of the Bodysnatchers remake and it plays the classic beats accumulated through the various other versions to date. We get the deep-seated small town paranoia of the ’50s original, the curdled suburban nightmare of the ’70s remake as well as the iconic shriek and the dead-eyed, glacial calm of the ’90s version. Even the much derided Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig ’07 version The Invasion gets touched on loosely with the attack on the town coming through authority figures. It’s a fun story, and a lens that focuses differently in every version. Unofficial as it may be, Assimilate is also worth your time.

A big part of that is the cast. Courtney, Worthy and Matichak are all smart performers and bring a naturalistic air to their characters that helps drive the movie. Worthy’s stoic wiseass is a particularly good time but the dynamic between all three is fun even before the invasion begins. They don’t fit anywhere but with each other and even then there are some nicely explored and implied wrinkles to their dynamic. Gigandet is great too as a slightly sinister but helpful local sheriff.

The movie’s willingness to play with its toys, and tone, is the other big draw. This is not a high budget movie by any means but as is often the case that becomes a virtue, The special effects vary between serviceable and surprisingly good, there’s a Raimi-ian sense of invention to a couple of scenes and best of all, the ending really hits. Here the movie breaks from the traditional and finishes in a manner that echoes Terminator: Rise of the Machines’ ending. It’s a very smart choice, a fit for both the style and story and it gives the movie an identity all of its own.

Verdict: The kids are okay. The world isn’t. But they’re working on that. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart

Assimilate is on Prime Video now