Arrow Video, out now

Three aliens take over the bodies of Japanese hosts while planning for the invasion of Earth.

Kiyoshi (Pulse) Kurosawa’s 2017 science fiction film is a strange hybrid of a movie that both engages and pushes you away at the same time. It’s a great looking film, and when it kicks into gear you feel like it’s changing into something quite special… before slowing down and becoming ponderous again.

The premise itself is a sound one: by robbing the hosts of their essence (what makes them human) the alien invaders inhabit hollow shells, the joke being that not everyone recognised the difference. Shinji (Ryuhei Matsuda) gets the most screen-time, and consequently his story is the more engaging of the three, his damaged relationship with his wife Narumi (Masami Nagasawa) coming under scrutiny. He’s had a roving eye for some time, so this shallow version of him is no different to the pre-invasion version, a theme explored in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams’ episode Human Is, where Bryan Cranston’s character has been replaced, but his wife actually prefers the new version.

The Japanese-language 53-minute ‘making of’ feature provides some greater insight into the director’s intentions, with additional features on the story and characters.

Arrow’s release also includes some red carpet interviews from Cannes, and some Q and As from the Japanese premiere.

Verdict: A satirical mix of horror and humour, the greatest enemy here is not the alien invaders but really spotty pacing which often dissipates what’s been building up – and it’s a good forty minutes too long. 6/10

Nick Joy