Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Edison Witt The first must-see film of the year.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

tresm87 7.2/10 As a huge fan of alien films, I've seen many lists and articles including this as a very underrated gory alien offering on a small budget. The director Eduardo Sánchez, who has definitive experience in crafting simplistically effective creepy films on tight funds clearly shows that talent here once again in even better fashion than Blair Witch Project. The overall story takes some time at first to develop within the group of 4 friends and their "guest". As pieces start falling together and developing it gets damn right insane and visceral and the tension gets extreme. I thought the action packed finale was spectacularly executed and satisfying and made up very well for the duller first half. The practical creature effects on the alien are top notch and very impressive for the production budget, as well as the brutally disgusting gore effects which do not led up for the entirety. The dialogue was absolutely ridiculous at times especially with the Cody character but it gave the film a certain personality and comedic aspect at times. The setting was a bit too limited as it was essentially shot in a couple rooms of a house but that's to be expected on a lower budget. The scenes where they were out in the forest at night were very ominous and I think they could've expanded the overall setting by utilizing that environment more. Overall this was a surprising alien film that shows you can do a lot with a little with the right people on board. I also recommend Sánchez's Bigfoot film "Exists" for a similarly solid story on a humble budget.

port 5 Altered is a great horror/sci-fi film with a straight story, good ambiance and proves that you don't need a $100 mil budget to create suspense. Also a really underrated one in my opinion. The film starts with a bunch of rednecks that hope to trap an alien (to extract revenge), since back when they were kids they were abducted. They have been trying to trap one of them nasty things for years and this actually became an activity to drink outdoors. None of them actually believe that they would catch an alien or even know what to do with it if they ever catch one. That is, until one night...they actually manage to trap one.It is really a great decision that the director took not to use CGI to portray the alien. Instead we have a man in rubber suit and a bit of good ol' animatronics (that's where most of the budget went methinks :) ). Some might find the alien ridiculous but I for one found it quite menacing. The film also have great make up effects like the sickly body of Cody— which was f*cking great. The film is not only about the alien and the ambiance of course. Each of the bunch actually has a character and depicted quite well throughout the running time of the film. You actually care about these guys. Some you might dislike but some you might like. Also the sheriff is a great little addition but Wyatt's girlfriend would be my only complaint as her character has no depth whatsoever other than being a screaming running bitch. Gore is not used gratuitously and it looks also great. The director really made good use of the cabin combining with great outdoor forest shots to create an eerie atmosphere. Verdict: if you are a fan of sci-fi/horror definitely go see this. Don't get put off by its IMDb rating.

verndougall A movie with potential, and promise, but somehow fails to meet the ends. You could sum up the movie, by saying it performed best, with the quality it was given. In personal bias, I'll state the movie itself could expand, further with the ideas it had. Giving it, an average rating. Everything centered around that statistic, average acting, plot, but the concept of the enemy was what was interesting.The holes in the plot are minor, but they still should have had depth. How did this happen? What about this? It didn't give a deep intrigue towards this, but gave the amount necessary to at least grasp it, albeit somewhat. These are all personal thoughts, but i enjoyed the movie. A settling horror flick, around your friends, or alone, but not worth more than maybe 10 bucks.

Jim McCormick Decided to go through my Netflix streaming last night & watch a film. Of course, I went right to the horror section. There sat "Altered," a film I thought about watching several times in the past, but passed it up for something else. Well, all I got to say is, I waited way to long to see this film! "Altered" is a mean, lean, sci-fi/horror machine! There is no fat to be found here! Five friends get abducted by aliens 15 years before. One of them dies. One of them lives & hides. Three of them go out in the wilds of Florida to hunt down one of the aliens for fifteen years, & are finally successful. What transpires afterwards is a taunt horror thriller that delivers in spades! The acting is top notch, though I have to admit, the first twenty minutes I thought this was going to be a dumb redneck film? I'm sure glad I continued watching, because there is definite method to their madness, as the script reveals real people, not just another hillbilly stereotype exploitation film! After succeeding in capturing an alien, the three friends start to realize exactly how foolish they've been, that is, all except for one, whose brother was killed by the aliens. He was blamed for his brother's death, even by his own father, & put in prison. His performance may be the finest of all the fine performances here, as he spews hatred for the alien, wanting it to feel all the excruciating pain he went through. A portrait of pure unadulterated revenge, where nothing or no one is going to stand in his way of satisfying it. Also of note is a girlfriend, who gets caught up in this & takes matters in her own hands, literally. A strong female protagonist performance, a rare thing in low budget sci-fi/horror films. All this makes for a very good character study of a group of friends splintered emotionally, & how their forced to deal with the tragedy of the past, & impending the doom of the future."Altered" is no big budget film, but the special effects are fine & the aliens look good. I've seen better make up in higher budget films, but still, the aliens were malevolently convincing.If you want a white knuckled sci-fi/horror thriller, "Altered" is as better than most films of its ilk in the last ten years. A superior effort, especially when you consider it was released straight to DVD!