Alien Abduction Incident in Lake County

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County is a made for TV horror movie which aired on UPN in 1998. It is based on a lower-budget predecessor known as The McPherson Tape, filmed a decade before by the same director (and is sometimes the source of confusion as to which version people have seen).

The story focuses on Tommy, the 16-year-old son of the McPherson family, filming his family's Thanksgiving Day dinner on home video. When Tommy and his brothers set out to investigate a power outage, they come across a UFO and spot aliens using a laser to dissect a cow. After the aliens notice them and open fire, the McPherson family spends a harrowing night fending off an extraterrestrial home invasion.

Like The War of the Worlds before it, Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County incited controversy, as the Mockumentary style it was presented in caused many people to believe it depicted an actual alien abduction. The premise is similar to that of The Blair Witch Project, which it predated by a year, and the film is in general sinister and surprisingly frightening. Parallels can also be drawn to the famous Hopkinsville Goblin incident. The film can be watched in its entirety here.

Tropes used in Alien Abduction Incident in Lake County include:
  • Alien Abduction: Obviously
  • Aliens Are Bastards: They instigated the conflict and often appear to be deliberately screwing around with the McPhersons.
    • One of the brothers rationalises that the Aliens invaded the house to assess a threat as they may have thought Tommy's camera was some sort of weapon - certainly the behaviour of the first 'intruder' seems to hint at this. After Kurt guns down said intruder, however, things become more threatening.
  • Aliens Made Them Do It: Matthew makes out with his girlfriend's sister, both apparently under alien influence.
    • One theory as to why Rose unloads Tommy's shotgun and hides the shells when no one is looking.
  • Aliens Mutilate Cattle
  • Based on a Great Big Lie: The film's supposed authenticity is undermined by credits at the end for the actors who played "Alien #1, Alien #2", etc
  • Creepy Child: The youngest daughter, Rose, who is disturbingly calm during the ordeal.
  • Developing Doomed Characters: Subverted since it's only about ten minutes before something happens and then we see the characters develop along the incident.
  • Executive Meddling: The director intended for the film to be treated as a work of fiction; the whole "THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED" angle was an executive mandate.
  • Foreshadowing: The aliens' appearences are typically foreshadowed by pixellation in the video, audio distortion or an eerie red glow.
  • The Greys: The aliens featured in the film fit the description to the letter — lithe, humanoid, pale skinned with black, soulless, almond-shaped eyes.
  • Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday
  • Jittercam
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: The VHS release is long since out of print and this film has yet to see an official DVD release, though it can be watched in full online.
  • Mockumentary
  • Nothing Is Scarier: The aliens are rarely seen, and we're never given a clear look at them, because everytime they're shown, or near, the camera starts pixellating and distorting.
  • Recut: The TV version is only 45 minutes long, compared to the home video release. "Creepy" music was added, scenes were re-arranged, some scenes at the beginning were trimmed, and there are additional Talking Heads.
    • Thankfully they only show the original version in the UK.
  • Rule of Scary
  • Thanksgiving Day Story
  • Uncanny Valley: Invoked by the apppearence of the aliens.
    • Sometimes it seems that the little girl's eyes are bigger than they should be, possibly hinting that she is not what at all what she seems.
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