Okay so first off let me just say that I created this IMDb account after watching this movie, just to review it!. My friends and I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a while after first seeing the trailer for it on Facebook, which mind you, was probably scarier than this entire movie. I am a huge fan of alien movies like dark skies, alien abduction etc, and if you share the same interest then I suggest you only watch this movie if you have absolutely nothing else to watch but if you can avoid it, do it. It had some semi scary scenes, maybe a whole 5 minutes of the movie was actually exciting but other than that it was a bunch of 20 something year old, who seemed to know way too much on how to break into various locations on government technology, running around with video cameras. A lot of the story wasn't explained properly, it left me feeling confused and unfulfilled.
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phaylen15 May 2015I definitely had higher expectations for Area 51, especially given that Oren Peli had written and directed and reinvigorated the "found footage" genre with Paranormal Activity. I'm a fan of the genre, a fan of the Peli, but this was absolutely abysmal from the very start. The concept could have been extremely engaging and given a unique twist, but it performs and plays out as expected- completely typical and utterly predictable, very poorly acted and nonsensical most of the time. I would have been disappointed even if it were a Direct to DVD or On Demand release. I guess the merits of this film like wholly on "From the writer and director of Paranormal Activity!" However, don't expect the competency which the latter film was delivered. There is very little entertainment value, lines are cut off mid-sentence, and somehow, despite being allegedly filmed with one camera, it switches angles regularly without disrupting other dialog. It places it's weight on technical talk, the late night AM radio conspiracy chatter, but does nothing to actually give the viewer anything to grab on to and immerse themselves in the adventure of these three hormonal boys.
If you'd like to reduce your IQ level or waste your time while sick and just need to say you've seen it, you're better served by searching online for conspiracy videos, which provide far more interesting concepts and, despite being rather extraordinary, manage to entertain, which Area 51 fail to do. -
Reid has always been obsessed with UFOs.
While on a weekend trip to Vegas, he convinces two friends to join him on a mission to break into Area 51, where they find terrifying proof of alien presence......
Found footage films, you either love them, or hate the socks off them. Unfortunately, every once in a while there is a really good movie released in this genre. Willow Creek, Exists, The Borderlands, and the V/H/S series are fine examples of how a found footage movie can work..........but there is a slew of rubbish that you have to trudge through to get to the impressive ones.
This falls far into the latter category.
So we have the usual gang of teens that we get in these films, one is always obsessed with the subject matter, and the others, dubious as they are, always go along for the ride, because it's a road trip isn't it?
So we get the usual footage of people driving to desolate areas, where they are confronted by suspicious looking people, they talk to other people with whom are also obsessed with the subject matter, and this happens for the majority of the film, and the first two acts just drag and drag until we finally reach the titular place.
By this time, you couldn't care less with what they discover, and even though the last ten minutes are impressive, both visually and atmospheric, it's too little too late, for the rest of the film is just so boring you lose any interest for the characters, and their quest.
Copies are destined to be buried in the Nevada desert next to E.T. -
The first question needs to be, are we not getting tired of these camcorder lost footage movies? Ever since the overrated "Blair Witch Project," we have been deluged with similar-themed films; most of which fall way, way short of being anything but tiresome. So enter Oren Peli with his own take on the concept, but in his favor we have the mysterious and always-intriguing Area 51 as the backdrop. That fact alone is precisely why I decided to give this film a look.
At first it appeared that Peli might have done it right. Blending actors and sets with real people and locations associated with Area 51, the set-up is intriguing. Even the process in which these filmmakers attempt to foil some of the high-tech base security systems, seems plausible. So far so good.
But it is when the title characters break into the house of an Area 51 / S4 worker and steal his 'card', eventually actually getting inside the top-secret facility, that the movie becomes completely unbelievable and downright ridiculous. Everything that follows is what we have come to know, and depending on how you feel about these shaky-cam movies, love or hate about the concept.
It's not that "Area 51" is a bad movie: the performances and design is actually of high-caliber, but given the exciting story set-up, Peli really should have given us a whole lot more than just another camcorder film. In fairness, I think some people will enjoy this. I did not. -
amazo-the-magician21 June 2015I love scary movies, and I really love "scary" movies-- from Blair Witch to Paranormal Activity, I've always been a huge fan of shaky cameras and found footage. Ghosts and aliens scare me, and classic terror tropes work wonders on me! Things jumping out from behind other things and unexpected screams are my idea of a fun movie night.
If you are looking for a scary movie with aliens as the focus, I would recommend picking up Dark Skies, or John Carpenter's The Thing... but not Area 51, because this is a terrible film. I put it on expecting to be shock-scared, or at least creeped out... but all I got was progressively more and more annoyed.
The first half of the film does absolutely nothing but establish that the viewer should lack empathy for the main characters-- they are vapid young men who enjoy drinking, planning ineffectively, and disrespecting professional entertainers.
The second half of the film is meant to heighten the viewer's anxiety and presumably scare us, but it falls disappointingly short in that respect. Instead it devolves into lots of running and flailing, lots of awful camera work, and terrible physical acting. When the end finally comes, it's more a relief than anything else.
The only positive thing I have to say about this movie is that the main characters' treatment of their female colleague was basically respectful, which is more than what I can say for most movies that are structured in the "x number of guys + 1 girl" model. Nobody grabs her breasts or calls her disgusting names or belittles her intelligence based on her gender. That's awesome.
The rest of the film? Really not so much. -
quincytheodore16 May 2015Found footage genre hasn't found much success after the initial trend start with REC or Cloverfield. It attempts to create a more personal experience with first person view often falls flat with cumbersome shaky shots and unclear scenes. Area 51 suffers from the same exact problems and it stutters towards the end, but it also manages to set an occasionally interesting trip, especially in the first half.
Story follows Reid and his friends as he tries to infiltrate the highly secured titular facility. To do so he must investigate the area and bypass many security measures. For most early parts, the film delivers quite the ride as audiences follow these guys on Vegas and its surrounding. Some investigations and interviews set the tone right, and not in overly silly way. Characters are also pretty decent and likable as though they are real life friends.
Unfortunately, it soon arrives at familiar territory of hazy shots and mindless running. The scenes in the city or desert are identifiable, but when it is stranded in dark corners, the movie loses the momentum significantly. Script is also numbingly bland as characters would yell the same thing over and over again, this is especially true when they are repeatedly shouting, "We gotta go". With both visual and audio decrease in quality, it just turns into a confusing escapade.
Cinematography is to be expected from this kind of found footage flick, it's rather elementary, but there are a few good shots with modified vision. At several scenes the film builds up the suspense pretty well, these are not all translated into thrilling moments. It almost seems like it has problems in latter half, resorting to cheap alien gimmick and nullifying its early decent production.
Area 51 has a presentable start with more engaging use of the found footage, but it falls to the same issues and ends up like the rest without accomplishing much. -
routerreg6 June 2015Bought this film from Sky. What a load of crap. Only watched it because I'd paid money for it and thought it might get better. Unfortunately, it only got worse. If this had been free, I would have deleted it within 30 mins. Please, please, please, do not waste any of your life watching this utter crap. This Film Is Complete And Utter Rubbish. Quite honestly I think it was written and acted as if this was your first drama project in secondary school. You're given an idea and had to develop it. If I had been their teacher, I would have gave them an F, in fact it would have been ungraded. It was like they'd ran out of ideas at the end, or the school bell had rung and they had to make an ending. It was that bad, that there isn't even a soundtrack when the titles rolled at the end.
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technetium-9410716 August 2015I have recently just finished watching this movie, and what torture it was, but thankfully I made it through with only 1hr 30 of missing time.
I decided to watch this movie because I love anything to do with UFO's, aliens, ET etc..so this should have been right up my street. It wasn't.
From the first 10 minutes I knew i would hate this movie, the acting is laughable, absolutely laughably bad which completely put me off. The plot is completely ridiculous and stupid and all the way through you are thinking, sure, of course they would make these stupid decisions. Every UFO/Area 51 cliché is in here which to any avid UFO fan who has a keen interest in the field it just makes you cringe. Its like they have read a few UFO stories on the net and put little bits of detail from each story in here.
The most secure base on the planet and some young idiots manage to break in without being seen. You cant even get near the place because of the perimeter control yet they manage to get in easily.
And finally the whole film being recorded through a camera has been done to death, its not fun or clever anymore, its a cheap way for a director to make a quick buck for little time and effort. This movie probably took around a week to film its that bad. Please, no more shaky camera films, they are boring and unoriginal, they have been done too many times.
All in all, this movie was genuinely one of the worst films i've ever had the misfortune of seeing. People can make their own minds up but I cannot recommend avoiding this movie enough, its a terrible waste of time. -
stone_cold_9217 February 2020The way this movie starts off with the sort of frat boy vibe to it, I didn't have much of an expectation. I found myself riveted to the tv about half way in and it was definitely worth it. It's a suspenseful ride and considering lower budgeted I was very surprised. It's not the movie of 2015 but seeing some of the other reviews it's a testimony for me that consensus is not always in line with ones taste.
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Leofwine_draca2 February 2019AREA 51 is a typical kind of found footage movie, watchable enough but not offering anything up that hasn't been done a million times before. A bunch of kids decide to head off and infiltrate Area 51 to find out if they can uncover evidence of extraterrestrial life, but of course there are the usual surprises in store for them. Much of the running time smacks of padding and there's only real substance at the climax, but even then it feels like a sci-fi focused BLAIR WITCH re-run.
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I believe this movie has been mis-labeled. It is by no means a "horror" film. It is, however, better classified as a "sci-fi thriller".
I enjoy the found-footage genre, for the most part. When it's done correctly, which this film is. Everything that's filmed makes sense given the context. Quite a few times, my adrenaline was up while watching and I was genuinely concerned about the main characters.
That's one of the things I liked about this film was the character development. Unlike a lot of thrillers, where the characters are hackneyed and cliched, these characters were actually written like people and you can genuinely understand where they're all coming from.
So I do recommend this movie, just not as a horror flick. -
nicholaslong-708557 September 2015First, I must say that most of the low ratings for this movie say "not scary!" The movie may have been sold to audiences as a pure horror movie, but false advertising shouldn't take away from the movie for what it is: A found-footage movie about a group of friends (one way more than the others) who go to great lengths to break into Area 51 that should be classified as a suspense sci-fi movie; definitely not horror.
A great portion of this movie is about the set-up of these guys (and a girl) getting ready to sneak into the lower levels of the base, which I can see how the average movie-goer could scoff at. If you go into this movie hoping for action, I'm sorry. Though it isn't what many were expecting, it is still very interesting to see their plans unfold.
The third act is where it really surprised me. Oren keeps with the golden rule of good horror: waiting for the unknown is a lot scarier than finding the unknown. You see very little of the aliens, which could be a let down to those looking for a monster movie. But watching the shadow of the aliens walking down the hall, or seeing an alien slowly slide from the darkness is truly creepy. There were many times I was very tense and on the edge of my seat.
The ending isn't as bad as many people are saying, for I kind of liked it. With some slightly better writing/imagination towards the ending, it could've made this movie a true diamond-in-the-rough. The acting, despite what many say, is tolerable and, for the most part, believable. The main character does have these moments of awful, goosebumps- inducing acting, but the other elements of the movie made me forget about it.
All in all, give it a shot. Its streaming on Netflix, and I'd say its well worth a shot. Worst scenario, you lose an hour and thirty minutes of your day. Or you could walk away with a pleasant experience. Just remember to keep your mind open to what the movie wants to be, not what you want it to be. Have fun! -
When will these movie makers realize that the current format for found footage movies are just downright terrible. They all follow the same format. 60 minutes of extreme boredom,then there is fifteen minutes of planning a trip, ten minutes of lets do something incredibly stupid, and then if, just if they show you what is attacking/chasing it is a millisecond of a glimpse.
Just one rhetorical question though. Why is it every single alien movie that is made anymore is always found footage? Have writers lost their creativity and can't actually write a good blockbuster alien movie?
One last note. Found Footage movies would be a million times better if they would show you what the creatures look like. And not just a glimpse. -
doctorarzt18 May 2015After a mysterious encounter at a party, Reed becomes obsessed with breaking into Area 51. Unfortunately, we're just not as interested as he is.
Area 51 scores a zero on character development, deciding on character templates that are so familiar to schlocky found footage films that they instantly feel overdone. Along with his two friends and the daughter of an Area 51 tell all book, Reed is suspiciously erudite when it comes to the craft of breaking into top secret government installations. Out of the box he knows how to get past the high tech detection grid, and even has a map of the prized underground S-4 base.
There is little suspense and most of the more 'tense' moments are too predictable to raise any anxiety.
As for the discoveries themselves, most are torn out of the most boring chapters of UFO Folklore. Spoiler Alert: there are aliens at Area 51. We never get to see them.
The ending is a contrived bit of Alien Abduction straight out of every Alien Abduction film you've ever seen; just nowhere near as good.
An Embarrassing moment for Oren Peli. -
Looks like the director has found an easy and cheap way of making films in which all he has to worry about is a handy CAM. All that he ever has to do is to record some people from around and after adding a title, releases it as a "found foot aged" movie. I'm really getting sick of this found foot age type junk. this is an easy way out where you do not have to plan anything and you end up making a movie in just few dollars. If you think you cannot do any better please stop making films and do something useful for the society. I hate people who watched and made that rotten para-abnormal activity a popular film. Hey Mr. Director, Come up with a real movie. you can't fool people every time with your nonsense found footage crap.
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skybrick73614 December 2015Oren Peli is now officially a one trick pony after his latest found footage flick called Area 51. Again, similar to the first Paranormal Activity, there is a lack of story and realistic actions by characters in Peli's latest. Additionally, characters are weak, having little to no back-story and often times unlikable. Even with Peli's out used hand-held style of filmmaking, there is a particular originality to the film based on the alien side story. There are creative imaginary thoughts and well done shots of cinematography with this film. It almost seemed the film steadily managed to save itself as the film progressed. By no means would it be a film I recommend to people looking for the latest and greatest of 2015 but it's not a total waste, even when I wanted it and expected it to be.
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jassenjj31 March 2020If you enjoy "The Blair Witch Project" this one will add something to the "found footage" genre :) I liked it, although I am sure that I watched it only because of the quarantine.
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alexanderbarratt11 October 2017Ridiculous film. Had some terrible clichés - mysterious planes shuttling into Vegas without tail numbers?? You may as well print "top secrety secret plane for secret people" down the side of the fuselage. The site security pretending to be a tourist given away by the absence of license plates on his car?? Top secrety secret car... it felt like site security was set up by Austin Powers.
As they are approaching the base the line "security should be quite light at this time of night" was a personal favourite. It turned out to be so light in fact they were able to shout without being heard at certain points as they were galloping around. Appalling acting ending with a spectacular anticlimax. -
joelcberzas16 May 2015I did not expect much going into this movie. I was hoping for a little better than Alien Abduction. That being the case, I ended up pleasantly surprised! The first 70% of the movie could have been condensed into about 10 minutes of plot actually necessary to understand and enjoy the movie. However, it was worth sitting through to get to the last 30%. The suspense was surprisingly effective. I even found myself tensed up and gritting my teeth a few times. Special effects, although not plentiful, we effective as well. I agree with a previous reviewer that I felt dissatisfied with the end of the movie. I think that, maybe with a bigger budget and a well thought out ending, it could have been much better. A pure horror fan will likely not appreciate it. On the other hand, if you enjoy SciFi/horror/suspense combo flicks, then it's definitely worth a watch.
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danilo120 November 2019The first part is good, the center part is bad, the end part is terrible. If you like UFOs stay away. If you don't like ufos watch some other movie.
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As a big sci-fi fan and UFO-enthusiast, I really recommend watching this film. Even though I watch a lot of movies, I was a bit discouraged watching it because of the '4/10' rating. But unlike what many people here wrote... This movie did not disappoint me in any possible way. It has a great build-up, strong climax and mind-challenging ending. The constant suspense (after the introductions), no obvious scientific 'mistakes', some good jokes at the right times and zero jokes in serious/tense moments. The acting, the story, It all felt very credible to me. Bottom line: If you like the Area 51 mystery, give the movie a chance and the credit it deserves. Don't always rely on IMDb/'critic' ratings. I was physically ill after watching Gravity. If you agree with me on that part, I think you'll be safe watching this movie! Also, If you enjoyed the movie "as above, so below", you're quite certain to enjoy this.
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mikan204018 August 2015This film is a pretty solid found footage movie. I have to concur with other reviewers and agree that the first hour could have been condensed into at most thirty minutes. That said it is important to see Area 51 for what it is and it is a low budget horror movie that relies on all of the stereotypes of found footage films including camera work too shaky for you to really see too much of what is going on, lots of people running about yelling, people who seem to value their camera's more than their own lives etc. Right, now that it out of the way, the film is actually quite enjoyable and pretty tense. It is clear from the get-go that the group are going to end up inside Area 51 so that is not a spoiler. How they do this is pretty clever in my opinion. The story is pretty interesting as it progresses. We have it all soldiers, men in black, scientists, aliens chases, the works. I didn't really care for any of the cast but as a piece of 90 minute no brain work needed entertainment I think it is certainly worth the time. A solid six from me.
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begob6 June 2015A young guy obsessed with government secrets rounds up a gang to infiltrate a remote facility and uncover the dreadful truth.
Literal found footage - wait for the post-credits clip - and a voyage through the varying degrees of hand-held shakiness. I think it's well shot up to the 2/3 stage, then the jitters break loose and it gets a bit annoying.
The set-up is pretty much the tale of a depressed obsessive, and I enjoyed the characterisation. But they leave the impression he's a chosen one, which doesn't play out in the end. Also there's drama about bringing the girl on the mission, but she doesn't add to the climax.
Few sound effects - the editors very selective - and I don't think there was any music (apart from the party stuff).
Overall, it sets up well but falls short on spooks in its descent into Hardy Boys yarniness. -
Area 51: Directed by Oren Peli and written by Christopher Denham and Oren Peli
I have to just lay this out there for folks right off the bat. I can not stand found footage movies. That shaky cam and trying to make things realistic to make people believe that what is happening is real really make me nauseous. I get severe motion sickness from watching this type of cinema. I decided to forgoe my distaste for found footage movies because I found the idea behind this movie to be interesting. Three friends decide to sneak into Area 51 and document what they find there. Every person who is interested in aliens and UFOs know all about Area 51 and everyone wants to know what is going on there.
I'm no different. I went out there to Rachel, Nevada to visit it. I got a little giddy by watching these places on the screen again. I enjoy it and I'm intrigued by it. I still have this nagging feeling though that this movie had no need to be found footage. It could have been a standard narrative and achieved far more success. When they make it into the base and the camera is still going wild, I had a difficult time determining what was happening. I wanted to know some semblance of what was happening. I wanted those moments between the friends and the woman who helps them where we learn about who they were as people. I wanted to know why they were obsessed. We never really learn much about any of them.
You also find yourself asking why are they still filming when things go insane. It's the same question people ask when they watch a found footage movie. Making this a standard narrative removes that problem from the story. The ending was also blah. It has that usual bad ending that a lot of these found footage movies have and it was kinda BS. The beginning spoils this ending as well.
The performances are pretty meaningless and outside of the interest in UFOs and Area 51, there's nothing to do here. It's scattered and a wasted potential. I hate to see that.
I give this movie a D. -
JelliSushi1 July 2015I don't know what I just watched, I don't know how they even managed to categorize this movie, SMH. It is nothing of a horror, No thrill Anywhere, and Sci-Fi Only because it had to do with aliens/more just talk about aliens, but other then that, Nothing! Total waste of my time, Thank goodness I didn't pay a thing to watch it but I would like my hour and a half of my life back. There is No explanation to Anything that "happens" in it's entire story-line. I honestly don't know How they managed to spend Five Hundred Thousand Dollars on this, other then paying a Sh*t ton to the one guy who plays himself, and for no reason as he sucked and wasn't in it long. How can anyone even justify spending that kind of money on the most Boring film Ever! Go feed poor people with that movie, not make crap. And whoever thinks my review "sucks", you obviously don't know a good or bad movie when you see one.