Review of Alien Autopsy (2006) by Andrew G — 27 May 2010

In 2006, Englishman Ray Santilli confessed in a much publicized documentary that his "acquired" alien autopsy film, supposedly showing the actual autopsy of an extraterrestrial being, was a fake.

Well, not a fake, he maintained. It was actually just a recreation that he had filmed which was meant to replicate original footage he had been given by the supposed photographer of the incident, footage that had been irrevocably damaged.

Given that his film had become one of the most sensational and widely debated pieces of evidence in the history of alien encounters, this revelation caused quite a shock to some, but still leaves the question about the contents of the film that Ray Santilli actually saw.

His story is the basis for the new no-budget indie satire [i]Alien Autopsy[/i], and is told in a highly entertaining and upbeat fashion by director Jonny Campbell. Although this film is clearly meant to be a comedy, the extended moments of dramatic intrigue and suspenseful segments lend itself to something grander, more mythic.

..something I sort of wish Campbell had stuck to throughout the entire film. While it's easy to comically render stories of alien intrigue and media frenzy, the real story is far more compelling than silly British humor and sly caricatures.

Much of the film chooses to be completely hammy, with several off the wall characters and zany sequences thrown in (for instance, in the scene where the crew is shooting the alien autopsy footage in Santilli's kitchen, Santilli's highly domestic mother interrupts one of the shots by stepping in to offer everyone cookies.

) And while the film always hits high on the laugh meter and is chock full of entertainment value, I couldn't help but think that it could have been so much more. This could have been a film that not only attracted hardcore UFO buffs like myself, but a whole slew of people fascinated by the mystical and unexplained.

Instead, the film is a fast-paced, lightweight morsel of Saturday evening fun. Perhaps someone someday will make a film that captures the true gravity and sense of mystery associated with this story, but for what it was, [i]Alien Autopsy[/i] served its purpose well.