UFOctober: INVADERS FROM MARS (1986)
In 2024, the original INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) was inducted into the U.S. National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. By then an entire generation of filmmakers was inspired by its innovative special effects and enthralled by the idea of capturing an alien invasion on film. Director Tobe Hooper was one such filmmaker, and in 1986 he released his unique take on the material. And while its certainly tonally distinct from the original, INVADERS FROM MARS (1986) is a campy concoction of 1950s sentimentality colored with a flare of 1980s adventure.
Much of the movie follows the original plot to the point of knowing winks and references, including a cameo from the original child actor (Jimmy Hunt) who played young David in 1953, now grown into the role of the unnamed local police chief. Here’s the thing with child actors: many lead roles for young actors requires them to teeter on a razor thin wire dangling precariously over a fence separating precocious believability and complete and utter annoyance. This is especially the case with horror films. You want some examples? Haley Joel Osmont in THE SIXTH SENSE (1999): Perfect casting—a vulnerable, believable, totally sympathetic protagonist. That kid (Noah Wiseman) from THE BABADOOK (2014): Vexing but necessarily so, given the narrative. But the sister (Blaze Berdahl) from PET SEMATARY (1989) was just whiny as all hell.
Where actor Hunter Carson lands on the matter is entirely subjective to your camp barometer. While Carson simultaneously looks both 14 and 40 because of that floppy ‘80s hairstyle, his performance as David Gardner isn’t enough to derail the movie. But much of the critical response seemed to think that was true for several of his costars. Personally, I love Louise Fletcher for the monotone performance of Mrs-my-teacher-is-an-alien-McKeltch. The 7th Annual Golden Raspberries seemed to disagree, nominating Fletcher for Worst Supporting Actress. And of course, Karen Black as Nurse Linda Magnuson is…Karen Black. The 1980s was the beginning of Black’s B-horror era, and I loved that for her. And dear reader, I only just learned that child actor Hunter Carson is Karen Black’s real-life son while writing this article. And here I was going to wax poetic about Tobe Hooper’s fondness for supernatural familial danger, ala POLTERGEIST (1982). Casting Karen Black and her son as the two leads who hope to save the world from alien invaders? Hella familial!
As the concerned school nurse and surrogate mother figure to the troubled David, their real-life mother-son relationship only lends to their on-screen compatibility. But what I remember from the little time spent with the Gardner family pre-UFO-landing is that 1950s styled ‘gee whiz, Dad’ nuclear family dynamic that echoes the time of the original INVADERS. Maybe it’s hokey, but I liked it. The same way I liked how a stadium-sized UFO landed squarely in the painted suburban landscape, only to be seen by David; who is clutching his prized coin collection like it’s the Chekhov’s copper penny of the story.
After a panicked David proclaims “they’re here,” his dutiful parents go on a romantic stroll to Copper Hill to check out the scenery. The following morning, Mr. And Mrs. Gardner as we know them are gone. They’ve been people-podded and have some gnarly neck wounds to prove it. Now they’re emotionally subdued and sustain themselves on both burnt to hell bacon and raw ground beef. And they’re quite eager to show young David how beautiful Copper Hill is, despite him likely knowing the landscape behind his house well enough without a tour. In brushing up on my INVADERS FROM MARS knowledge for this article, I absolutely loved the Reddit threads of many a parent pranking their unsuspecting children. After taking them for a family outing to see INVADERS they tucked them sweetly into their beds and turned to show off freshly-bandaged necks before switching off the light—diabolical.
Now, as for the writing. Is this Dan O’ Bannon’s best work? It likely isn’t. But then again, with rewrites from David Womark, we might never know. While some critics lambasted the clunky dialogue, I think they may have lost the plot. Tobe Hooper’s vision for INVADERS FOM MARS was intently focused on camp. The screenplay, the visual effects, the casting decisions—all aligned in that goal. INVADERS FROM MARS (1986) is an homage to an entire era of sci-fi filmmaking. It’s nostalgic for the schlocky dialogue, budget effects, and extraterrestrial fascination that dominated public interest in the pre-dawn of the space age. And it’s just a good time!
Is INVADERS (1986) as strong a remake as say, THE BLOB (1988)? Again, no, it isn’t. But then, few things are BLOB-level badass. But let’s take stock of what we do have:
Karen Black gets to be unapologetically Karen Black
Louise Fletcher gets eaten by a brutish alien drone
We get more sweaty panicking from character actor James Karen
The big bad alien looks like Krang from TMNT. Nothing wrong with that!
The score: Orchestral with a touch of sci-fi synthesizers
The standout for me was obviously the alien design, a Stan Winston contribution of hulking two-manned alien drone puppet suits and the literal extraterrestrial mastermind—a giant brain that’s running the entire human infiltration operation. Maybe it’s too literal for some, but that Krang-looking creature design with its scowling brow and tiny mouth was simultaneously frightening…and somewhat precious?
It’s funny how nostalgia colors our media memories. INVADERS (1986) was a regular rewatch in my young days, long before I realized how largely horror would factor into the equation of my life as a writer. I hadn’t seen INVADERS FROM MARS in decades, so when the opportunity presented itself to take a stroll down Copper Hill for Neon Splatter, I thought…hell yeah. My young love for this movie was instantly validated. But what were those memories exactly? Were they fear or were they fondness?
I distinctly remember Louise Fletcher bathed in flashing lights within the winding tunnels of the UFO. Her echoing threat looming in stereo, “David Gardner, I’ll get you.” And I recall the tiny mouth on that giant brain and the low droning sound it emitted. I remember David’s penny collection being prominent in the finale as an improvised way to operate the alien weaponry against them. But why do I get the feeling that all these memories have culminated in a nostalgia that doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny in present day? And then there’s the age-old question of many a daring auteur: Can a movie truly be camp if it’s done with intent?
Look, I’m not here to shit on anybody’s nostalgia. What’s not to love about rediscovering a movie your memories held meaningful? Is it disappointing if that movie doesn’t feel as magical as it did thirty years ago? Maybe it is. Or maybe as adults with astute observance to rigid film analysis, we’ve lost some of our magic. But at least there are others out there with some childlike wonder left, as the good people of Scream Factory saw fit to release INVADERS FROM MARS (1986) on Blu-ray for the first time in 2015. But if you’re on a budget, you can almost certainly find INVADERS available to stream from Tubi, Plex, Fawesome, or some other free streaming service. And you should find it. Because the suited G-men may have discredited the hippies by renaming UFOS “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” and quite suspiciously discontinued the production of pennies. But we INVADERS FROM MARS (1986) fans know the truth: keep your prized copper penny collection close and always check the neck.
