There’s just something so simple and amazing about Joseph Sackett’s sci-fi short, Dominant Species. An alien race is in the initials stages of invading the earth. Led by “The Mother,” ten sperm-shaped entities inhabit and possess ten unsuspecting men by completely taking over their bodies.
The short film presents the training of the aliens in their attempt to pass as male earthlings. They start by pairing off and start shoving one another in an act of physical aggression. Their mission is to impregnate women with their alien “sperm.” The men are trained to attract, flirt, send blood to their penises, and in their final act, emit their extraterrestrial man-goo. One alien, though, is having “problems” finding the right motivation for “transmission.”
“Their mission is to impregnate women with their alien ‘sperm.‘”
There’s a great deal of fun behind Dominant Species. I love that director Sackett has a clear vision of this alien “invasion.” The creatures are emotionless beings trying to mimic basic forms of toxic masculinity. They act in sort of a hive-mind collective, and Sackett’s visuals look fantastic. It’s deceptively simple, the CG-animation is good, and Sackett goes as far as to create an alien language. The training gags are also funny and its serious tone, thankfully, keeps the short from becoming a parody of itself. There is a message about sexual orientation and masculinity in the story worth seeking out.
"…"...message about sexual orientation and masculinity...""
