The biggest problem with this movie is that they didn't kill the two leads at the beginning of the movie instead of the end. It would have saved me, and all other viewers from a lot of bad acting and worse plot twists...

I'm a highly skeptical horror and science fiction fan (as two separate genres). I've seen a ton of them and a shockingly high proportion of them are utter failures and disappointments. So I went in with the lowest expectations. And by god it did not fail me. This was by no means the worst film I've seen but it was one of the biggest MEHs.At the beginning it was average until the sheriff asks the girl "who did this to you?" and she answers "who do you think!" Then there was the point when Lex gets out of the car and just stands there when all her horrified friends are screaming for her to save herself and get back in the car. From then on it was nothing more than a horrific nosedive straight down.I'm not going to go into the bad acting, plot holes, horrible dialogue, etc. There are enough reviews on here doing that. But what I will say is this: unless you are one of those movie-goers with a voracious appetite for everything sci-fi/horror, or both regardless of whether it's good or bad, take a hard pass on this on this one. There are other films out there worthy of your time and money.

The best way to get anything out of Extraterrestrial is to watch the first 10 minutes and the last 40 minutes and so treat it as a solid X Files episode, because it sadly does not work as a full-length feature. While the alien action is sound enough (although it breaks no new ground), the film just does not hang together due to stilted scenes that often run on too long (including one or two botched 'jump scares'), and it is somewhat ironic that the Vicious Brothers were not vicious enough in the editing suite. Consequently, if the directors had pared the film down to around 80 minutes then it would work well. As it is, however, the tale loses momentum badly in the middle with the inclusion of a number of static and visually incoherent scenes, and the use of the always-watchable Michael Ironside handily revealing the alien plot to keep things moving and deal with any questions as to the purpose of the aliens (who are indeed plural, so surely the title of the film should be Extraterrestrials?). However, the last 40-30 minutes do go some way to redeeming the film, and while sci-fi clichés abound (although I suspect that they are conscious science fiction homages), the ending is satisfying (with a rather good intertextual link to a certain iconic TV show).

In my opinion, this film is exceptional for it's type, and doesn't deserve the low scores. While it is a typical teen horror flick in many ways, it isn't pat. Personally, I don't care for the teen horror genre, I cringed through the gore, and I had to do some fast-forwarding because I'm impatient. That said, I was very impressed with the detail and layers involved, as well as the acting, which was superb. It's not easy to show terror, but these kids emoted fear very convincingly.Someone stated that they felt the alien was shown too soon, but I disagree. I hate films where you have to wait until the end, and then they show a split second of the antagonist. It was satisfying to have several good glimpses.Most movies of this type would have ended with the survivor going on with her life after the craft took off – but this one continued with an unexpected "insider" experience. Once again, you think that when that event ends with the protagonists' joyful reunion, that the movie would end and the credits would roll. Not so! There is even yet ANOTHER unexpected twist, AND a surprise cameo of a character based on a popular sci-fi series!This film may seem ordinary and predictable on the surface: Teens at a cabin at night, power going out, terror, etc. – but it was very well fleshed out and the ending proffered a rewarding twist for UFO and "conspiracy theory" buffs.In summary, Extraterrestrial is not my cup of entertainment, but it deserves high marks for it's production, twists, and performance.