After media pressure to open up the Groom Lake Air Force installation known commonly as Area 51 (hence the title of the movie), a group of journalists are assembled to visit the mysterious base and find out what the score is. The military isn't happy about it and it shows, they've definitely got something to hide and as the movie will prove, that something happens to be some rather nasty aliens that are'nt too shy about chowing down on a bit of human meat. It's up to soldier and journalist alike to band together to fend off the alien offensive and save the world from destruction.

This is another After Dark Movie which has been made in unison with Syfy, it sure feels like a Syfy movie in almost every way. Reportedly made on a budget of $1million, it won't blow your mind with awesome special effects, they are assuredly in the average/low budget camp thought that's not necessarily a bad thing so long as we have a solid story to back it up.

Well... We don't. The storyline is very predictable and the aliens/characters are pretty unbelievable, not to mention uninteresting. The general acting standard is a bit on the ropey side, not bad enough to ruin the movie but not good enough to elevate it either. They've got Bruce Boxleitner doing the main military part here (Col. Martin) and he's OK, though i've sure seen him turn in better performances than this.

There is gore in 51 but really not a heck of a lot and most that we do see is just naff and quite frankly crap. The movie has awkward pacing as well, it seems to take ages to get the ball rolling and by the time it does you'll likely have lost interest.

Being a co After Dark-Syfy movie it doesn't surprise me that this movie seems to have some kind of personality issue. It's like it can't make up it's mind if it wants to be a sci-fi movie or a horror movie. It's too dumbed down and moronic to be a quality sci-fi, yet its too bright and 'goody' to be a serious horror, it seems to straddle the middle ground where nobody gets their satisfaction.

51 is a movie that's tough to recommend. It's currently showing on Syfy so if you think it may be something that'd tickle your fancy that's probably the best place to catch it. Others best avoid.