Halloween is the perfect gateway holiday for audiences to forget the confines of reality and expect the unexpected. In multi-hyphenate filmmaker Jason D. Morris‘ screwball sci-fi comedy The Space Rodent, any semblance of normalcy is lightyears away. What Morris conjures throughout the film’s 80-minute runtime is a delightfully bonkers take on the alien invasion genre. If you’ve ever wondered how the Scooby Doo gang would react to mysteries if they were in their 30s, The Space Rodent gives you a pretty good idea.

Alien Trash Pandas From Outer Space

The film takes place in modern-day Cavell, Illinois. It’s Halloween night and a group of friends, Mac (Robert Carrera), Dean (David Minard), Amanda (Leah Bernard), and Skyler (Shelby Broadnax), embark on their separate holiday plans. The men plan to stay home and not pass out candy while their partners enjoy the festivities at a party out of town. Mac and Dean are excited to catch up but don’t get to enjoy their bro time for long.  A teenager dressed as The Crow (Ty Pennington) rudely interrupts them by trick-or-treating. Frustrated that she didn’t read the warning sign “Ring the Doorbell and DIE!”, Mac and Dean annoyingly begin to educate the teen on how inappropriate it is for someone her age to beg for candy. Just as the teen claps back, a strange Earth-shaking disturbance crash lands on the front lawn.

Watch The Space Rodent trailer here.

At the same time, Amanda and Skyler also become derailed by a terrifying alien rodent. Part bear, part rat, this alien creature threatens to destroy everything in its path. Amanda and Skylar rush home to find Mac and Dean fighting off their own otherworldly creature, who they charmingly call an “alien trash panda” and “zombie cat”. As chaos unfolds and their life-or-death situation intensifies, the group realizes what they need to do to survive. Like any good guy vs alien trope, they must overcome their differences and work together to defeat the bad guys.

Takeaway

The Space Rodent is a humorously lo-fi genre film with incredible energy. What it lacks in production budget is more than made up for in its on-screen antics. The practical puppets and special effects give the film its culty vibe. Sharp and witty dialogue by Robert Carrera, who serves double duty as both screenwriter and actor, gives way to several laugh-out-loud moments. In a nod to some of The Space Rodent‘s inspirations, The Goonies, Say Anything, and the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi comedy Junior are all referenced in one way or another. This campy indie comedy is a blast to watch and offers a fun new take on the sci-fi genre.