‘Alpha Gang’ Review: David and Nathan Zellner’s Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Comedy Got a Big Heart and Bigger Goofy Energy
David and Nathan Zellner are back, doing what they do best: marrying a story about non-human creatures with humanistic tendencies that find meaning in a not-so-kind world, with an absurdist, over-the-top, goofy romp straight out of an Adult Swim series. Their follow-up to Sasquatch Sunset, Alpha Gang, sees them trading the shit-throwing Bigfoot for blue-blooded extraterrestrials decked in biker clothing, swinging to ‘50s/60s pop music, and trying to overcome their greatest epidemic: [Mariah Carey voice] Emotions.
MPA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Runtime: 1 Hour and 45 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: ZBi, Dirty Films, Felix Culpa, Fat City, Sugar Rush Pictures, Aloe Entertainment, Peachtree Media Partners
Distributor: To Be Announced
Director: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Screenwriter: David Zellner
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Léa Seydoux, Chris Pine, Dave Bautista, Lily-Rose Depp, Adria Arjona, Doona Bae, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Riley Keough
U.S Release Date: N/A
We have a group of aliens called the Alphas (Dave Bautista, Bae Doona, Lily-Rose Depp, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Riley Keough), donning leather gear straight out of Grease, with the stern Alpha 1 (Léa Seydoux) taking the lead. They hide out in a… let’s say… rural European brutalist bunker best described as “Bowser was jacked out of his castle, and some of the decor was replaced with ‘50s mom-and-pop diner pastiche.” The Alphas share one mission: try to take over the world! When soldier troops arrive, they hunt and blast away those inferior carbon-based lifeforms.
However, when spawning on Earth Mortal Kombat Raiden-style, their human forms feel every sensation. Their IQ instantly drops; they experience dreams, feelings, lying, and even shitting. But worst of all, they become susceptible to raw emotion. To them, “emotion” is a disease wherein if someone has it, they must be quarantined. When a new arrival, Alpha 7 (Chris Pine) shows up claiming to be Alpha 6, it becomes instantly clear that there’s an imposter among them. Even worse, that imposter is a Beta — a rival group led by Beta 1 (Cate Blanchett).
Alpha Gang thrives when its A-list cast embraces the Zellner’s signature absurdity.
At this point, you might as well go into a Zellner Bros. movie expecting vibes and hilarious absurdist bits rather than a functioning story. It’s present in Sasquatch Sunset, where you’re just watching these furry little guys traverse nature, and it’s about the same in Alpha Gang. The film doesn’t necessarily explain who these aliens are or why they have rival alien gangs. While that might sound like laziness, the vagueness is part of the director brothers’ trademark specialty. Their main concern is dissecting these creatures, averse to feeling vulnerable, expressing their inner humanity and individuality.
Alpha Gang has been materializing for over a decade, and the pandemic forced them to tackle human connection (or lack thereof). They’re pretty much holding a mirror to our reality, where people would rather call things “cringe” or mask themselves with humor rather than be honest. The Zellners find fun in the intimate illustrations of these aliens longing and experiencing newfound mental and physical sensations mixed with their signature over-the-top goofiness.
The cast’s camaraderie gives the film a buoyant charm, but I was more delighted by how everyone commits to the silly bit assigned to them. The Zellners have their A-list talent looking like the Peanuts gang whenever they’re dancing in the Hungary, Budapest, and Croatia settings the film was shot in.
One of the funniest subplots has to be Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s Alpha Three being down bad for a hawk named Periwinkle, selling every bit of his affection with wide eyes and vulnerable body language. Bae Doona’s Alpha Five jumping around when ants crawl on her leads to the film’s funniest gag. Cate Blanchett, who is also a producer (no, seriously), uses a thick Cockney accent and donning an eye patch looking like a villain straight out of a Jay Ward toon. Chris Pine’s Alpha Seven throws toilet paper over a guy he’s killed and develops an affinity for drinks “stronger than water,” which gave me good belly laughs.
On the other hand, I’m bummed they didn’t give Riley Keough much crazy material, especially after she went all out on Sasquatch Sunset. Hell, she’s Riley Keough. Give her anything, and she will deliver the moon for you.
Compared to their previous works, Alpha Gang is a major upgrade for the director brothers in terms of production quality and effort. I adore the film’s unique ‘50s brutalist medieval look, and the practical effects for its grisly, violent showcase when firing squads start blasting away. The entire climax, involving horses, planes, trench warfare, and tanks, might as well be the Zellners flexing their budget increase.
The Zellners have plenty of ideas, but not enough movie to hold them together.
Alpha Gang follows the Zellners continuing their most frustrating tendencies, stretching a decent slice-of-life premise far too long and, narratively speaking, spreading itself too thin. It’s the same as how I felt about all of their movies, where I go, “Man, this would be better as an Adult Swim short than a movie.”
The film is at its height when the Alphas grow emotional consciousness and come together as a found family. But that’s not without aimless scenes of innocuous wars (against who? Who knows?) and repetitive bits of endless violence that grow tiring. There are junctures that go nowhere, and the unique aesthetic in all its biker-dressed glory runs out of steam. To its benefit, it’s not as extreme as Damsel, which felt like an endless slog, but it certainly doesn’t mine as much substance as Sasquatch Sunset.
Alpha Gang is one of those movies I find myself at war with. It hits so many roadblocks and often finds itself throwing idea darts at the wall with little cohesion. That said, it’s not without heart in its underlying message and humanistic themes, elicited by the committed ensemble and an outrageous sense of humor that gets to some sweet pendulum swings.
