Directed by James Balsamo — who has directed over fifty movies and also co-wrote this with Sephdok Ramone and Bill Victor Arucan, who plays the hero Raven Can Slender and the villain Overlord Eni, Alien Danger! is a wild ride. It feels like a slightly naughty science fiction comedy yet it also has the feel of a show for kids, which is a strange and pretty fun cocktail.

The cast for this is wild. Tuesday Knight (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master), Tommy Chong, Rob Halford, Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Jos Estevez…it’s like going to a convention without leaving your La-Z-Boy.

There’s also tons of facepaint and plenty of muppets. So yeah, the budget is way low, but the joy is way way high. I had a blast watching this and if I was a kid, I’d be drawing these characters in my notebook the entire next month of school instead of paying attention.

This movie was part of the Another Hole in the Head film festival, which provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema. This year’s festival takes place from December 1st – December 18th, 2022. Screenings and performances will take place at the historic Roxie Cinema, 4 Star Theatre and Stage Werks in San Francisco, CA. It will also take place On Demand on Eventive and live on Zoom for those who can not attend the live screenings. You can learn more about how to attend or watch the festival live on their Eventlive site. You can also keep up with all of my AHITH film watches with this Letterboxd list.