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Invaders from Mars (1986) -
To paraphrase a conversation from The Big Picture:
"It's called Invaders from Mars."
"What's it about?"
"Invaders from Mars."
Since my childhood wasn't far off from David's (except my dad didn't work for NASA), I'm surprised I haven't seen this yet. I finally did and I had a pretty good time with it. After nights of looking through his (massive) telescope, David's wish finally comes true: not only does he spot a UFO, which is lit up like a Christmas tree, it lands in his backyard! He gets more than he bargained for, though, when his mother, father and pretty much all the grownups in his life who should be looking out for him start behaving much differently. The kindly school nurse (Carson's real-life mom, Karen Black) seems alright and willing to help, but will the two of them be enough?
If you read that plot summary and wondered, "is this like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers," you're not wrong. While not as scary or the classics that the '50s and '70s versions are, I appreciated its spin on the formula by seeing the transitions occur through a child's eyes. The movie does other things that make it a good introductory horror movie for kids. They include making the UFO's interior and exterior as colorful and flashy as a child might draw one, making the Martians look equally funny and creepy and empowering David by making him seem like the only one who suspects something. Having an expert at playing corrupted authority figures like Louise Fletcher, whose teacher's wardrobe would not be out of place in the '50s original, helps, and like the best movies for children, it respects their intelligence and the observant eye (without spoiling it too much, pay attention to what's in David's room).
Despite having a different take on the Body Snatchers formula, it's not that different if you know what I mean. Also, as nice as it was to see James Karen as a cigar-chomping general, the movie loses instead of gains momentum when the military shows up. It still had fun, and it proves that not everything with Golan and Globus' "seal of approval" is bargain bin fodder. Oh, your mileage may vary with the ending, but it's at least more bang than whimper.
To paraphrase a conversation from The Big Picture:
"It's called Invaders from Mars."
"What's it about?"
"Invaders from Mars."
Since my childhood wasn't far off from David's (except my dad didn't work for NASA), I'm surprised I haven't seen this yet. I finally did and I had a pretty good time with it. After nights of looking through his (massive) telescope, David's wish finally comes true: not only does he spot a UFO, which is lit up like a Christmas tree, it lands in his backyard! He gets more than he bargained for, though, when his mother, father and pretty much all the grownups in his life who should be looking out for him start behaving much differently. The kindly school nurse (Carson's real-life mom, Karen Black) seems alright and willing to help, but will the two of them be enough?
If you read that plot summary and wondered, "is this like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers," you're not wrong. While not as scary or the classics that the '50s and '70s versions are, I appreciated its spin on the formula by seeing the transitions occur through a child's eyes. The movie does other things that make it a good introductory horror movie for kids. They include making the UFO's interior and exterior as colorful and flashy as a child might draw one, making the Martians look equally funny and creepy and empowering David by making him seem like the only one who suspects something. Having an expert at playing corrupted authority figures like Louise Fletcher, whose teacher's wardrobe would not be out of place in the '50s original, helps, and like the best movies for children, it respects their intelligence and the observant eye (without spoiling it too much, pay attention to what's in David's room).
Despite having a different take on the Body Snatchers formula, it's not that different if you know what I mean. Also, as nice as it was to see James Karen as a cigar-chomping general, the movie loses instead of gains momentum when the military shows up. It still had fun, and it proves that not everything with Golan and Globus' "seal of approval" is bargain bin fodder. Oh, your mileage may vary with the ending, but it's at least more bang than whimper.