In another part of town, Tammy, a waitress at a small local diner with big plans for the future, looks out her window and is excited to see a shooting star, which she takes as a good sign for her dreams.

Filming in the deserts of California, relatively close to Hollywood and the Los Angeles area, meant many of crew and cast could 'commute' to the locations, if need be, and spend weekends at home.

The site's main consensus reads "An earnest attempt to parody campy 1950s sci-fi films, Alien Trespass eventually loses its charm among tedious dialogue and cheesy special effects.

[6] In her review for The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis described the film as "a charmingly sentimental but ultimately pointless hommage to the sci-fi classics of yesteryear".

[7] Betsy Sharkey, in her review for the Los Angeles Times, felt that "there is attention to detail throughout this film, and it's clear that Goodwin loves those old sci-fi movies – maybe a little too much.

[8] IGN mixed praise and complaint, saying, "Alien Trespass was clearly made with the intention to both emulate and satirize the classic B-movie sci-fi films of the 1950s – and not in a semi-serious Roland Emmerich kind of way, but in a careful replication of the era, complete with flying saucers, sub-par effects and some overly hammy acting.

The problem, unfortunately, is that the movie aims to have it both ways and quite simply can't, straddling the cinematic line for about 10 minutes before falling gracelessly into its own confused voice."

The reviewer added, however, "If Alien Trespass succeeds in any regard, it's simply in creating a world that feels, at least in spirit, like an authentic – or perhaps nostalgic – depiction of the period.

And the visual effects, despite being created by CG to appear properly low-tech, feel enough like large plastic creatures and saucers on strings to blend seamlessly into the spirit of the piece.

"[9] In his review for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr felt that the film was superior to Monsters vs. Aliens, saying "There's more simple joy to be found here than in all of DreamWorks' 3-D extravaganza, though – a pleasure that comes from laughing at the movie and with it at the same time".

[10] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum praised its "warm tone, along with the picture's bright, saturated, anti-CGI look, is a welcome respite from jokes, irony, and the postmodern malaise of know-it-all-ness".