A blundering horror comedy that pushes everything to excess

The Takers (2024)
Has an interesting premise that gets buried under awkward performances and moments that try to shock us into thinking it’s art. Although there appears to be a core message that examines the human condition from the perspective of alien invaders, and their developing appreciation and understanding of humans, the message is obscured thanks to grotesque and wild imagery. Despite a valiant effort and passion from writer/director/editor Zach Clark, the movie feels inconsistent and disappointing.

When a pair of powerful aliens land on Earth, they find themselves separated, inhabiting human bodies to avoid detection. They manage to reconnect and try to settle in a new, normal human life together. However, when they learn more about the world they evacuated to, and the darkness of the human race, they may be afraid of their choice to seek refuge on this planet.

The becomers struggle to establish a sense of humor

The film does not go beyond the surface

This sci-fi film tries to insert absurd and surreal humor to make a point. But the weird and off-kilter comedy, paired with the shocking scenes of violence and grotesque foreign promiscuity, result in a mismatched and poorly constructed film overall. Despite the onslaught of incredulous visuals, there’s clearly a deeper message that conveys something worth exploring, but The recipients Is also obsessed with the weird to get to it.

It is impressive what Clark accomplishes. It’s just that the resulting image lacks so much more than it delivers and it becomes difficult to praise beyond the surface level. The concept is good. The visuals are sometimes interesting. The ambition is there. Unfortunately, none of these redeem a feature that is so inconsistent.

While the entire film presents itself as a quirky romantic comedy/horror movie, the juxtaposition of themes and genres feels like they were picked at random. The story inserts several voice-over narrations that attempt to add context for the aliens. Again, the idea of ​​revealing the information in a slow and controlled way for maximum impact is good, but the execution feels so tired and boring that it could, and probably should, have been left out of the final edit.

The Becomer feels like an experiment gone wrong

The movie needs more polishing

The indie filmmaking space is full of experimental and controversial titles. unfortunately, The recipients Could have used some more oversight to polish the idea. It feels like Clark let himself run, and it didn’t bring him to a good place.

With all that said, the film is sure to find an audience to appreciate it. The absurd, dark humor, the open comparisons with modern America, and the general uniqueness of the film will surely connect. However, for a much larger demographic, the film will not inspire in any meaningful way. The recipients Could have achieved more, but it’s a movie that struggles with definitions, relationships, politics, and pretty much everything else it tries to authoritatively establish itself as.

The recipients is now in theaters and on VOD September 24th.