Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41229 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-08-28
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com
Let's face it: a movie in which Louise Fletcher eats a bullfrog can't be all that bad. Indeed, Tobe Hooper's remake of the 1953 classic Invaders from Mars is a total hoot, remaining loyal to the original while serving up a kaleidoscopic orgy of fang-toothed beasties, dazzling pyrotechnics, and enough wretched dialogue to choke its enthusiastic cast. If anything, Hooper's too enamored of the original, and with amateur actor Hunter Carson (Paris, Texas) as the boy-who-cried-Martian, he can't sustain the original's eerily paranoid atmosphere. This big-budget Invaders compensates with campy humor (especially from evil schoolmarm Fletcher) and cool special effects by Star Wars innovator John Dykstra. Carson's real-life mom (Karen Black) plays the school nurse who believes the boy's warning of invasion, and Jimmy Hunt--who played the kid in the original--brings everything full circle as a Martian-possessed policeman. Watch the original, then enjoy this less effective but equally entertaining remake. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Silly Fun
The original 1953 INVADERS FROM MARS is a cult classic, appreciated for both its influence on later similar films and the fact that it reads as hilariously corny by today standards. But this 1986 remake--in spite of a big budget, several very talented actors, and a deliberately campy script--is unlikely to inspire the same sort of loyalty, and it was universally condemned by critics and audiences alike when first released.

That said, the film really isn't as bad as you may have heard. The plot follows the original version quite closely: the imaginative young son (Hunter Carson) of two loving parents (Timothy Bottom and Laraine Newman) catches sight of a UFO as it lands beyond the hill behind his house--and when his father goes out to investigate he returns... well... different. When his mother and his evil school teacher (Louise Fletcher) follow suit, he turns to the school nurse (Karen Black), and together the two alert the local military to the strange goings-on.

The cast is really quite good. Although the script gives her little to do beyond run around screaming, Karen Black has a unique screen presence--and it is as evident here as it is in her more celebrated films. Her real life son, Hunter Carson, does the honors as the child lead, and aquits himself very well. But the most memorable performances are from Laraine Newman, Timothy Bottom, and Louise Fletcher, who are transformed by the UFO and sent abroad to do the aliens' evil will. Fletcher is particularly enjoyable, wringing the most from her role as every child's nightmare school teacher. The special effects have dated and seem remarkably derrivative, a mix of STAR WARS and ALIEN, but they too are entertaining in their own way, and although it isn't always successful the script has enough campy humor (much of it in reference to the original) to give you an occasional hoot.

As pure fluff, the 1986 INVADERS FROM MARS works very well, and kids ten and up are likely to find it extremely entertaining. Still, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way for this particular movie. It is mindlessly entertaining, but I don't think it is a film to which many viewers will care to return.

BETTER THAN YOU THINK
With little fanfare, MGM has quietly transferred a handful of great B films to DVD that they not too arbitrarily categorize as "Midnight Movies." The nice looking digital prints are in their original theatrical format and appear as if they were taken from original material. The discs come with no substantial extras but care has been lavished on the box art, often reflecting the lurid lobby cards and posters of their initial release. Even acknowledging the B category, these are for the most part well-crafted and, well, adequately acted.

In "INVADERS FROM MARS" Tobe Hooper directs a terrific cast -- Karen Black, Timothy Bottoms, Bud Cort and Louise Fletcher -- in a straightforward update of the of the 1953 cult classic. This flip side to the benign aliens of "E.T." or "Close Encounters" delivers bad guys from space who not only want our planet but our souls as well. Creepy fun that can still raise the hair on your neck.

Make sure you get the correct DVD with the extras
There seems to be two versions of this film on DVD, the one I purchsed has "Midnight Movies" printed at the top of the DVD case, and even though there does not seem to be any mention anywhere, apart from the Trailer, there are two featurettes on the DVD. Unlike a lot of featurettes which are filmed for DVD now with photos from the time the film was made, the two on this DVD were made at the same time as the movie. They are 8 minutes, and 15 minutes in length, contain interviews with the main cast, as well a great look behind the scenes at shots in the movie as they are being filmed. There are also interviews with some of the crew, and a look at the production props, and special effects.

It's worth buying this version of the DVD for the extras, and the opening titles are still amongst the most exciting I have ever seen.

I nearly gave it 4 stars by the way