Occupation: Rainfall - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Occupation: Rainfall



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
When I saw the trailer for Occupation: Rainfall something looked decidedly familiar about the sci-fi film, outside of the fact that it looked like it had the CGI of a SyFy channel movie. About 15 minutes into watching the disc to review it hit me. I KNOW I had seen this plot before. I dig back a bit further in time with my google fu and it turns out that this is a direct sequel to an Indie Aussie film from 2018 known as Occupation, which I actually reviewed HERE when it came out. Well, after going back and watching that film again to get a premise, straight into the fray with the sequel.

The film takes place about 2 years after the original movie, where a race of mysterious creatures is attacking Earth. These aliens (nicknamed “The Grays” are here because their home is dead and they are the last of their kind ala Independence Day. However, humanity is fighting tooth and nail, with returning characters Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing) and Amelia Chambers (Jet Tranter) fighting the good fight. The enemy is nearly here though, and Sydney has fallen to their gigantic weapons, leaving only Wing Commander Hayes (Daniel Gillies of The Originals/Vampire Diaries) in command of the rest of the Australian forces.

There is chatter among the Grays who are helping resist the cruelty of their leaders of a mysterious device known as “project rainfall” that the Gray leadership is after, and Hayes sends Matt and a gray named “Gary” (inside joke to the movie, played by Jason Isaacs) to go find out what Project Rainfall is, and how they can use it to their advantage. Simultaneously Hayes is intent on his own machinations, having created a bioweapon that will not only knock out the alien invaders, but also the rebel grays who are helping them. Something that is antithetical to their military training. Now it’s a race against time before Matt can find the mysterious project rainfall, and when the power mad Hayes unleashes a bioweapon that may turn them from the innocent prey, into the very monsters they’re defending against.

I remember Occupation being a fairly low budget sci-fi movie that looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget. While I’m sure it didn’t set cinemas on fire 3 years ago, the 6 million dollar budget was increased to 25 million for the sequel, and it shows with all of the set pieces, tons of CGI dog fits, and general action that is amped up to level 11. Yes ,the movie is still a “low budget sci-fi movie” at heart, but the Aussies really tried to get the most of that $25 million budget and have made the two films look like 2 different movies. The first film was basically a passion project that somehow got made, with lots of off screen alien encounters covered in paintball garb like armor, to a full on alien being on screen most of the time, cgi dogfights, and a huge battle in the middle of the film with lasers, explosions and all the worlds. Director/Writer Luke Sparkes definitely has his heart in the right place and WANTS to make the series succeed. In fact, it has succeeded to a certain extent in that it has expanded the universe and gotten so much bigger than it was previously. The first movie was a cheapo indie film, and this actually feels like it could be a U.S. created DTV film. A step up that can not be ignored.

Still, the movie IS a DTV esque entry that very obviously has some script and writing flaws. The movie is about 30 minutes too long and drones on WAY past its expiration date, ending with a cliffhanger that has Luke Sparkes obviously expecting a third film in the franchise. Dan Ewing is still solid as Matt and I was really surprsied to hear Jason Isaacs play the voice of Gary the “Gray”. Solid cast, and honestly, for a DTV film, it isn’t half bad and I’m curious to see how they wrap up the story in the next installment (which is supposedly being worked on as we speak).




Rating:

Rated R for Language




Video:

The 1080p encode is quite good for a DTV digital production. The clarity is generally quite good, with great facial details and clothing nuances showing up to observe. Like you would expect, the CGI and greenscreen work can be a bit problematic with it showing up like a video game for the lasers and some of the in motion space craft. I also noticed a few times that there was some screen judder that was pretty obvious. Colors can be bright and shiny with the neon reds and oranges of alien blasters, and dull and muted during the underground bunker sequences. There’s still plenty of detail to be eeked out of the picture, but some banding and black crush is present in said underground shots.






Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio track is probably the best part of the whole production in my opinion. It’s loud, brash, and an in your face action track to the core. Dialog is well placed (although recorded a bit lower than usual and hard to hear because I’m not used to Aussie accents as much) and surround usage is very solid, especially during the dogfights and battles. The bass is exceptional though, with lots of low end pounding during the battles, and some seriously beefy explosions. All around great mix.









Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Luke Sparke
• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Luke Sparke, Producers Carly Imrie and Carmel Imrie, Actor Zachary Garred, and Visual Effects Supervisor Alex Becconsall
• Sydney Escape
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Audio Commentary

Final Score: ​

Occupation: Rainfall is a bigger budget sequel to Occupation, but still a DTV film to the core. It’s not exactly great, or even makes a GOOD DTV movie, but works as a low budget midnight Netflix rental for those of us who have watched everything available on Netflix. Audio and video are solid, and extras are suprisingly beefy. The two commentaries have the behind the scenes forces giving a lot of energy and excitement about the passion project and are actually more entertaining than the movie in some ways. Rental.


Technical Specifications:


Starring: Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, Daniel Gillies, Ken Jeong, Zac Garred, Jet Tranter, Lawrence Makoare, Jason Isaacs
Directed by: Luke Sparke
Written by: Luke Sparke
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 129 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: August 10th 2021

Recommendation: Rental