Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.0

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 20, 2023

Sean S. Cunningham's "Terminal Invasion" (2002) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary recorded by the director and executive producer Chuck Simon and test footage. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The most interesting thing about Sean S. Cunningham’s film Terminal Invasion (2002) is that it tells a story that was perfected by multiple people. It could be that this is precisely why this story is bad -- too many people had different ideas about what ought to be good for it -- but it seems unlikely because one of these people is Lewis Abernathy, who wrote the very good original story that inspired Cunningham to shoot the cult film DeepStar Six (1989). What is likely to have happened is this: Abernathy, with the help of Robinson Young and John Jarrell, edited his story to turn it into a teleplay and, in the process, made it worse.

In a rural area somewhere in the western United States, during a rapidly expanding snowstorm, two cops crash their car while transporting a criminal named Jack (Bruce Campbell). All three survive and then reach a tiny airport where several strangers have been begging the only pilot around, Cathy Garrett (Chase Masterson), to start preparing her charter jet for takeoff. While tensions rise, Jack is escorted to the restroom where he accidentally reveals that a kind reverend (Ian Downe) is an alien creature. After Jack kills the alien creature and its body evaporates, he recovers a gun and becomes the most authoritative person in the airport. Soon after, a decision is made to use the airport scanner to determine whether other alien creatures are hiding in human bodies. While an aging lady’s true identity is exposed, the scanner is broken, and everyone becomes paranoid. This proves to be the perfect time for the remaining alien creatures to attack and complete the takeover of the tiny airport.

The story has so many egregious plot holes that naming them all is pointless. It is better to write that Terminal Invasion wishes to be considered a close relative of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and The Thing (1982) but fails to convince that it deserves the honor.

The crucial flaw of the story, however, is not that it borrows from other places, or that it has seemingly endless plot holes. A lot of notorious genre films work with very well-known material that has plenty of plot holes. The problem with the story is that it is very safe and demands that its protagonists remain one-dimensional. This, for instance, makes it impossible to produce a wicked sense of humor that would have instantly made Terminal Invasion a more exciting film.

That Terminal Invasion turned out as it did, however, makes sense. It was done for TV, with a very modest budget, and very quickly. It is why as soon as its opening credits disappear it feels like Cunningham sets it to auto-pilot mode and then simply observes to ensure that it gets to its final destination without hitting any noticeable bumps. When such projects are greenlighted, the director and the cast are always on the same page too, which is never a good thing.

Campbell’s performance is serviceable at best, which is unfortunate because the initial impression is that his criminal could be a catalyst for some memorable genre fireworks. He quickly transforms the criminal into a pragmatic fugitive that simply cannot wait to get out of the airport, so virtually everything he says and does while dealing with the alien creatures is seriously underwhelming. Masterson looks good before the camera but never convinces that she could be a veteran pilot that may consider a dangerous trip to Canada. The rest of the cast is instantly forgettable.

Terminal Invasion was lensed by Czechoslovakian-born cinematographer Rudolf Blahacek, whose first professional gig was a collaboration with Gustav Ehmck on the disturbing urban drama The Making of a Prostitute (1971).

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Terminal Invasion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

I cannot write that I liked what I saw on my system. Very large portions of Terminal Invasion reveal such prominent black crush that I frequently could not tell what was happening in the background. (For reference, the crushing is very similar to the one that you will observe on Code Red's release of Trouble Bound). Even in well-lit close-ups, there is a lot of detail that is missing, and I assure you this is not how Terminal Invasion looked when it was broadcast on TV. The surface of the visuals is healthy. Colors balance is fine. However, a pretty substantial range of darker nuances is problematic, with dark browns, blues, and grays being the most destabilized ones. Image stability is good. All in all, I think that Terminal Invasion should look quite a bit better in high-definition, so the current presentation is average at best. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional Enlgish SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose to view the film with the English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The dialog was very clear, sharp, and always easy to follow. The music does not produce any memorable contrasts, it has a complimentary role. Dynamic intensity is quite good, but there is not enough quality material that can make an impression. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alien Costume Test - presented without sound. (7 min).

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by director Sean S. Cunningham and executive producer Chuck Simon. The commentary is surprisingly good. For example, Mr. Cunningham reveals that during the 1980s, when Lewis Abernathy wrote the original story for Terminal Invasion, the initial plan was to title the future adaptation of this story Invasion of the Face-eaters in 3D, but no one wanted to do a 3D film and the ambitious project was shelved. Also, the current version of Terminal Invasion was a quickie, one of the first, done for the Sci-Fi Channel on a budget. The entire production, which lasted approximately two weeks, was completed in Canada as well.

Terminal Invasion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Before I sat down to view Terminal Invasion I did not know anything about it or its production, so after its final credits rolled on my screen, I wrote on a piece of paper what I thought the origins of its main weaknesses were. All of my guesses turned out to be true. In a very good audio commentary that is included on this release, Sean S. Cunningham and executive producer Chuck Simon confirm that Lewis Abernathy's original story that inspired Terminal Ivasion was quite different, and the entire film was done very quickly and on a budget in Toronto for the Sci-Fi Channel. Also, the two gentlemen identify some of the obvious technical limitations of the production, which easily could have been avoided if they had been given more money and time. I did not dislike Terminal Invasion because it clearly borrows from a couple of big cult films, but it is a rushed project with predictable flaws. Kino Lorber's release offers an underwhelming presentation of Terminal Invasion, so if you want to pick it up for your collection, I suggest moving it aside until it appears heavily discounted. In the meantime, consider picking up Cunningham's DeepStar Six, a wonderful cult film from the 1980s.