"A Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie!" Few words have summed up mediocrity as well. Alien Lockdown, the latest offering from Sci-Fi, breaks that stereotype, if only a little.
Alien Lockdown is by no means a turning point in science fiction or horror, nor does it change the way you'll look at monsters. It is, however, entertaining. As the movie is being offered for free, that's good enough for me.
The films plot centers on a secret military base where a new bio-weapon is being engineered: a great killing machine -- wait, you've heard this one before? Yeah, it breaks out and kills everyone! How'd you guess? The story isn't really new, but the movie doesn't pretend it is. There is a bit of a kink thrown in the works with a MacGuffin sub-plot that's pretty superfluous to the movie, but it doesn't detract from the overall production.
So is it worth watching? Probably. If you enjoy Aliens-type movies, which have become their own sub-genre by now, this is an enjoyable entry to the group. I think it would have been better served to be "Zombie Lockdown", as you can get more mileage out of the cliches of the "military vs monster" genre with zombies, but that's just me.
If you were planning on sitting around the house on Saturday, you could do far worse than Alien Lockdown.
Alien Lockdown premieres on Saturday, February 9th at 9pm (Eastern) only on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Don't worry when you see the prologue, though. You are watching the right movie, despite all appearences.