Aside from the fact that they still exist in large numbers, one of the interesting things about video stores in Japan is the range of titles they offer in the new release section. Perusing them, you might find future Oscar candidate or big budget Marvel production sharing the exact same shelf space as the latest made-for-cable offering that would make Sharknado look like Fellini.

However, sometimes films get a little too close to their apparent sources of inspiration which can lead to confusion among Japanese people. One such movie the misleadingly titled Alien vs Avatar. It’s a film title that has led netizens to question “Hey, aren’t they both aliens?” While universally panned by all who have seen it, one online reviewer in Japan thought it was particularly great… copyright issues aside.

The original movie in the US titled Aliens vs Avatars seems slightly more original with poster art featuring a vintage 1950s-style UFO and some mysterious eyes in blue clouds. The title is also abbreviated to AVSA differentiating itself further from Alien vs Predator (AVP) as well as the Adult Video Awards (AVA).

Americans, after soaking in the rich layering this cinematic work offered, shared their opinions on Amazon.

“Poor effects, mediocre acting and makeup. The robot is particularly poor.”
[Guy – 3/5 stars]

“Unfortunately it starts out almost immediately with two 40 year old ‘college kid’ women who undress in the first 5 minutes and goes downhill from there.”
[Jraptor – 2/5 stars]

“The Producers should be ashamed of themselves for extracting money from the unsuspecting public for this thing.”
[Blumbeck – 2/5 stars]

” I only watched about 20 min then turned it off. It was so crappy, I could not stand to watch any more.”
[Jim – 1/5 stars]

Ouch, the robot got it worst of all…

Some mentioned that the trailer to the movie had some promise so let’s take a look.

http://youtu.be/HeK9MMzl0jc

While it attracted a few people to actually watch on a lark, others left comments on the YouTube page to the effect of “How can a preview suck?”

In Japan, however, Aliens vs Avatars got a shot at redemption. First they dropped the plural “s” from the name since those aren’t used in Japanese anyway. Then they replaced the cover art with creatures that look conspicuously like the ones from Alien and Avatar, respectively. They actually don’t look all that much like those from the movies, but with the right coloring and angles anything is possible.

They also gave it a sexier synopsis on Amazon Japan.

It’s a free-for-all!
No matter who wins, humanity can’t escape…

The year is 201x. Aliens have infiltrated Earth.
It has the ability to possess others and disappear at will, and it is a formidable enemy who has destroyed many planets.
It is pursued by an alien called an Avatar that can transform into earthlings.
However, a group of college students who had come up to the mountain for camping don’t know any of this. One by one a bloodbath ensues.
And so the fight for the eradication of mankind has begun…

The Amazon Japan reviews were largely in line with the American counterparts. Here’s an example:

Is this a doujin movie?
From the very start this movie screamed low-budget. The screenplay too in which a bunch of female victims meet for a picnic and then start getting drunk and taking off their clothes. The alien (or rather Predator) that’s chasing them moves so slow it’s not scary at all. Expecting to attract viewers with high profile names in the title, it leaves them with the laughable story of a Z-grade film.
[devidead – 1/5 stars]

However, among them was one stellar review for Alien vs Avatar.

I rented this movie at first because of the title, the lame trailer, the fact that it had no promotion, the negative reviews from overseas, the fact that it had no theatrical release, and everything that made it look like a total C-movie. Afterwards I thought “I have to have this!” and went to buy a copy for myself. It’s exactly everything people said about it. It’s crap. It’s filth. It’s industrial waste. But that’s what I like about it.
At the times in our lives when things get too hectic, we need an utterly useless Z-movie like this to give us time to decompress. There is a price for this kind of pick-me-up that’s needed every once in a while. That price is only 500 yen (US$4.40). I recommend this  purchase.
[ikemeso’23 – 5/5 stars]

Finding this peculiar and thinking this person was just doing some stealth marketing I went and checked out some other reviews by ikemeso’23. Here’s what they felt about The Dark Knight.

I don’t like this and earlier Batman movies because they are too dark both on the screen and in their content. Batman movies don’t leave me with that satisfied feeling you usually have after watching a film, and this one is by far the worst offender. Why doesn’t Batman just find the Joker and kill him quickly? This would save all of the other people that he kills throughout the movie.
As usual, Batman just barges into whatever incident is already happening and makes the death and destruction worse. How has Batman actually contributed to the peace and prosperity of Gotham City? He’s just some rich guy indulging in his hobby.
[ikemeso’23 – 1/5 stars]

I suddenly found myself intrigued by what ikemeso’23 had to say. Despite having tastes to the contrary of most moviegoers, their criticisms weren’t without merit.

By the way, apparently Alien vs Avatar was presented so similarly to other works that Amazon is automatically offering a bundle of if with Alien vs Predator 2 so you can watch them back to back!

It doesn’t look like ikemeso’23 will be picking that up though, as they really didn’t like AVP2.

It’s just like everyone else is writing. The screen is so dark I can’t see what the hell is going on. Are they supposed to make movies like this?! Evidently, you’re supposed to watch this movie with your heart not your eyes! Yeah, that must be what they intended.
[ikemeso’23 – 1/5 stars]

Just so you know ikemeso’23 doesn’t hate everything except Alien vs Avatar, they also love Flight of the Navigator and thought the new Green Hornet was okay.

If you’d like to purchase Aliens vs Avatar you can do so either by Amazon Japan for 463 yen (US$4.08) or there are still (possibly Thai) imports available from Amazon.com for $8.89. Christmas is just around the corner, and as one American reviewer pointed out; “It’d make a great gift for someone you hate.”

Source: Amazon Japan 1, 2 via Nyusoku Quality (Japanese), Amazon.com 1, 2 (English)
Video: YouTube – lewschoen