Invaders from Mars (1986) (VHS Review)
Directed By: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms
Rated: PG
Color of Tape: Black
Case: Slip
Source: Media Home Entertainment 1986 Release
How Was It Acquired: Flea Market
Ex Rental: Maybe (Has a number on the slip and tape, but no store info)
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, his least-liked schoolteacher and other townspeople. With the aid of the school nurse the boy enlists the aid of the U.S. Marines.
I love Tobe Hooper movies and I also love horror films directed at kids that came out in the 1980s. The two things being combined here for a movie should have been a can’t miss hit out of the park for me, but sadly, I had trouble keeping as into this one as it went along. The movie starts off really well. Maybe, I should say it starts off exceptionally well, because I really did love things at the start. We have a dreamy like setting of a father and son looking into the stars and it seems to have that magical 80s feel until the son spots something in the sky before bed. This kicks off our typical routine of nobody believing the kid, the Dad checks it out, he’s now acting strange, and it goes from there until our kid lead finds the one person who believes him and tries to help, a teach played by the late and great Karen Black.
The movie is more or less 80s fun up until the military comes into play about half way. And, just like the military in most horror films, they ruin things. While they don’t do that as bad plot wise in the film, I think it gives the movie a punch in the gut it never does really recover from and the finally the movie is finished off once we get a look at one of the over-sized aliens. From there I was kind of out of it and I don’t feel the movie ever gets back on its feet as the cheese starts to flow in a un-cool 80s fashion and it ends on a typical note that seems like a cop-out in some ways and just a way to keep the door open for a sequel that we never have gotten in another way. It is still a fun movie in spots, it just doesn’t stay consistent in any way.
