Filmmaking brothers David and Nathan Zellner march to a beat no one else can hear. Sasquatch Sunset is their most idiosyncratic: a grunted Bigfoot family drama. Their latest, Alpha Gang, is far more commercial but equally, undeniably weird. Any teases of a broader science fiction thriller about an alien invasion are quickly dismissed by the film’s love of jukebox dancin’ and combat aversions. There’s something to be said for the Zellners’ approach to gorgeously shot excuses to goof around with a star-studded cast, but the ongoing joke of “aliens don’t understand humanity” runs out quickly with so little substance to boast.
The humanoids of Alpha Gang have one mission: seek and destroy. They’re camouflaged as 1950s-era bikers in a remote Eastern European mountain region where a totalitarian military battles resistance fighters. To them, the human form is repulsive, and emotions are a sickness. The team arrived one by one: Alpha One (Léa Seydoux), Alpha Two (Dave Bautista), Alpha Three (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), Alpha Four (Lily-Rose Depp), Alpha Five (Bae Doona), and Alpha Six (Riley Keough). But now, as a unit, they’ll struggle to comprehend feelings of love, happiness, and compassion that threaten their objective of total domination.
There’s an inherent silliness about Alpha Gang that’s charming at first. Actors mimic detachment from humanity while dressed in squeaky leather jackets studded with shiny chrome accents. It’s like a doo-wop Grease or Happy Days spin-off from an alien’s perspective, and the cast is vibing with their Fonzie-esque disguises. Not to mention, Alpha Gang lives in a monstrous castle filled with golden treasures, which looks stunning through cinematographer Mike Gioulakis’ lens. So they jive together and get distracted by simple human inconveniences (like bathroom needs). The gimmick is that no one actually wants to execute mission orders—there’s self-discovery and existential satirization to handle.
A-list celebrities grooving and shimmying to a soundtrack of oldies works for a while, until the Zellners make it clear that’s the crux of Alpha Gang. It’s a cosmic hangout flick with a stacked cast, delivering recycled commentary on how war is bad, emotions are prickly, and existing is harder than it looks. Tomfoolery is nonstop as Alpha members romance birds and wage war against insect colonies, while trying to avoid letting others know they’ve caught the “emotions” disease. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take a trip to Budapest and Croatia to star alongside heavy hitters like—well, everyone listed—but it’s a film that feels stuck in place without much to say.
Chris Pine’s later appearance is a much-needed injection of energy. He’s fully in tune with the Zellners’ wacky wavelengths … until he falls in line with the rest. The same goes for Cate Blanchett and her eyepatch-wearing addition, who shows up with a boombox, only to update song choices instead of disrupting the current narrative. We’ve seen this bozo take on outer space invaders stumbling and fumbling their way through adapting to humanity, and despite all the Zellner’s bells and whistles.
Did I laugh when Bautista screams “ANTS!” while firing his silver STEN submachine gun at vines, or Riley Keough’s janky first-time-in-a-body boogie? Of course. Do the Zellners visually construct a slick-as-heck, super-rad universe that’s so fantastic to behold, from blue leaking blood to immaculate costume designs (including futuristic-ish medieval armor)? Yup! But there’s no heft to actions after a while, and the comedic yucks of repeated gags wear thin. There’s only so much diner parking lot choreography or befuddled reactions to humankind’s complex brain functions before the chuckles subside.
I’m writing this review for Daily Dead, so yup, there’s death! But by then, the yucks distract. Well, they did for me (at least). To be transparent, I chatted with plenty of Fantastic Fest attendees after the screening who ate up the gang’s unserious antics. My struggles stem from my inability to stay enthusiastic; the Zellners play their cards early and ride the same underwhelming hand to the end. Grenades are lobbed, Gatling guns are cranked, and gigantic hammers bonk—but it’s never meant to be vile. In fact, the whole point of violence is to show what humanity should be rallying against (in spoiler territory). But the film undercuts its messages and stays too slight, given common plot devices that nonetheless get a fresh, funky makeover.
Alpha Gang presents like a child’s backyard home movie made with friends, except with an impressive budget and jaw-dropping cast. If you lock into its sense of humor early, you’ll likely appreciate it throughout. The problem is, Alpha Gang doesn’t have much to offer past initial impressions. Worse off, it’s a one-trick pony that gets lost in the screenplay’s artistic nonsense. That’s a shame, because we need good-time media more than ever nowadays—but that’s the gamble with the Zellners. They’re mavericks who will always try something new, no matter how polarizing or challenging for viewers.
Movie Score: 2.5/5