.jpg "Invaders from Mars (1986 film)")
It features a lot of big names, including Timothy Bottoms, Hunter Carson, and his real-life mother, Karen Black, Laraine Newman (SNL Coneheads), James Karen (playing very close to typecasting), Bud Cort, Eric Pierpoint (Alien Nation), and Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Deep Space Nine). Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Lifeforce - catch the cameo of the movie on TV), written Dan O'Bannon (writer of, well, lots of things) and the special effects are by Stan Winston and John Dykstra.
Invaders from Mars (1986)
David and his dad are out watching meteors one night. Later that night, he sees a UFO. The next day his dad is acting all strange, then his mom. And soon there are others in town acting strange and David suspects they have been replaced by aliens.
They have, of course, or rather they are under some sort of mind control from actual Martians. Look, I enjoy a good Mars tale as much as the next guy, but by 1986 we had sent enough landers to Mars to know there was nothing there. This made a lot more sense in the original 1953 version, or at least there was still some mystery then. Well, they mention this in the movie. The Martians are all living underground.
Anyway, it goes about as you would suspect. Invaders thinking a new mission to Mars is a prelude to an attack send an advance team to take out the rocket. Then it becomes Marines vs Martians. Yup. It's the 1980s.
They discover the aliens, destroy them, and then everyone goes back to normal...or do they?
The special effects are kind of fun, to be honest. Not scary, but certainly cool looking.
I do think it is kind of cool that Hunter Carson and Karen Black have so much screen time together.
.jpg "Invaders from Mars (1953 film)")
I opted to re-watch the original movie from 1953. It doesn't fit my theme at all, but I did want to watch it to compare. It is listed as a horror film. The plot is basically the same for both movies. The special effects are not up to the 1986 version, but there are 33 years separating them.
The version I watched on Tubi (my go-to for horror flicks these days) was restored from the original negatives and honestly looks rather great. Though it doesn't help the stock footage of tanks and explosions. Ot keeping the zippers from being seen on the Martians.
In the 1950s, Alien Invasion movies were usually filled with Cold War-era fears. You get that here in with the remote mind control and invasion themes. Since this is the 50s, the couple sleep in separate beds and the mother wears full make-up to bed.
The 1986 version is mostly absent of any of the fears normally associated with 80s horror (consumerism, technology, killers), but it does continue a theme that I have been building here. Prior to the 1980s, horror was largely about a place: Transylvania, the old castle, the island, and so on. You had to go to where the horror was. In the 80s, horror more often came to you. So your small town (like this one) was not a safe haven. The monsters came to you. That is, of course, unless the monsters aren't already there.
The 1950s horror movies fear infiltration and invasion of our land and country; 1980s horror makes the infiltration personal. Though it is not the best film to dissect this idea since the 86 version is not very different than the 53 version except in subtle tone.
Jackson, IL Connections
The obvious connections here are the invaders of the small town destroying the institutions we trust: the cops, the phone, teachers, parents. It doesn't matter if they are aliens or demons. Again, Thirteen Parsecs for aliens, NIGHT SHIFT for demons. I suppose, like in the movies, aliens can be communicated with; typically, demons can't. Oh, they can understand you; they just don't care.
This is especially effective when the protagonists are all teens. Old enough to see the problem, not old enough to get anyone to believe them. Sounds like Jackson's mission statement.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2026
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