INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)

INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)

Tagline: From out of space... came hordes of green monsters!

(Sci-fi, Aliens, Dig Dug) [G]

Note – This movie did not originally have an MPAA rating, but I think it would have been a PG just because it involves adults' brains getting taken over by alien forces. Actually, wait…that is pretty much a normal thing these days. Let's call it G. 

After all the work at the plant is secret. And we have orders to report anything unusual. And there have been rumors.

The plot for this one is pretty simple. A young boy named David who looks up to his father sees a spaceship crash land near his house in a sandpit. He tells his father who goes to check it out and returns later with a really bad attitude. Kind of like if you are normally a coffee drinking, but they only have the dark roast at work that day. Yes, that kind of bad attitude. David soon becomes aware of strange scars on the back of certain individuals’ necks and that whatever crash-landed that night is now slowly taking over the town. He ends up enlisting the help of Dr. Pat Blake who knows an astronomer that can help him discover what it all means. The clock is ticking; can David discover how to stop the madness before the entire planet becomes mind-numbed college students? Ehem, I mean, alien slaves. 

First off, I grew up in the 80’s so the first version of this movie that I ever saw was the 1986 version and I remember just kind of hating it. I don’t recall exactly why (it may have had to do with the fact that I wasn’t crazy about Hunter Carson as an actor and Karen Black always creeps me out), but I was definitely creeped out by the alien designs in that one. This movie still has some of that creepy factor because of the mind control and the getting sucked into the ground, but the alien designs are more interesting and less wake up in the middle of the night screaming. 

Just about every aspect of this movie is awesome including the clearly budgeted alien designs. I loved the getting sucked into the sand effects and this cast is just brilliant. I thought they pulled off some pretty cool stuff. 

Acting-wise, Helena Carter probably stands out the most as Dr. Pat Blake. She was only in Hollywood for 6 years and was involved in 13 movies, before moving on to other things (this was her last movie). The film also starred Morris Ankrum who plays Col. Fielding. I have mentioned liking him in these movies in previous reviews. He was also in the sci-fi films EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCER and THE GIANT CLAW among others. Leif Erickson was solid in this as David’s father George MacLean. He was extremely popular in movies from the 1930s into the mid-1980s. Hillary Brooke plays David’s mother Mary MacLean. She is famous for playing Marla Stevens in 1951’s LOST CONTINENT. Jimmy Hunt (who plays David) was pretty great in this as a child actor. I also really love the fact that he returned for the 1986 remake to play the Police Chief. He was just 14 when he did this movie, but had been acting since he was 8. 

This eerie little sci-fi flick was made by an independent studio that ended up doing 16 movies. They had quite a few small roles for well-known actors like Lock Martin and Barbara Billingsley which was awesome. I really liked this thing and it kept my interest even after I had already seen 1 version.

For me, this is an easy 5 out of 7. For the 1950s this qualifies as horror, but it falls more into the creepy Twilight Zone area. Just a tip, stay out of the sand. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF EDWARD L. ALPERSON PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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