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Invaders from Mars (1953) -
This lean but hardly light sci-fi horror makes an alien invasion seem like a fever dream...or does it? Imagined or not, it should be mentioned alongside other great movies where the hero believes they are the only sane one like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Tin Drum. Like the latter, it has the added appeal of the hero, David, being a child for how it makes the uncertainty over whether he can convince grownups that aliens are in his backyard all the more tense. Besides the possibility that any of them have been reprogrammed, parents just don't understand, am I right? I love how director Menzies and company enhance David's struggle, whether it's the sets or the camera angles that make him seem smaller than he really is. Like its fellow alien invasion movies from this era, the Red Scare overtones are also strong with this one. If it's not the color of the Martian's megaweapon or their chosen targets, space research plants, it's how willing the adults are to send in the troops and the tanks the instant David wins them over.
Since there is a remake of this movie and multiple cuts, no two viewing experiences of it are alike. Having watched the remake first, I would recommend seeing this one first. I like Tobe Hooper's movie, but this one stirred my imagination more, has more impressive usage of color and does a better job at keeping it from David's perspective throughout. Also, as gruesome as Hooper's aliens and their ship look, they're still not as memorable as what Menzies accomplished despite having a lower budget. No matter what order you see them in, this one is bound to make you recall the joy and imagined fears you likely had while looking up at the night sky as a kid. Oh, and no matter how much you think you have seen in this genre, a certain head in a fishbowl is bound to haunt your dreams.
This lean but hardly light sci-fi horror makes an alien invasion seem like a fever dream...or does it? Imagined or not, it should be mentioned alongside other great movies where the hero believes they are the only sane one like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Tin Drum. Like the latter, it has the added appeal of the hero, David, being a child for how it makes the uncertainty over whether he can convince grownups that aliens are in his backyard all the more tense. Besides the possibility that any of them have been reprogrammed, parents just don't understand, am I right? I love how director Menzies and company enhance David's struggle, whether it's the sets or the camera angles that make him seem smaller than he really is. Like its fellow alien invasion movies from this era, the Red Scare overtones are also strong with this one. If it's not the color of the Martian's megaweapon or their chosen targets, space research plants, it's how willing the adults are to send in the troops and the tanks the instant David wins them over.
Since there is a remake of this movie and multiple cuts, no two viewing experiences of it are alike. Having watched the remake first, I would recommend seeing this one first. I like Tobe Hooper's movie, but this one stirred my imagination more, has more impressive usage of color and does a better job at keeping it from David's perspective throughout. Also, as gruesome as Hooper's aliens and their ship look, they're still not as memorable as what Menzies accomplished despite having a lower budget. No matter what order you see them in, this one is bound to make you recall the joy and imagined fears you likely had while looking up at the night sky as a kid. Oh, and no matter how much you think you have seen in this genre, a certain head in a fishbowl is bound to haunt your dreams.