Invaders from Mars (1986)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Richard Blake (story)
Don Jakoby (writer)

Release Date:

6 June 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

There's no place on Earth to hide!

Plot:

In this remake of the classic 50s SF tale, a boy tries to stop an invasion of his town by aliens who take over the the minds of his parents...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Alien | Remake | Invasion | Hangar

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Karen Black	...	Linda Magnusson
Hunter Carson	...	David Gardner
Timothy Bottoms	...	George Gardner
Laraine Newman	...	Ellen Gardner
James Karen	...	Gen. Climet Wilson
Bud Cort	...	Mark Weinstein
Louise Fletcher	...	Mrs. McKeltch
Eric Pierpoint	...	Sgt. Maj. Rinaldi
Christopher Allport	...	Captain Curtis
Donald Hotton	...	Old NASA Scientist
Kenneth Kimmins	...	Officer Kenney
Charlie Dell	...	Mr. Cross
Jimmy Hunt	...	Police Chief
William Bassett	...	NASA Scientist
Virginya Keehne	...	Heather (as Virginia Keehne)

Runtime:

100 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:10 | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-14 | Norway:12 (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Company:

Cannon Pictures

Trivia:

During the scene where U.S. Marines invade the school, the extras are actual Marines from 4th FAAD Battery, a Marine Reserve unit in Pasadena, California.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During a battle scene, two Marines who get zapped by the Martian leader start convulsing before the electricity actually hits them.

Quotes:

Alien made out of brains: [Mocking David] Poor little guy... Poor little guy...

Movie Connections:

Features Lifeforce (1985)

With Faye Greener, Nurse Ratched, an "SNL" cast member and the guy from "Harold and Maude", how can you go wrong?

Tobe Hooper took an interesting approach in his "Invaders from Mars" remake, with everything told from young David Gardner's (Hunter Carson) point of view. There's an air of "Poltergeist" here, what with the portrayal of a world overrun by commercialism suddenly getting upset. As David's authoritarian teacher, Louise Fletcher seems to be channeling Nurse Ratched (I mean that positively). And Karen Black, as the only person who believes David, gets what is probably her neatest role since "The Day of the Locust".

So, this movie's nothing special, but really cool. It sort of makes sense to cast Laraine Newman in this movie, given that she played Connie Conehead on "Saturday Night Live", but who would have ever imagined Timothy Bottoms starring here, as he earlier starred in "The Last Picture Show" and "The Paper Chase"? The only other cast members whom I recognized were James Karen (the developer from "Poltergeist") and Bud Cort (yes, the guy from "Harold and Maude").

Oh, and there's a scene that gives new meaning to the expression "a frog in one's throat"!