Part of District 9's novelty came from its setting: While films like Independence Day and the upcoming Battle: Los Angeles posit that invading aliens will choose Los Angeles as their point of first contact, District 9 set its extraterrestrials in South Africa, an immediately refreshing and offbeat choice. Now we've got the trailer for the Comic-Con sci-fi vehicle Skyline, and it seems like the aliens are back to their old tricks again.
The LA-set film isn't without its own hook, however, as directors Greg and Colin Strause made the film on a super-low budget with under 20 people in the crew, choosing instead to spend most of their cash on special effects (the brothers are visual effects veterans who've contributed to many sci-fi tentpoles, even their putative competitor, Battle: Los Angeles). It even has a novel invasion idea: the UFOs are sucking people into the air, rather than laying waste into the city.
Still, I'm wary: the Strauses' last directorial credit was Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, and the cast is toplined by actors like Eric Balfour and Brittany Daniel. I don't need A-listers, but if the Strauses weren't going to take a cue from District 9 when it came to their setting, couldn't they at least take a look for a character-actor-cum-star on par with Sharlto Copley?
VERDICT: Need to see more before I get beamed up.