I remember when Invaders From Mars came out in 1986. I knew it was a remake, having read about it in Starlog magazine, and while I didn’t recognize the names of those involved as I grew they would become very familiar to me. What I remember most is reading the novelization when I grabbed it at the PX on the American base when we were living in Bermuda.

I dug the story, and then when I finally watched the movie, pretty sure I saw it at the theatre on the base, and then on VHS when it came to home video, it wasn’t as awesome as I wanted it to be. The story from the novelization worked better for me, though I hated the ending, and honestly, even with the original and watching it again, that ending feels like a bit of a cheat.

Tobe Hooper directed this film following his space vampire, Lifeforce, and I like the idea of the film, and some of the execution is solid, but the further along it goes, the more the wheels seem to come off. The finale, which should be tense and action-packed feels like we’re viewing it at a remove, and the camera choices and acting choices seem a little off.

The story follows David Gardner (Hunter Carson) a young boy who sees a giant UFO come down behind the hill tucked behind his house. When his father, George (Timothy Bottoms) goes to investigate, he comes back changed. And he’s not the only one.

Soon there are a number of changed people around the town, all of them acting oddly, all of them with little wounds on the back of their neck, and none of them are scarier than David’s teacher, Mrs. McKeltch (the iconic Louise Fletcher). After both of his parents become something else, the only person young David can trust is the school nurse, Linda (played by Hunter’s actual mother, Karen Black).

As the young boy investigates he discovers the horrifying creatures that have taken up residence underneath the town, they are invaders from Mars! He turns to the General (James Karen) at the local military base, who is working closely with NASA and this General seems quite happy to listen to and take orders from a little boy.

The NASA angle reveals that they are sending exploratory probes to Mars, and it seems that the Martians don’t want that, so they’re being proactive and sending a ship to Earth to stop these things from happening.

They’re basically saying get off my lawn, and humanity isn’t listening.

The film features visual effects by John Dykstra and creature effects by Stan Winston, and I love both their work, and the designs are cool for both effects and aliens. There’s also a great opening theme and some solid music cues by Christopher Young.

There are some really cool things going on with this film, and while the original was about the Red Scare, this version lacks that thematic sense, and consequently misses some opportunities. It ends up just being a b-movie remake of a b-movie, despite some of the talent involved.