‘Invaders From Proxima B’ (2024) This sweet, family- friendly film is out of this world fun.

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Invaders From Proxima B

Invaders from Proxima B posterA celebration of family-friendly indie filmmaking, Invaders From Proxima B has arrived to delight the budding cinephile. Ward Roberts brings audiences a whimsical story of intergalactic mayhem.

This cast is outstanding. Playing a quippy father-son duo, Richard Riehle and Mike C. Nelson deliver laughs and add weight to the ensemble.

Sarah Lassez is quirky, alien-obsessed blogger Esther Terrestrial. Her excitable energy is infectious. Jeremiah Birkett is a director’s dream as animal control guy Nathan Droogal with an oddly religious inclination.

Invaders from Proxima B still 1Bo Roberts is a natural as daughter Ruby. Her comic timing is a hoot. Samantha Sloyan is effortlessly charming as Mom, Jane. We get both sitcom motherly goodness and slackstick joy from Sloyan. She is a dynamo.

Ward Roberts wears all the hats on this project. Besides writing and directing, he plays Howie Jenkins with a sweet, accessible enthusiasm as the bumbling Dad doing his best. His physicality wins the film.

Roberts also voices Chuck. It’s a hilarious turn that is entirely different from Howie. His sarcastic, gruff tone comes with genuine (otherworldly) guidance. Chuck looks like a softer version of Oscar The Grouch with large, purplish eyes. Chuck’s puppetry is comedy gold.

Invaders from Proxima B still 2The inspiration from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch is unmistakable, but Invaders From Proxima B has an edgier narrative. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you Chuck’s first line of dialogue elicited a genuine guffaw from my mouth. Incredible Seusian animation acts as transition storytelling. The editing and use of GoPro add to the kid-centric perspective. This alien invader, body-swapping comedy is a laugh-out-loud, enchanting watch for the weekend. Check it out!

Invaders from Proxima B Beams onto VOD May 31st Sci-Fi Comedy Starring Midnight Mass’ Samantha Sloyan Invading Screens Across the United States and Canada

Exclusively on Fandango at Home

Los Angeles, CA–Buffalo 8 is excited to slide into summer with the North American VOD release of Invaders from Proxima B, a family friendly science fiction comedy from writer/director/star Ward Roberts (Westworld, Agents of SHIELD) and Samantha Sloyan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass). Invaders from Proxima B debuts exclusively on Fandango at Home May 31, 2024.

Invaders from Proxima B was directed by Roberts from his own script. Roberts produced under his DrexelBox Films outfit alongside Mike C. Nelson. The film had its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival. The cast is rounded out by Sloyan, Mike C. Nelson (Shrinking, Black-ish), Richard Riehle (Office Space, Casino), Jeremiah Birkett (Black Cake, Euphoria), and Sarah Lassez (Nowhere, Lo).

BUFFALO 8

Founded in 2010 by partners Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor, Buffalo 8 is a full-service film and media company focused on production, post-production, distribution, design, and finance based in Santa Monica, California.

Buffalo 8 projects have been premiered and been awarded at Sundance, Berlin, Toronto and SXSW. At Buffalo 8, we are the fusion of an entrepreneurial culture fused with a love of storytelling and the creative arts and a passion for delivering original stories.

Buffalo 8 is partnered with industry leading BondIt Media Capital enabling streamlined packaging, production, financing, and sales opportunities.

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Review: ‘IN ACTION’ is indie ingenuity at its finest.

IN ACTION

Sean and Eric, two aspiring screenwriters with a contentious friendship, are mistaken for terrorists when their email correspondence containing ideas and “research” for an action movie script leads the government to believe they’re plotting a real terrorist threat. They’re kidnapped by the NSA and uncover a shocking conspiracy; rogue agents want to use the screenplay’s plot for an actual attack and frame the two. Trapped and tortured in an underground lair, Sean and Eric must fight to escape, while coming to terms with their checkered past, to save their families and the fate of the free world.

Action movie tropes soon follow, but there’s a twist. IN ACTION only features two actors, was shot in two locations on a purposefully micro-budget, and uses a mix of live-action, animation, hand-drawn sketches, toys (yup…we said toys) for a comedic spin on the action genre. All told through a modern lens while acknowledging its fond nostalgia for the genre’s 80s & 90s-era roots.

Low-budget creative genius. All hail Sean Kenealy and Eric Silvera, writers, directors, producers, and stars of IN ACTION. The dialogue is quippy and the chemistry is electric. The look of the film is truly impressive. Anything too elaborate to shoot is filled with super fun animation by Richard Walsh, close-ups, great sound effects, and sometimes just rudimentary home-movie style silliness. The overall setup of a sit-down interview is a fantastic premise. What essentially becomes a mixed media project forces you to not only pay attention but keep you completely engaged. Its sharp back and forth between visuals and over-the-top new dad/bro vibe is insane. Bravo to editor Billy Nawrocki. I cannot begin to imagine how long this film took to piece together. While this will hit harder with viewers of a certain age and stage for sure, it will undoubtedly tickle any film fan. The references on Eric and Sean’s t-shirts tell you everything you need to know about their baseline inspiration. These guys have no shame. Which, if we’re being honest, makes for great performances. The continuous gag about using foul language is laugh-out-loud funny. It’s not all dick jokes and movie clichés, we also get a nice takedown of toxic masculinity within the South Park-esque perverseness. It’s their commitment to every single moment of In Action that makes it relentlessly fun. Don’t get comfortable because 26 minutes in the script gets flipped. Can you imagine what this group of creatives could do with a large budget? As for In Action, it’s meta mayhem, movie magic. This is a labor of love made by honest-to-goodness fans. It’s an ode to indie filmmaking. Oh, makes sure you stay for the credits for some insider information. It’s worth it.

Gravitas Ventures will release IN ACTION on digital platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Fandango Now, and all major cable/satellite platforms on May 11.

IN ACTION was written, directed, and stars Eric Silvera and Sean Kenealy.