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Rating:  -
While this version doesnt come close to the original, its not as terrible as some would imply. Karen Black (Linda) does a good job of playing the school nurse to whom little David (Hunter Thompson) can confide. Timothy Bottoms shows beyond a doubt he cannot act his way out of a paper bag and the monsters look like they could have escaped from the H.R. Puff N' Stuff saturday morning show of old. The special effects are pretty good and its a good story to start with. Hopefully the 1953 version will be re-released on DVD so those of us who missed it can enjoy both versions.
Rating:  -
That's what I'm saying! Granted, I do concur with most of the preceding reviewers that Tobe Hooper has conjured more visceral cinematic thrills with the likes of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Poltergeist", & "The Funhouse." But I've always found "Invaders From Mars" to be enthrallingly fun popcorn flick fodder for my Friday nites. Sure, Dan ("Alien", "Total Recall") O'Bannon's script ain't Golden Globe material, and the acting's quite over-the-top at times...but it does boast an eerie score and sound design, as well as resplendent color & shadow schemes in its cinematography that still leave me in inexplicable wonderment. Even the ensemble F/X crew of Oscar winners Stan Winston, John Dykstra, & Les ("Raiders of the Lost Ark") Dilley did a commendable job on the creature and spacecraft design work when considering the budgetary constraints imposed on them from working under the Chapter 11-ridden Cannon Films banner.
As for the story, it's a formulaic 50's sci-fi motif from start to finish...but damn fun! Young David Gardner (Hunter Carson) makes a harrowing discovery of witnessing a Martian U.F.O. land behind his backyard one evening. As time progresses, he notices something's ominously wrong with his family and the other townsfolk. They each have grotesque flesh wounds on the backs of their necks, have extreme appetites for raw meat, and behave like stoical drones. The Martians have landed and plan to enslave humanity via implanted subliminal biochips and deplete the Earth's copper supply in the process! Able to convince the school nurse (Karen Black) and ironically the local NASA base's Marine Corp general (James Karen), what ensues for David is a fight-to-the-finish against the extraterrestial baddies! But it was all just a bad nightmare for poor David...OR WAS IT!?
I have seen both the 50's & this 80's version of the same chilling story a number of times. Hooper's interpretation, in my opinion, had appropriate equilibrium in keeping the story at times a taut, surrealistic sci-fi thriller, as well as a campy kiddie horror flick at others...though its 'PG' banner was really stretched to the limit. The fear "Invaders From Mars" tries to project comes naturally if one can elicit their inner-child and empathize with the common terrors of being alone with no place to hide and no one to believe you in a hostile environment...trite, but true.
MGM has compiled a very decent DVD re-release of this film. The 2.35:1 widescreen transfer is the cleanest (albeit with some minor grain) version I've seen, and it really does a sublime job in accentuating the spacecraft interior scenes! The 2.0 surround track does a satisfactory job, but a 5.1 remix would have really satiated my audiophile sweet tooth. Two Behind-The-Scenes featurettes are even included (I never knew Hooper was such a chain cigar smoker before watching his interviews and set shooting footage), as well as the perequisite trailer.
This is fun sci-fi/horror escapism on a bargain-packed DVD! Give it a chance...at least as a rental.
Rating: -
There seems to be two versions of this film on DVD, the one I purchsed has "Midnight Movies" printed at the top of the DVD case, and even though there does not seem to be any mention anywhere, apart from the Trailer, there are two featurettes on the DVD. Unlike a lot of featurettes which are filmed for DVD now with photos from the time the film was made, the two on this DVD were made at the same time as the movie. They are 8 minutes, and 15 minutes in length, contain interviews with the main cast, as well a great look behind the scenes at shots in the movie as they are being filmed. There are also interviews with some of the crew, and a look at the production props, and special effects.
It's worth buying this version of the DVD for the extras, and the opening titles are still amongst the most exciting I have ever seen.
I nearly gave it 4 stars by the way
Rating:  -
From this terrible dvd that is! IF you don't mind the terrible acting and story, this could be a fairly enjoyable film. The only positive thing to say about this film is the special effects are pretty good for its time. Other than that, it is very bad. Unless you really like B-movies, steer clear, it is that bad.
Rating: -
I never seen the 1953 original so I don't have it to compare with. But the 1986 Tobe Hooper's remake is ok. The special effects done by Stan Winston can't be all that bad anyway. The picture quality of the DVD is fine and the stereo surround soundtrack is below average but nothing much to complain about. But compared to my LD copy, this DVD is significantly better and it is already out of print. Give it a try, it is not as bad as people say it is.
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