Invaders from Mars (1986)

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Directed by Tobe Hooper.

Starring Timothy Bottoms, Hunter Carson, James Karen, Laraine Newman, Karen Black.

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Invaders from Mars, horror-film director Tobe Hooper's remake of the classic 1950's science fiction film, directed by William Cameron Menzies, centers on a young boy named David (Hunter Carson) who tries to stop an invasion of his town as aliens take over the minds of his parents George (Timothy Bottoms) and Ellen (Laraine Newman), his teachers and the townspeople. With the help of the school nurse (Karen Black), the boy enlists the aid of the U.S. Army to help save the world. With makeup effects supplied by Stan Winston and visual effects by John Dykstra, Invaders From Mars is a wild sci-fi feast that hearkens back to the 1950's invasion films, made popular by the original film and others like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re: Help to find a missing film
by Puhnner in missing a film

disliked it.

"PS; if I am not mistaken, it was a Golf Club 'Driver', probably with the oversized head, that was used first, that the poor guy was wacked with way too many times.Are you contemplating King of the Ants or Following as Neo Noir? I suspect both equally, but I need to review the defining aspects to make sure. And revisiting Invaders from Mars and the attendant after shocks, it was years, years before I could walk on sand without thinking of that film and getting the creeps, and to tell you the truth, I think of it now even. I saw the remake too, but it just did not make it, I guess I should watch it again. Another one, that I am unable to shake is Invasion of the Body Snatchers; there was something of the partially formed bodies in that soap suds ( Palmolive; 'you are soaking in it'), and seeing especially Dana Wynter/Becky Driscoll's and then watching Kevin McCarthy/Miles Bennell destroying them in what seemed like equal parts disgust, frenzy, and horror that terrified me. " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

lost interest.

With two months before his wild follow-up to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1986 proved to be a strange time for Tobe Hooper, as evidenced with this peculiar remake of the 1953 sci-fi classic Invaders From Mars. From start to finish, the movie is grounded in a kind of firm PG territory that works as a fun remake of the original, but is ultimately hampered with an in-your-face '80s aesthetic where Stan Winston's creature effects take precedent over the story's deep-rooted fear of paranoia. Filmed stunningly well by expert cameraman Daniel Pearl, Invaders certainly is packed with its share of iconic shots that show off the production's skill with optical effects. The trouble comes with the casting of the main little brat Hunter Carson, who might have dazzled some with his role in Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas, though his wild overacting chops aren't fooling anyone in this one. Karen Black and the rest of the cast do an acceptable job in their roles, though Louise Fletcher ends up cheesing it all up with her frog-eating performance and one note delivery -- "I'll get you, David Gardner!" Invaders is certainly a tale that the kiddies are safe to watch, but it might be a little too goofy for those that don't have a love for the sci-fi of yesteryear. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Tags: remake , goofy , alien-not-human , invasion , boy
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