RESIDENT ALIEN

In a quiet rural town where everyone knows their neighbor is an alien, a wave of mysterious disappearances forces the local sheriff to partner with the last suspect anyone trusts—the extraterrestrial farmer who just wants to be left alone.

Genre: Science Fiction / Comedy / Mystery
Tone: Dry, Deadpan, Warmly Skeptical
Setting: Small town in the USA
Comparable DNA: Men in Black, Paul, Mars Attacks, Evolution

Overview

RESIDENT ALIEN is a high-concept sci-fi comedy structured as a small-town crime mystery, built on the absurd but grounded premise: what if an alien lived openly among humans—and no one really cared?

Set in the farming town of Adams, Nebraska, the story follows a close-knit community of practical, no-nonsense townspeople who have long since accepted the presence of an actual alien resident. He owns a modest farm on the outskirts of town, keeps to himself, pays taxes, and causes fewer problems than most humans. As far as the locals are concerned, he’s just another neighbor.

That changes when longtime farmer Joe Larson vanishes under suspicious circumstances.

Joe had reported strange lights, odd noises in his cornfields, and unexplained activity in the days leading up to his disappearance—classic signs of alien abduction. When Joe’s truck is found abandoned and his dog wandering alone, the town’s attention turns, reluctantly but inevitably, toward the one citizen whose species is famously associated with abducting humans.

The alien, irritated but unsurprised, denies any involvement. He insists Joe may simply want to be left alone—something the alien understands better than anyone. Despite mutual distrust, the town sheriff realizes the uncomfortable truth: if someone is abducting people, the alien may be the only one capable of figuring out how—and why.

What follows is an unlikely partnership between lawman and extraterrestrial as they investigate the disappearances. The mystery deepens, revealing clues that don’t match the alien’s known technology—or his motives. Strange patterns emerge. Evidence suggests something far more troubling: another alien presence, one that does not share his desire to coexist peacefully.

As the investigation unfolds, the film balances dry humor with genuine intrigue. The alien’s blunt honesty clashes with human paranoia, media hysteria, and small-town gossip. Long-standing assumptions about monsters, outsiders, and blame are tested as the town is forced to confront a sobering possibility: they may have misjudged who the real threat is.

By the final act, the mystery reveals itself not as a question of whether aliens exist, but which ones can be trusted—and whether humans are capable of seeing past their own prejudices when the truth doesn’t fit the story they’ve already decided to believe.

RESIDENT ALIEN is a story about otherness, scapegoating, and community—told through a comedic sci-fi lens that treats extraterrestrial life as mundane, human behavior as ridiculous, and fear as the most dangerous unknown of all.