War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
Encyclopedia
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (also known simply as War of the Worlds 2) is a 2008 direct-to-DVD science fiction
film starring and directed by C. Thomas Howell
.
War of the Worlds 2 is a sequel to the 2005 science fiction
horror
film H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds (titled internationally as Invasion), which is a modernized adaptation of H. G. Wells
' novel The War of the Worlds
and mockbuster
of Dreamworks
' adaptation of the same novel
. The film was released by independent film company The Asylum
. Whereas the previous film, directed by David Michael Latt, gained a fairly good critical reaction from critics, selling 100,000 DVDs upon its release, War of the Worlds 2 received a largely negative reaction from critics.
The post-apocalyptic science fiction
film was directed by and starred C. Thomas Howell
, reprising the role of George Herbert. A new wave of Martian walkers
resumes the invasion of Earth, and begins capturing humans including George's son. As he and his companion Pete (Christopher Reid
) attempt to rescue him, a fleet of United States Air Force
jets attempt an air raid on Mars in a final battle against the aliens.
War of the Worlds 2 was released directly onto DVD in 2008, possibly because that year held the 110th anniversary of the novel's release, with an R rating
in the United States and an 18 certificate
in the United Kingdom
. The film is often played on the British Horror Channel, and is now beginning to broadcast on the Syfy channel. The plot bears little resemblance to the novel.
, mankind could never have predicted the invasion. He tells us that the aliens
fed on human blood which infected them, wiping the invaders out. He then states "for some, the nightmare had only just begun".
Two years later, a town is seen, populated with silent refugees. Among them is Shackleford and Sissy. Suddenly, three Tripods
land in the city. People are struck by a Heat-Ray
, disintegrating them. Shackleford and Sissy run to their hideout. Shackleford grabs a syringe
and takes a sample of Sissy's blood. He then injects it into himself.
George Herbert and his son Alex are living in their house, left undamaged by the first invasion. One morning, George recognises a familiar disturbance on the radio, the same heard during the first invasion. He takes Alex to the basement and promises he will be back when he is finished with his work. He goes to a United States air base
, where he reveals to Major Kramer and scientists there that his studies suggests the aliens are creating a space time hole between Earth and Mars. A fleet of F-22 fighter jets, with the deep-space flight capabilities, fly through this time hole and raid the planet Mars.
George goes to get his son back to the base, only to find a Tripod standing outside his home. Alex is then hit by a smaller weapon from the tripod. Remembering humans were kidnapped by the first wave of machines, he realizes the weapon is a teleporter. He escapes to an abandoned city and wakes up the next morning to find a man named Pete running from a Tripod. George throws himself before the machine offering himself and hoping to find his son once he's teleported. He wakes up inside the machine with Pete and they both escape with Sissy, who seems to know her way around the organic interior. Meanwhile, the Martians begin a second invasion, attacking recovering cities such as London
and Paris
. Major Kramer leads the fleet of jets to chase the alien mothership through the time hole and back to Mars.
George, Pete and Sissy find themselves in the town from the start of the film. Shackleford reveals that the town is a fake, created by the Tripods as a place for human prisoners to live on Mars. Shackleford wants to destroy the aliens in the same way bacteria did them in during the first invasion. Shackleford and Sissy are dying from a virus which is lethal to the Tripods. Before he dies he convinces George to inject his infected blood into himself. George and Pete are kidnapped again and wind up inside the mothership, where they find Alex in a cocoon. George injects his infected blood into a pod holding a brain which is telepathically connected to all of the Tripods. The virus quickly spreads through their minds and deactivates the alien machines, ending their second invasion.
George, Pete and Alex find Kramer's jet and escape just as Mars begins to explode. George somehow survives the infection, and the humans celebrate while listening to the radio, which suddenly begins making the invasion sounds once again...
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film starring and directed by C. Thomas Howell
C. Thomas Howell
Christopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
.
War of the Worlds 2 is a sequel to the 2005 science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds (titled internationally as Invasion), which is a modernized adaptation of H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
' novel The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...
and mockbuster
Mockbuster
A mockbuster is a film created with the apparent intention of piggy-backing on the publicity of a major film with a similar title or theme and are often made with a low budget. Often these films are created to be released direct-to-video at the same time as the mainstream film reaches theaters or...
of Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
' adaptation of the same novel
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
. The film was released by independent film company The Asylum
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American film studio and distributor which focuses on producing low-budget, usually direct-to-video productions. The studio has produced titles that capitalize on productions by major studios; these titles have been dubbed "mockbusters" by the press.-History:The Asylum was founded...
. Whereas the previous film, directed by David Michael Latt, gained a fairly good critical reaction from critics, selling 100,000 DVDs upon its release, War of the Worlds 2 received a largely negative reaction from critics.
The post-apocalyptic science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film was directed by and starred C. Thomas Howell
C. Thomas Howell
Christopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
, reprising the role of George Herbert. A new wave of Martian walkers
Martian (War of the Worlds)
The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. They are the antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of Earth and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present...
resumes the invasion of Earth, and begins capturing humans including George's son. As he and his companion Pete (Christopher Reid
Christopher Reid
Christopher Reid is a Hong Kong-born British poet, essayist, cartoonist, and writer. He has been nominated twice for the Whitbread Awards in 1996 and in 1997. A contemporary of Martin Amis, he was educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He is one of the exponents of Martian poetry which employs...
) attempt to rescue him, a fleet of United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
jets attempt an air raid on Mars in a final battle against the aliens.
War of the Worlds 2 was released directly onto DVD in 2008, possibly because that year held the 110th anniversary of the novel's release, with an R rating
R rating
R rating may refer to:*R - Motion Picture Association of America film rating system*R-value...
in the United States and an 18 certificate
18 certificate
The 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The film is often played on the British Horror Channel, and is now beginning to broadcast on the Syfy channel. The plot bears little resemblance to the novel.
Plot
The film begins with clips from War of the Worlds and the voice of George Herbert, who explains that despite years of searching for extraterrestrial lifeExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, mankind could never have predicted the invasion. He tells us that the aliens
Martian (War of the Worlds)
The Martians, also known as the Invaders, are the fictional race of extraterrestrials from the H.G. Wells novel The War of the Worlds. They are the antagonists of the novel, and their efforts to exterminate the populace of Earth and claim the planet for themselves drive the plot and present...
fed on human blood which infected them, wiping the invaders out. He then states "for some, the nightmare had only just begun".
Two years later, a town is seen, populated with silent refugees. Among them is Shackleford and Sissy. Suddenly, three Tripods
Tripod (The War of the Worlds)
Tripods or fighting-machines are a type of fictional three-legged walker from the H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds, used by Martians to invade Earth.-Novel:...
land in the city. People are struck by a Heat-Ray
Heat-Ray
The Heat-Ray is the primary offensive weapon used by the Martians in H. G. Wells' classic science fiction novel The War of the Worlds and its offshoots.- In the novel :...
, disintegrating them. Shackleford and Sissy run to their hideout. Shackleford grabs a syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
and takes a sample of Sissy's blood. He then injects it into himself.
George Herbert and his son Alex are living in their house, left undamaged by the first invasion. One morning, George recognises a familiar disturbance on the radio, the same heard during the first invasion. He takes Alex to the basement and promises he will be back when he is finished with his work. He goes to a United States air base
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, where he reveals to Major Kramer and scientists there that his studies suggests the aliens are creating a space time hole between Earth and Mars. A fleet of F-22 fighter jets, with the deep-space flight capabilities, fly through this time hole and raid the planet Mars.
George goes to get his son back to the base, only to find a Tripod standing outside his home. Alex is then hit by a smaller weapon from the tripod. Remembering humans were kidnapped by the first wave of machines, he realizes the weapon is a teleporter. He escapes to an abandoned city and wakes up the next morning to find a man named Pete running from a Tripod. George throws himself before the machine offering himself and hoping to find his son once he's teleported. He wakes up inside the machine with Pete and they both escape with Sissy, who seems to know her way around the organic interior. Meanwhile, the Martians begin a second invasion, attacking recovering cities such as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Major Kramer leads the fleet of jets to chase the alien mothership through the time hole and back to Mars.
George, Pete and Sissy find themselves in the town from the start of the film. Shackleford reveals that the town is a fake, created by the Tripods as a place for human prisoners to live on Mars. Shackleford wants to destroy the aliens in the same way bacteria did them in during the first invasion. Shackleford and Sissy are dying from a virus which is lethal to the Tripods. Before he dies he convinces George to inject his infected blood into himself. George and Pete are kidnapped again and wind up inside the mothership, where they find Alex in a cocoon. George injects his infected blood into a pod holding a brain which is telepathically connected to all of the Tripods. The virus quickly spreads through their minds and deactivates the alien machines, ending their second invasion.
George, Pete and Alex find Kramer's jet and escape just as Mars begins to explode. George somehow survives the infection, and the humans celebrate while listening to the radio, which suddenly begins making the invasion sounds once again...
Cast
- C. Thomas HowellC. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...
as George Herbert - Christopher Reid (entertainer) as Pete
- Dashiell HowellDashiell HowellDashiell Howell is an American child actor, son of C. Thomas Howell. Dash is best known for portraying Alex Herbert alongside his father in The Asylum's science fiction horror film H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, one of three 2005 film adaptations of the novel by H.G. Wells...
as Alex Herbert - Fred Griffith (actor)Fred Griffith (actor)Fred Griffith is an Americanactor and producer.-Filmography:*2010 Renovation - Justin*2009 Shadowheart - Marshall*2009 The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith - Mahlon...
as Major Kramer
Soundtrack
The film's music was composed by Ralph Reickermann, a former composer for The Asylum. The film features the single "You Came into my Life" which featured the vocals of singer John Brown Reese.See also
- The Martian WarThe Martian WarThe Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells is a 2006 science fiction novel by Kevin J. Anderson . It is a retelling of H.G...
- War of the Worlds: New MillenniumWar of the Worlds: New MillenniumWar of the Worlds: New Millennium is a science fiction novel by Douglas Niles, released in 2005 by Tor Books.After the most recent unmanned mission to Mars inexplicably fails, interest in the Red Planet is still high. The whole world watches as a bright spot of light appears daily on the Martian...
- The Day the Earth StoppedThe Day the Earth StoppedThe Day the Earth Stopped is a 2008 direct-to-DVD science fiction film made by American studio The Asylum, directed by and starring C. Thomas Howell...
, another film by C. Thomas HowellC. Thomas HowellChristopher Thomas "Tommy" Howell , known by his stage name C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in The Da Vinci Treasure,Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G...