WFG RATING: B

A 29 Degrees Leo Production. Written and produced by Zack Van Eyck. Produced by Michael Beardsley and Zack Van Eyck. Cinematography by Sara Bravo. Edited by Adrian Dennis.

Stars Michael Beardsley, Allyson Seberoff, John Bigham, LaVerne Onika Cresson, Rosemary Clower, and Sammy J. Merrill.

A man’s attempt to convince his wife there are aliens in this world leads to a major rabbit hole in this thriller from Zack Van Eyck.

After returning from a business trip, Alan Thomas is heading to his father’s cabin with his wife Liz. He believes there are aliens on Earth and they are taking over random people. Liz, knowing Alan has a tendency to overthink and is too far off due to his conspiracies, constantly rebuffs his theories. When they arrive at the cabin, after temporarily taking a break from their arguing, meet their neighbors Seth and Jane.

Seth and Jane are quite an eccentric couple. Seth loves to toke and Jane believes herself to be a therapist. Their exhibiting behavior begins to convince Alan that Seth and Jane are aliens. Despite their attempts to convince Alan otherwise, Jane and Seth try their best to get through to Alan. However, as Alan continues to question everything, he wonders if they are aliens or is something else on the horizon.

This is quite an interesting film from writer-director Zack Van Eyck. The film starts off with the wheels rolling right away when we see our couple, Alan and Liz heading to his father’s cabin with him speeding towards there as if life depends on it. The first act involves Alan, played by Michael Beardsley, who is as passionate about aliens and their “invading” as Ross Gellar is about dinosaurs much to the chagrin of Liz, also well played by Allyson Sereboff. Despite a few moments of romance, Alan sticks to his guns about aliens invading. 

John Bigham’s Seth and LaVerne Onika Chesson’s Jane are the exact opposite, fun characters who thrive on just wanting to make their new neighbors welcome. Seth, especially, looks and acts like someone who came out of the Cheech and Chong school of medicine. It is so funny at times to see Alan’s attempt at convincing Liz that Seth and Jane are aliens only because they look like they’re having too much fun. Seth even goes as far as being so sarcastic in an attempt to quell the tension. However, the final act has some twists that are both unexpected and jaw-dropping. 

The Hitchhiker Effect is actually a pretty good film that starts out with a loose cannon lead and his long suffering wife. The addition of the outgoing and fun neighbors adds some comic relief at times but ends on a shocking finale that is out of left field and yet satisfying.