A child befriending an alien isn't a new story, but in Xeno, writer-director Matthew Loren Oates makes two key decisions that explain why this one feels different. The first is that the film takes this idea very seriously, as it deals with more mature issues than one might expect, and the consequences of this friendship can be quite serious.
The second is the alien itself, which isn't the adorable, cuddly puppet one might expect from a description of the basic premise. No, this alien being looks like something straight out of a horror movie: with its sleek, predatory appearance, shiny dark scales, sticky yellow blood, and black pools of eyes. We haven't even described the alien's mouth yet, which protrudes in such a way that it's the first thing anyone viewing it head-on would notice.
Director: Matthew Loren Oates
Writer: Matthew Loren Oates
Stars: Lulu Wilson, Paul Schneider, Wrenn Schmidt
Technically, the teeth are even more prominent, jutting at irregular angles from the alien's jaw and ending in numerous sharp points. This entity looks, sounds, and behaves like a nasty customer, scaring the dog of an unknown hunter who has the misfortune to stumble upon the alien after his spherical spaceship crash-lands in the middle of the desert. Who, literally, would want or even think of befriending this kind of beast?
Well, her name is Renee (Lulu Wilson), a 15-year-old girl who has a snake, a pair of lizards, a scorpion, and a tarantula as pets. This is as good an answer as any to the inherently ridiculous question posed by the context, but as funny as the idea of a creepy-crawly teenager finding companionship in a ferocious-looking alien might be, the idea isn't taken lightly.
Instead, Renee is also mourning her father's death, dealing with a mother who refuses to face her own grief, still adjusting to moving from her home to this remote and lonely place, and enduring her mother's new boyfriend, who arguably becomes an even bigger monster than the otherworldly being. Oates certainly hasn't made a family-friendly film, in other words, but it is one that adults who grew up in a similar environment or teenagers who identify with our isolated protagonist might appreciate.
The tone is vital here, because the story openly replicates a particular formula. Renee doesn't feel welcome at home, where her mother, Linda (Wrenn Schmidt), has become attached to her boyfriend, Chase (Paul Schneider). Her mother says it's because the boy, who drinks a lot—even after starting to attend support group meetings—and gets angry easily, needs her. Linda thrives on feeling needed, and Renee doesn't need to say a word for us to understand how much that comment hurts her.
At school, Renee is an outcast, except for Gil (Trae Romano), who likes the fact that she's smart and weird, even though the poor kid has no idea how weird she can be. She finds this out the hard way.
Before that, Renee takes her ATV into the desert to get away from Chase for a while, discovers a makeshift trap near a large hole in the ground, and finds the alien trapped by one of its legs. The beast scares her away, but fascinated by the scaly, slimy things, Renee borrows Gil's video camera, gets some bolt cutters, snatches Chase's gun from his truck, and returns to the alien. After freeing the creature, it establishes a telepathic connection with the girl, and any information they exchanged bonds them.
The plot, of course, leads Renee to hide the alien in the basement, and soon, a pair of government agents named Keyes (Omari Hardwick) and Brown (Josh Cooke) come looking for it. Keyes later reveals that he knows what this kind of alien can do, and the toy car he carries around with him at all times speaks volumes as to why he's so determined to catch it before it can harm or kill anyone else. Hardwick's performance is equally subtly sinister and compassionate, because, as the character says, Keyes doesn't want to be the villain in this situation, but he'll rise to the occasion with gusto if he deems it necessary.
In fact, everyone here is quite good: Wilson plays the kind of shy, rebellious kid many will recognize and relate to; Schneider gives himself over to a seemingly hopeless character until he reveals how angry he can be upon realizing it; and Schmidt plays the mother with a heartbroken selfishness we can't excuse or blame. In small ways, these characters seem like genuine people, and that goes a long way toward giving this family story an unexpected level of emotional weight, as well as stakes that feel more realistic.
The alien itself, brought to life primarily through practical effects and puppetry, is also quite convincing, and while this is important to Xeno's central illusion, the film goes beyond its main special effect. It has brains, cleverly subverting a common narrative idea, and heart, using that subversion to tell a grounded story of pain and anguish that never lets up.
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