The main problem with this wantonly derivative yet occasionally charming sci-fi fantasy about young kids stumbling upon a stranded extra-terrestrial is that it's never as good as the films it steals from. There's the cute alien from ET, rendered here as a semi-robotic owl with a touch of Wall-E's Eva; the end-of-childhood adventures of Stand By Me; the homes-in-peril themes of The Goonies; the homemade filming motifs of Super 8; the last-night-together format of American Graffiti; the found footage gag from Chronicle – this is not so much plagiarism as grand larceny.

Still, for viewers too young to have seen any of the above there are flimsy pleasures to be had as the group of young misfits follow their malfunctioning mobile phones into the desert, where a distress signal is calling them to aid one of the universe's lost souls. Feature first-timer Dave Green handles the secondhand materials with efficient aplomb, while the casting of Brian "Astro" Bradley, who made a name for himself on YouTube, sits neatly with the film's somewhat self-consciously upload-savvy aesthetic. There are moments of grand spectacle too, with decent enough special effects adding heft to the otherwise dopey finale. Worth seeing for those who haven't seen it all before.

• Comments have been reopened on this article to time with this film's Australian release