There are way too many getting VOD and direct-to- Blu-ray releases and about 95% of them go under my radar. Occupation: Rainfall (R; 128 minutes) happens to be one of these films. It's an Australian science fiction sequel to 2018's Occupation, with Luke Sparke returning as writer and director.

Two years after aliens invaded Earth, the Australian survivors have banded together and are now fighting a brutal ground war. Even with alien allies by their side, humanity is losing. The military and the baddies are trying to get ahold of a device dubbed "Rainfall" that could be the key to ending the war.

Blu-ray Special Features include:

Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Luke Sparke
Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Luke Sparke, Producers Carly Imrie and Carmel Imrie, Actor Zachary Garred, and Visual Effects Supervisor Alex Becconsall
Sydney Escape Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Audio Commentary

Final Thoughts

I, for one, enjoyed the first Occupation film, even though it was nothing more than a ripoff of TNT's Falling Skies (2011-2015). I had forgotten about the sequel until I received a press release for Occupation: Rainfall. The first film had a $6 million budget, and since it did well, the production companies shelled out AUD 25 million for the sequel. Pouring money into a sequel doesn't mean it will be a good film, and, sadly, that's the case for Occupation: Rainfall.

The film comes across as less of a sequel and more of a spoof. Was this done intentionally? It probably wasn't the original intention of writer-director Luke Sparke, but it was how I viewed it. The plot borrows way too heavily from Fallen Skies, Independence Day, and Star Wars. Even a bit of Star Trek gets mixed into this mess of a film. The acting is all over the place, from average to eye-rolling bad. The campy dialogue doesn't help either. At times the CGI effects were decent, and there were other scenes where it looked more like a horrible CW superhero series.

Overall, I was disappointed with Occupation: Rainfall. Luke Sparke is trying to cram too much into one movie. The alien invasion story would have made a better television series, where there would be time to flesh out characters. Would I recommend Occupation: Rainfall? I would only recommend it if you have seen the first film.