Alien invasion is a very old genre. As is dystopia. However, a dystopian fiction where the aliens have already won is pretty rare. With the exceptions of horror films like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, I can’t think of many films that explore society with extraterrestrials completely in control. It is this precise society that Rupert Wyatt’s Captive State explores.
Showing Chicago after a decade of alien occupation, the film presents a world well accustomed to the new status quo.
A voice confidently claims “No crime. No poverty. No unemployment. The state of our union is strong.” These boasts are interspersed with images of desperate squalor and police brutality. Wyatt previously brought us Rise of the Planet of the Apes, successfully relaunching a dead franchise. I’m eagerly awaiting what he has planned for this new project. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
