I will cut it some slack for being a film from the 1980s. However, after they see an alien ship wrecked and see actual aliens, they return to the house and tell everyone, and they all are like "let's open birthday presents and have some cake. Oh and you'll come back tomorrow for breakfast?" as if nothing had happened.

I saw this film on one of the Sky Movie channels last night. I missed the beginning and just happened to flick to this channel as there was nothing else on. So, I can't comment on whether the film is slow to start or not, because I started watching at around 20 minutes in. This is just the sort of film I like to watch. Made to be as real as possible (it's obviously fake, BTW, not in the sense that it LOOKS fake, but had it been real, would it really be aired on national television? I don't think so! Oh, and it's got the actors names at the end of the film!). Darkened hallways, realistic portrayal of absolute terror by the cast, SOME decent special effects, etc... Great stuff. However, it does start to ruin the film when the aliens make their full appearance (as I said, I missed the beginning of the film, so I don't know how much you see of the first encounter). They look fake, although I like the way the camera goes all fuzzy when they are nearby - in a way, it tries to mask the Dr. Who costumes. I've always said, these things work best when you never fully see what is scaring the cast - just the glimpse from the corner of the eye, or as it disappears out of sight or something. All in all, I'd give this film 9/10. I liked the BWP film (first viewing only). This one was longer, and was generally more chilling than BWP. One problem - I didn't really seem to care whether the cast survived or not. And the kid was just plain annoying.

There. That's ALL the clown holding the camera can say. Bloody awful,don't waste your time. Could only suffer this tripe for 21 minutes.

I think when watching this you must be prepared to realise it is done on a micro budget so taking less notice of the somewhat shoddy alien costumes and special effects. Appreciate what was done with what they had. And onto this, what they did was create a piece that is edgy, creepy and realistic and the low budget approach actually aids the ending result. If made using state of the art camera, special effects and a big budget this film would lose its charm and character which is essential in this sort of film. And for the people downgrading as they say its clearly fake footage.... yes it is..... WOW!

WTF? A 5 average for this totally worthless piece of found footage garbage? Methinks a bunch of reviewers are spoofing you. A full 90% of this waste of time shows nothing but a bunch of flashlight lit legs running around outside. You never see an alien. You never see anything. This was supposedly the first of this genre. It is undoubtedly the worst.

This could've been a totally OK 'found footage' movie, it's very naturalistic & they obviously had a ball making it, unfortunately it's very uncomfortable to watch. It's so very, very dark & because of that the camera can't truly focus on anything, after a while, I felt slightly dizzy & nauseous, I just wanted to see something clearly, but it never improves. So the lesson is - there's natural & life-like & unwatchably dark & blurry!

Ah, the infamous "real" McPherson Tape. Hugely controversial among the alien abduction enthusiasts, hundreds of people still think that this the real deal. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but it isn't. Still, this is probably the most believable found footage movie I've ever seen, as it really does feel as if you're watching an actual VHS camcorder home video of a real Midwestern family in the early 1980s. The alien abductions themselves are not really the focus here. The focus seems to be the tension that this family feels while being scared out of their wits. I prefer this original version over the 1997 made-for-television remake, Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County, which screamed "fake" right from the get go: awful acting, no chemistry between the actors/characters, overblown effects and laughable "documentary interviews" interspersed to insult the viewer's intelligence. Even though this original version is bare bones and lacking in alien action, it still manages to be taught, atmospheric, well acted, and most of all, believable. This has been next to impossible to find for decades, but thankfully someone has uploaded a pirated copy on the internet recently. If you are a fan of the remake, aliens/UFOs, found footage or just underground cinema in general, do yourself a favor and check it out. But just remember, its only a movie! There is no REAL "McPherson Tape" floating around out there. The name of the family in this original version isn't even McPherson, its Van Heese.

this film is a bout a family who supposedly got abducted by aliens. I've looked around on the internet and people said its actors in it! IT IS ACTORS BUT ITS A FILM BASED ON THE ACTUALL TAPE!!!! The people who were in the tape (the tape that was found in the mcpherson house) are all missing. SO HA! Great Film XD During the film it stops and people who know all about aliens talk about the tape. The director even speaks half way through the film to say the film gives him the creeps. He dosn't think its a hoax. I don't know if its real or a hoax, but its pretty convincing.

I was bored one day because there was nothing on, when i came across The McPherson tape. I pressed i to see wot it was about, it didnt read to well. I thought "what the hell" and watched it anyway. That was going to be the best decision i ever made. The movie is basically about an American family coming together for thanksgiving. A lad around 17 decided he would get the special occasion on video tape. Whenever the aliens are close to the family the camera that was used went fuzzy, this was a good thing because you then new the aliens were close. They had a warped little girl who will, if you see the movie, shock and annoy you. The movie works your mind and will really freak you out. I'm not easy to scare but this had me on the edge of my seat!! a deffinate 10/10.

Painful to watch, painful to listen to. Way too much dialogue, these people don't shut up the entire movie. I was rooting for the Aliens.