Film Review: XENOPHOBIA (2019)

XENOPHOBIA *** USA 2019 Dir: Joe Castro, Thomas J. Churchill, Steven J. Escobar. 82 mins

XENOPHOBIA is a sci-fi anthology with each story told by a different member of an alien abduction support group. There are four stories told by the members of the group with the fifth story being the support group story that wraps everything up nicely. ‘Pinnacles’ opens the film with a photographer exploring the Trona Pinnacles in the Mojave Desert where ultimately his curiosity gets him abducted by aliens and left with horrible memories. Next up is ‘Doomsday’ where a couples relaxing camping trip is cut short upon the discovery of a mysterious crystal which once touched foretells the invasion of aliens. ‘Star Child’ follows where a babysitters night goes from easy money to an experience which no one would believe if she could tell the tale. The final story is ‘The Sullivan House’, where a home for abused women takes revenge on a man who they catch beating up his wife. His story of his wife being an alien is far fetched but maybe this is a story which should be believed. I feel the best story of the lot is ‘The Sullivan House’ with Angie Stevenson (Clown Motel) making an appearance as one of the women beating up the supposed woman beater. Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre) also makes an appearance in the abduction support group, as the mother of the girl that has gone missing in ‘Star Child’. There is some great looking practical effects throughout though the CGI at times is not the best but can be looked past as they are only brief. Each story has different looking aliens giving each story its own identity and perhaps telling us there is more then one species invading us. Locations are key in any film and here they are used well especially in ‘Pinnacles’. XENOPHOBIA as an anthology film is one to check out as it does everything right specifically having the stories tie in to the wraparound story, something alot of anthology films have failed to do in recent years.