We know Santa lives in the North Pole, but who (or what) might be residing at the South Pole is the question raised with SciFi Channel's new film, Alien Hunter. James Spader stars as a former SETI cryptologist, who is called in to help unscramble odd radio signals emanating from a mysterious object buried in the Antarctic. Dr. Julian Rome aka the "alien hunter" (Spader) has another reputation, which also follows him all the way to this remote facility in the south pole. An affair with a coed years ago, adds to a very chilly working environment. Particularly, when he is forced to work with the young coed, now a scientist herself, Dr. Kate Brecher.

But all this drama is simply a backdrop to this tasks at hand, as the scientists discover what horror may come from this strange object and the messages it might be sending. Is it a greeting ... or a warning???

Alien Hunter feels like it incorporates several key elements from classic films as, The Thing, Contact and Independence Day. But I am bewildered at why they opted Ron Krauss to direct this screenplay written by J.S. Cardone, who did such a fine job directing The Forsaken. Filmed in a remote area of Bulgaria, most of the cast and crew are Eastern European, but there are some familiar faces:

• Dr. Julian Rome, the "Alien Hunter" - James Spader (Jack's Back, Wolf, Stargate, and Supernova)
• Dr. Kate Brecher, the bitter ex-flame - Janine Eser (Merlin and Alice in Wonderland)
• Dr. Michael Straub, Julian's antagonist - John Lynch (Chimera and The Secret of Roan Inish)
• Dr. John Bachman, Julian's boss - Roy Dotrice (the 1972 original Tales from the Crypt, the classic sci-fi series Space: 1999, and Children of the Dark)
• Nyla Olson - Leslie Stefanson (the general's daughter in the film The General's Daughter and Unbreakable)
• Shelly Klein - Aimee Graham (From Dusk Till Dawn, Dance with the Devil, Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, and yes Heather's sis)
• Copeland - Joel Polis (returning from the ice from, John Carpenter's The Thing)
• Grisham - Carl Lewis (Olympic track star with 9 gold medals)
• Secretary of Defense Bayer - Keir Dullea (the infamous Dave of 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010, star of lost 1973 sci-fi series The Starlost, Brave New World, and quite possibly the most frightening horror film of all-time, Black Christmas)

Alien Hunter premieres Saturday, July 19, 2003 at 9pm on the SciFi Channel:

http://www.scifi.com/alienhunter/