Aliens in the Attic

The scramble to keep kids entertained over the summer months continues with this underwhelming spin on ‘ET’ and ‘Gremlins’. Dragged off to a remote mansion for the summer months, precocious teen Tom (Carter Jenkins) and his self-obsessed sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale) uncover a devious alien plot to launch a worldwide mind-control invasion from their loft.

There’s not a great deal to recommend: a few decent one-liners, some inventive anti-gravity slapstick and a brief but enjoyably bonkers remote-controlled kung-fu battle between one of the kids and Tom’s brain-zapped granny. But such fleeting charms are largely outweighed by an unexceptional script, a brace of shabby performances (from both kids and adults) and some dismal CG effects: the aliens appear almost transparent, like animated transfers barely clinging to the screen. ‘Aliens in the Attic’ will probably prove an effective distraction for undemanding pre-teens; their parents might find it more of a chore.