The Medic, which was shot last summer in Lethbridge was somewhat lost in translation over the past year.

What was originally envisioned as a movie about Canadian soldiers kicking zombie ass morphed into a movie about Canadian soldiers kicking alien ass after a substantial re-write and a computer hard drive crash.

 The result, which was shot over four days and nights in Lethbridge’s coulees, ends up looking like the Blair Witch Project, if the threat was aliens instead of an unseen witch.

The science fiction/ action-adventure film premiered at the Movie Mill  to a sold out crowd Aug. 10.
 It will run again, Aug. 11 at 9:45 p.m. and Aug 12 at 7:15 p.m.

 The guys at Rambuxious Entertainment set the ominous mood early as a young paramedic sits in an ambulance trying to contact his girlfriend while our own Mark Campbell speaks about an alien landing off the coast of Newfoundland — Omega Day.
 Flash forward a few months, and the Medic has joined the military joining a squadron of soldiers flying over the Oldman River in a helicopter, which crashes.

 They are outnumbered, but you seldom see the actual aliens, leaving the danger and the drama up to the audience’s imagination. Though the producers abandoned the helmet camera, much of the footage looks like it comes from a helmet camera attached to the medic played by Kevin Johnson, as the screen shakes as the actors run through the coulees. 

The soldiers’ mission is to deliver a mysterious box to a safe zone. I won’t tell you what’s in the box, only to paraphrase “the aliens want it and the soldiers have it.”

New West Theatre is ready to party in August with their new production “Party On,” premiering Aug. 8 in the Yates/ Sterndale Bennett Theatre.
New West’s August comedy  revue shows are chick full of  lots of action, dancing and popular songs and Party On is no exception.
 New West Artistic director Jeremy Mason had no trouble with his directing debut for a New West music/comedy revue show.
“But I’ve seen every one since 2002. And as artistic director I’ve seen them on a very intimate level,” he said.

The show features favourite hits from the 1970s to today ranging from the Eagles and Phil Collins to Sheryl Crow, but the dancing will be the main attraction for this show.

“We usually put more emphasis on the choreography in the August show. The July show is more about the music,” he said, adding all aspects of the show are important. There is a variety of music including numbers from Whitney Houston, Billy Joel and Sheryl Crow.
“Jocelyn (Haub) sings a great Sheryl Crow,” he enthused.

 The cast includes a lot of familiar faces from “Bandstand,” plus Jay Whitehead, who directed “Bandstand” in July and Jocelyn Haub.
Jessica Ens, who is usually a highlight on stage during the summer performances, takes an important back-stage role for Party On — she is choreographing the entire show for the first time. It helps that the professional dancer has worked with most of the cast before.

“I’m not on stage this time. It’s exciting to be in a new role,” said Ens, who was teaching dance at Chinook High School last year and will be returning in the summer . She has been involved with New West productions since 2001, and in between shows has been training in Chicago and earned a BFA  in dance from York University in Toronto. She is also owner and director of  the Lethbridge Alberta Dance Company.

 Aliens invade Lethbridge at the Movie Mill, Aug. 10 as  “The Medic” premieres at the Movie Mill this week.

The locally produced zombie movie premieres at the Movie Mill, Aug. 10 at 9:45 p.m.. It is about a group of Canadian soldiers fighting alien invaders who turn people into zombies. The Rambunxious entertainment production features a lot of familiar faces from Lethbridge’s dramatic  scene.

It was filmed last summer in and around Lethbridge.  If you miss the premiere, it also runs Aug 11 at 9:45 p.m. and Aug. 12 at 7:15. Admission is  $10. There will be a question and answer session after the premiere