Alien Addiction
On the upper tip of the north island of New Zealand, Waikato is a large region of unspoiled wilderness and sparse communities, home to less than half a million people over 25,000 square kilometres, and for Riko, Rabbit, Tama and Hemi there is little to do other than get stoned, ride around playing pranks, head for the bars in hopes of catching sight of the elusive female of the species who doesn’t know their reputation or immerse themselves in the game Galaxy Gods.
For Peter Macintosh, creator of Alien Chronicle, the accusations that his material is either unproven or entirely fictitious has not stopped him from gathering a growing fanbase which numbers two million followers, and it is to rural Waikato he and his assistant Saleem have come to capture footage of an approaching meteor as it enters the atmosphere, hoping to spin a story that it is an alien vessel.
That is of course, ridiculous: the alien craft is merely using the fireball as a cover to land on Earth, where of all people they meet Riko’s aunt, an eccentric whose hospitality to her friends is matched by her hostility to strangers, a category into which the duo Riko names Jeff and Gurgus definitely fall, but they are not a threat; rather they simply wish to have a good time, and the lights and nightclubs of Auckland beckon…
Written and directed by Shae Sterling, Alien Addiction is the debut feature film from the man behind over a hundred music videos, and he captures both the Middle Earth magic of the landscapes and sunsets over the unique topography of New Zealand and the unfocused restlessness of the four mates who know no limits to their friendly rivalry or the leeway they allow each other in pursuit of distraction.
A crude and unashamed stoner comedy, Alien Addiction is not aiming for highbrow intellectual questions of life in the universe, instead making Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste look positively sophisticated as Jeff and Gurgus literally plumb the depths of the sewer system in search of their highs, taking Riko on a trip he never expected, the story changing gear at every junction without taking its foot off the gas.
Jimi Jackson playing Riko with wide-eyed and slack-jawed delight, his personal boundaries are as tenuous as his dignity but is at heart a decent person, a contrast to Thomas Sainsbury as Macintosh, more worldly but cynical and without qualms about exploiting the visitors to boost his career, a stranger to the concept of kindness where Riko believes that friendship truly is universal.
Having screened at Sci-Fi London, Alien Addiction will be available on Digital Download from 12th October
