talisencrw
Though this had a decent beginning with truly intriguing metaphysical ideas; a dated but fine psychedelic soundtrack; an interesting pseudo-documentary technique; complete with the requisite narration, to start things off with; decent surroundings and I liked the charm and 'Ivory Girl' beauty of the medium (played by Cynthia Cline--this seems to be her only film credit), this low-budget creeper has no momentum, and no idea in either how to build those ideas into something worthwhile, or where to go with them. The fractal graphics that are supposed to overwhelm us as no-cost special effects are horribly dated and left on-screen for way too long.I haven't seen director DeGaetano's other, later two films, but I hope they're not the snoozefests that this was. Steer clear of this with all of your might--the poster is the best thing about the movie.
Woodyanders
There are certain bad movies that have a strangely hypnotic quality to them. Offering a wonderfully wretched and hence oddly winning combination of sincere, yet terrible acting from a game, yet lame no-name cast, dippy dialogue, an alternately funky or moody wonky score, plodding pace, fumbling (mis)direction, a nonsensical script, chintzy (less than) special effects, sporadic instances of the boom microphone dropping into the frame, a heavy-handed theme about believers versus nonbelievers, an insanely groovy theme song called "Between the Attic and the Moon," clumsy mock interviews with ordinary folks who claim to have seen UFOs, a meandering and borderline incomprehensible muddled narrative, grainy cinematography, and, best of all, a gloriously trippy and ridiculous "what the hell?" psychedelic light show conclusion that attempts to recreate the mind-blowing climax of "2001" on a $1.50 dimestore budget, this singularly inept tale of a dedicated field researcher (an endearingly wooden performance by Nick Plakias) who discovers that he's some kind of chosen one whose key purpose in life is to help a bunch of aliens trapped in a lake get back to their home planet through the power of his imagination (!) is often so incredibly cheesy and absurd that all you hardcore aficionados of choice crummy cinema will be in hog heaven while watching it. A deliciously dreadful doozy.
wes-connors
"Under the depths of a lake located near a small town, lies a strange alien spacecraft that is unknown to the town's residents. An electronics expert picks up signals emitted by the spacecraft and begins to investigate the source of these mysterious transmissions. The electronics expert hopes to recruit a group of scientists to aid him in investigating the signals, hoping to discover the secrets contained within the alien ship," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Young teaching fellow Nick Plakias (as Alan Grimes) has a startling change-of-life UFO experience. Extra sensory perceptive Cynthia Cline (as Vivian) unfortunately gets swept up in his investigation. "UFO Target Earth" plays like a stretched-out "Outer Limits" episode, with one-tenth of the old show's budget. But, in this case, there IS something wrong with your television set. Brooks Clift (as General Gallagher) appears in a brief, uninteresting role; he was Montgomery Clift's brother. * UFO Target Earth (1974) Michael A. de Gaetano ~ Nick Plakias, Cynthia Cline, Brooks Clift
Kenneth Eagle Spirit
Which is why I rate it a 6. The acting? Not so good. The photography? Not as good as the acting. The bright spots? Well, if you like that smooth musical sound of the 60s and 70s the title song is really pretty good. Really. The plot is functional, and having someone with a less than scientific connection and more of a psychic one as a part of the scientific investigation is a plus. Said psychic connection is Cynthia Cline, who is pretty, the kind of pretty that you would feel comfortable taking home to Mom. This is, bluntly, just another one of those so so movies. Its not all that bad, its not really all that good. Its just ... OK. But the music, that theme song, is worth something by itself.
AD
