ALIENOID: THE RETURN TO THE FUTURE (2024)

“Bring on part 2!” we hurled across the theater when the end credits started rolling for ALIENOID. And behold, here’s the sequel already! That’s very good news for you, BIFFF-audience, but less so for us, the poor schmucks that cobble together the BIFFF texts for 1€ apiece. Because, as we so eloquently put it last year, “describing ALIENOID is like discussing atom splitting with a drunk Fin”. And, judging by this second installment, that Fin has only gotten drunker! Thankfully, the basic premise remains unaltered: extraterrestrial warlords have locked up the losers of an intergalactic battle in the puny minds of the lowliest life forms of the whole universe: Earthlings! Which also asks for demi-godly wardens to beat down uprisings among prisoners. In the chaos that accompanies one such uprising, Ean, the protégé of the guardians, gets tangled up in a time warp and is sent back to Korea’s distant medieval past. Luckily, she knows what to do in such a situation: track down the Divine Blade and get back to the future. Unsurprisingly though, an object carrying such a lofty name is bound to be in high demand and in no time Ean is pursued by a small army of colorful characters. And if the least eccentric of that bunch is a travelling blind swordsman, you just know shit is about to hit the fan!
Once again, a goofy, spectacular Korean fantasy flick and that’s exactly what we wanted: more of the same! Don’t worry if you haven’t seen part 1, because director Dong-hoon Choi added a flashy, epilepsy-inducing sum-up at the start of his new, sprawling opus. Bring on part 3!!!