Invaders from Mars was an independent colored (as in, not black and white) science-fiction film released in 1953. It was inspired by a dream recounted to writer John Tucker Battle, by his wife. Directed by William Cameron Menzies (who coined the term "production designer", while working on the film Gone With the Wind), the film fits neatly into 50's science fiction filmmaking, an exploration of Martians invading the Earth using proxies and internal subversion, and one boy seeing it unfold before him. That sort of commentary on the 50's Red Scare would be explored further in films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film today is largely regarded an underrated classic in the genre, with some filmmakers citing it as a childhood favorite. In 1978, the rights for the film were purchased by Wade Williams, millionaire science fiction fan. Eventually, he decided to commission a remake, with Cannon buying the rights for 50x the price that he had bought the rights for. Tobe Hopper, in the middle of his three picture deal with Cannon, signed on to direct, having been one of those influenced by the film in his youth. Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby once again wrote the screenplay. The effects for the film were done by special effects legends Stan Winston and John Dykstra. When producers Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus saw the finished product, they (after confusing it with their adaptation of King Solomon's Mines) hated the picture. Critics and audiences sympathized. It received overall negative reviews and $4.9 million on a $7 million budget. I did watch the 1953 film in preparation for this film, so I could how this version compares.
One night, David Gardner (Hunter Carson) sees a UFO land in the small hill outside his house. His parents Ellen and George (Laraine Newman, Timothy Bottoms) are too late to it, but George promises to search the Hill when he wakes up. The next morning, David notices George acting strangely, and having a strange scar on the back of his neck. He also fails to come home the next night from his job as a military scientist. Ellen calls the Police Chief (Jimmy Hunt, who played the David role in the 1953 original) to investigate. When the Chief and another Policemen head over the hill, George suddenly reappears with neighbor Ed (William Frankfather). The policemen return, reporting nothing wrong, but acting strangely. Sure enough, the next day at school, he finds teacher Mrs. McKeltch (Louise Fletcher), with a bandage on her neck, eating a frog. Classmate Heather (Virginya Keehne) seems non-plussed at this. David confides in the school nurse, Linda (Karen Black, Carson's real-life mother). While initially not believing him, Linda becomes suspicious, and sees the bandage on McKeltch's back. She helps David escape. He accidentally sneaks into McKeltch's van, and she drives to an isolated location. David follows her into a cave, where he sees the truth: the UFO was indeed real, and the aliens are now kidnapping people and implanting them with strange devices to control them. While initially skeptical, Linda and David witness two investigators fall into the pit. Now, the two must find General Wilson (James Karen) at the base George worked at, and convince him to "send in the Marines", and stop this invasion from expanding.
First, the aliens and their ship are incredibly well-done in terms of design and effects. Like I said in the introduction, the effects were done by two legends in the field (Stan Winston worked on works like Terminator, Jurassic Park, and Iron Man, John Dystra on Star Wars and Spider-Man), so the Martians are very distinct and memorable, as is their ship. The Master Intelligence in particular looks and moves very realistically (even if it looks like Krang). It's certainly a step up from the somewhat mundane Martians and the incredibly silly looking Intelligence from the original (the latter makes a brief cameo). The acting is good, if a bit over-the-top. Hunter Carson is good for what he has to do. Karen Black does well, if somewhat straining for horror (I get the feeling she was meant to be the mother, but, given that her son might be disturbed by the practical special effects, she decided to take the Nurse role, as she spends more of the film with him). The film improves some of the narrative from the original, which helps raise the tension and suspicion that David and the audience experiences. David also sees the Aliens earlier, which helps cement the conflict. Spoiler for both films, but when the Marines come in in this version, it feels less incongruous with the rest of the film. Finally, Hopper directs with a sort of innocent gloss that, even though it feels like a discount Spielberg riff, sort of feels appropriate for the film, capturing the terror this invokes for a child like David.
Like Lifeforce, it definitely feels heavily edited. Certain scenes are definitely missing. While this works in some cases, like not seeing George investigate and fall into the pit, sometimes, it leaves out important details. The scene with the Marines is less incongruous than the 1953 film, but it still feels like a different film. There is also some scenes that feel entirely there for the weirdness factor than actually serve any purpose, like the frog-eating scene. A reviewer also pointed out to me that there seemed to be only two aliens made, so each shot only has one or two aliens.
I sort of see what Hopper was trying to do. He wanted to recreate in this remake, the feelings of terror he had watching the original. He wanted the children of that era to have that same experience watching this new version. He even said as much in an interview. It very much is a children's horror film, and I mean that in the best way. It is a movie that invokes the fear and powerlessness one feels as a child, much in the way the original did. It's a film that deserves at least one viewing. I think it deserves a little more attention than it gets. So, I'd recommend it. It wasn't particularly scary, but it definitely has some technical skill behind it.
Next time, I end the Tobe Hopper retrospective full circle, with Texas Chainsaw Massacre II.
One night, David Gardner (Hunter Carson) sees a UFO land in the small hill outside his house. His parents Ellen and George (Laraine Newman, Timothy Bottoms) are too late to it, but George promises to search the Hill when he wakes up. The next morning, David notices George acting strangely, and having a strange scar on the back of his neck. He also fails to come home the next night from his job as a military scientist. Ellen calls the Police Chief (Jimmy Hunt, who played the David role in the 1953 original) to investigate. When the Chief and another Policemen head over the hill, George suddenly reappears with neighbor Ed (William Frankfather). The policemen return, reporting nothing wrong, but acting strangely. Sure enough, the next day at school, he finds teacher Mrs. McKeltch (Louise Fletcher), with a bandage on her neck, eating a frog. Classmate Heather (Virginya Keehne) seems non-plussed at this. David confides in the school nurse, Linda (Karen Black, Carson's real-life mother). While initially not believing him, Linda becomes suspicious, and sees the bandage on McKeltch's back. She helps David escape. He accidentally sneaks into McKeltch's van, and she drives to an isolated location. David follows her into a cave, where he sees the truth: the UFO was indeed real, and the aliens are now kidnapping people and implanting them with strange devices to control them. While initially skeptical, Linda and David witness two investigators fall into the pit. Now, the two must find General Wilson (James Karen) at the base George worked at, and convince him to "send in the Marines", and stop this invasion from expanding.
First, the aliens and their ship are incredibly well-done in terms of design and effects. Like I said in the introduction, the effects were done by two legends in the field (Stan Winston worked on works like Terminator, Jurassic Park, and Iron Man, John Dystra on Star Wars and Spider-Man), so the Martians are very distinct and memorable, as is their ship. The Master Intelligence in particular looks and moves very realistically (even if it looks like Krang). It's certainly a step up from the somewhat mundane Martians and the incredibly silly looking Intelligence from the original (the latter makes a brief cameo). The acting is good, if a bit over-the-top. Hunter Carson is good for what he has to do. Karen Black does well, if somewhat straining for horror (I get the feeling she was meant to be the mother, but, given that her son might be disturbed by the practical special effects, she decided to take the Nurse role, as she spends more of the film with him). The film improves some of the narrative from the original, which helps raise the tension and suspicion that David and the audience experiences. David also sees the Aliens earlier, which helps cement the conflict. Spoiler for both films, but when the Marines come in in this version, it feels less incongruous with the rest of the film. Finally, Hopper directs with a sort of innocent gloss that, even though it feels like a discount Spielberg riff, sort of feels appropriate for the film, capturing the terror this invokes for a child like David.
Like Lifeforce, it definitely feels heavily edited. Certain scenes are definitely missing. While this works in some cases, like not seeing George investigate and fall into the pit, sometimes, it leaves out important details. The scene with the Marines is less incongruous than the 1953 film, but it still feels like a different film. There is also some scenes that feel entirely there for the weirdness factor than actually serve any purpose, like the frog-eating scene. A reviewer also pointed out to me that there seemed to be only two aliens made, so each shot only has one or two aliens.
I sort of see what Hopper was trying to do. He wanted to recreate in this remake, the feelings of terror he had watching the original. He wanted the children of that era to have that same experience watching this new version. He even said as much in an interview. It very much is a children's horror film, and I mean that in the best way. It is a movie that invokes the fear and powerlessness one feels as a child, much in the way the original did. It's a film that deserves at least one viewing. I think it deserves a little more attention than it gets. So, I'd recommend it. It wasn't particularly scary, but it definitely has some technical skill behind it.
Next time, I end the Tobe Hopper retrospective full circle, with Texas Chainsaw Massacre II.
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