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Invaders From Mars (1986)

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 2:38 pm    Post subject: Invaders From Mars (1986) Reply with quote

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I had misgivings when the credits began — copying the style of the Superman movie credits flashing towards us — hard to read, inappropriate.

This is a rather straightforward and pedestrian remake of the dreamlike 1953 film. The plot is mostly the same: one night, a small boy (Hunter Carson) witnesses a spaceship landing behind a hill near his home. He becomes the only one aware that his parents (Timothy Bottoms & Laraine Newman) and several other town citizens are quickly taken over by aliens, indicated by a small injury on the back of the neck.

The modus operandi of the aliens is simple: people who wander into or are led to the area where the ship landed are sucked under the sand and compromised. The kid finds an ally in his school's nurse (Karen Black) and they eventually team up with the army. The general is played by James Karen.

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This version of the invasion tale mostly fails in every area that the original succeeded. The direction is flat, while the actors, especially Carson, are colorless and dull. Louise Fletcher as the compromised teacher is creepy (though she was apparently creepy before the invasion), but her scenes are simply unintentionally humorous — especially her chasing of the boy.

Same with Karen Black's —she seems unaccustomed to being in such a film and unsure of how to behave, usually screaming or acting shocked in an unconvincing manner. There are also missed opportunities in regard to showing the nightmarish aspect of seeing people you know to be alien-controlled, such as a cut scene of the father returning from the alien ship site at night.

The visuals resort to showing grotesque alien creatures — cumbersome, slow-moving, strangely non-frightening monsters. A lightweight result from director Tobe Hooper, who's done better.

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BoG's Score: 4.5 out of 10

Trivia From Mars: Carson is Karen Black's son. Early role for Eric Pierpoint as an army officer; he went on to a regular role on Alien Nation, as an alien. Director Hooper pulled a Bert I. Gordon-styled bit of self-promotion: in one scene, his previous film Lifeforce is playing on a TV.



BoG
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Last edited by Bogmeister on Fri Oct 04, 2019 3:41 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Here's a treat, folks!

A really well done trailer and a good copy of the movie. Cool

I was disappointed when I first saw this movie in 1986 at the Starlight Drive-in in Atlanta with my six-year old daughter (who is now All Sci-Fi member Ticket2theMoon) and my three-year son.

However, a few years ago I shared it with the late Tim Edwards (Bulldogtrekker) during an on-line chat, and we enjoyed it.

BoG is right in his review above when he describes some of the flaws in this film. One has to lower one's expectations for this movie to enjoy the merits it does have. One of those merits pertains to the way it gives us more obvious clues that the whole thing is a dream the boy is having.

Watch the scene in which the boy tells the general about the invasion. The general's reaction is clearly unrealistic, but it's consistent with the way a kid might imagine a general would act. Very Happy

Stan Winston's truly weird Martians are glorious creations, although BoG is right to some degree when he described them as "cumbersome, slow-moving, strangely non-frightening monsters". But to be fair, they were consistent with the idea that a young boy might have nightmares about such creatures.


__ Invaders From Mars (1986) Tobe Hooper Trailer


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_________ Invaders from Mars (1986) Full Movie


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, As I recall we watched this last year in the chatroom and we both rather enjoyed it, although we noted that the original was better. Different times / different tastes I guess.

One thing we mentioned too is that Karen Black's character combined the school nurse and the astronomer characters in the older version.

For what it was it was a romp...and a bit of a parody of the original...whether that was the intention or not.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

By gum, Gordo, you caught me in a senior moment! Shocked

It was indeed you rather than Bulldogtrekker I shared that movie with. Sharing the movie with a friend was, I'm sure, a big part of the reason I enjoyed it more than the first time I saw it.

Come to think of it, I watched so many things with Mr. Tim Edwards over a six year period, I might have watched it with him too on another occasion, perhaps because our chat gave me a higher opinion of the movie, so I talked Tim into trying it at later date.

Gee, I sure miss old Tim. Sad

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Eadie
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Martian drone concept maquette:



Unused Martian warrior/guard concept:



Martian Master concept:



Two BTS views of the Martian master:




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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Good lord, that artwork is magnificent. Thanks, Eadie! Very Happy

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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My favorite scene is where the Marines open fire on the Martians after they have killed the Scientist. They are firing at the Martians, and a Marine moves forward with a rocket launcher...and all the Marines behind him dive to the sides of the tunnel to avoid the rocket exhaust.

My favorite line comes from the Marine General: Don't worry son. We Marines have no qualms about killing Martians.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
My favorite line comes from the Marine General: Don't worry son. We Marines have no qualms about killing Martians.

Dialog like that demonstrated that this version was actually supposed to be the boy's nightmare. Kids think it's the way a soldiers talk. I enjoyed the subtle touches like that one. Very Happy
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alltare
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is something that's been bugging me since I first saw this movie in 1986: There seems to be some significance to the license plate number ("2END395") of Nurse Linda's (Karen Black's) car. At about 47 minutes into the movie, as her car speeds away from the camera, the rear license plate is prominentally displayed in the center of the screen. This is not a coincidental or accidental camera shot- the camera angle and position were obviously deliberate.

I doubt that a rental car would have such a plate (I think standard California plate numbers are in the format xxx nnn). Since it is a non-standard format, I'm assuming that "2END395" is a special-order "vanity" plate, and thus has some meaning to someone. So what was the purpose of showing us the plate (which is perhaps intended to mean "To End 395")? And what is its meaning? A disputed ballot proposition? A contested highway project? Can any of our California readers offer an explanation?

Or is it simply that, as Sigmund Freud might have said, "Sometimes, a license plate number is just a number"?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 10, 2020 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I hope our members help us solve this mystery, sir, because you've described several excellent reasons to suspect there's a backstory to this we'd all like to know! Confused

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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 12:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

alltare wrote:

I doubt that a rental car would have such a plate (I think standard California plate numbers are in the format xxx nnn).

The license number 2END395 has no special significance that I'm aware of. And regular California plates have had 7 characters since 1980. The standard format is: numeral, 3 letters, 3 numerals.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2020 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The domain within your query sequence starts at position 2 and ends at position 395; the E-value for the 2hye domain shown below is 5e-7.
The domain is expressed as 2end395."

I have no idea of the significance of it.

It could be a reference to "pages" in a book or script or it could be reference to a Basic program to run from entry 2 to entry 395. Just a guess.



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alltare
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
The license number 2END395 has no special significance that I'm aware of. And regular California plates have had 7 characters since 1980. The standard format is: numeral, 3 letters, 3 numerals.

Well, Scotpens, you have blown a big hole in my theory. I suppose it's just a random license plate that has no meaning after all (unless the car is a pre-1980 model with original plate). Thanks for pointing out the correct current format.

Gord Green wrote:
"The domain within your query sequence starts at position 2 and ends at position 395; the E-value for the 2hye domain shown below is 5e-7.
The domain is expressed as 2end395."
I have no idea of the significance of it.
It could be a reference to "pages" in a book or script or it could be reference to a Basic program to run from entry 2 to entry 395. Just a guess.

Gord:
So the car's owner was a software guy. That explains everything. Confused
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_ Invaders From Mars (1986) Tobe Hooper - Official Trailer


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_________ Invaders from Mars (1986) Full Movie


__________


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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
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~ Jimmy Hunt, who played young David MacLean in the original Invaders from Mars (1953) and the police chief in this remake, actually has more than almost a dozen lines, not just one as reported by a reviewer.

When he and Officer Keeney go up the hill in search of Mr. Gardner, Hunt's line of "Gee, I haven't been up here since I was a kid" is a playful reference to the similar area of Martian activity that he witnessed as the boy in the 1953 movie.


Note from me: I admire the filmmakers for including this great "in joke". Very Happy

~ The Martian drones were performed by two people back-to-back in one suit. A little person was carried in a sort of backpack on the back of a normal-sized performer.

The little person would operate the drone's mouth and smaller arms (as seen when the drones load their weapons) while the full-sized performer made the creature walk and used ski poles to move the longer arms (as seen when the drones "salute" Mrs. McKeltch).

The full-sized performer faced the rear of the suit and had to walk backwards so that the creature's knee joints would bend in a "not-human" fashion when it walked. Several actors performed the drones, working in shifts, which meant each performer who did the "walking" for a Martian needed his own custom-made footwear.


Note from me: I have to give these folks credit for original thinking when it comes to people-in-suits in very different way that we've previously seen them done.

~ When Linda and David are hiding in the boiler room, the police enter and while searching for them the "Globe Head" Martian from the original film can be seen sitting atop a cabinet.

Note from me: Another fine example of the "in jokes" this movie includes for fans of the original. Very Happy

~ When David comes home from school and turns on the TV, the movie playing is Lifeforce (1985), also directed by Tobe Hooper.

Note from me: I like Lifeforce! It's very original concept, and very well produced.

~ Producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus hated the final film and thought that the director had mislead them.

Note from me: The friend with whom I saw this movie at a theater when it first came out told me he disliked it too as when we were leaving.

~ Hunter Carson (David Gardner) is the real life son of Karen Black (Linda Magnusson).

Note from me: He actually did a fine job, I think.

~ For the sequence where one of the Martian drones eats Mrs. McKeltch, a special "eating rig" consisting of just the drone's head (with chewing jaw movements) was built for the closeup shots. The rig was built on a "seesaw" device so the drone could throw its head back to swallow. A short burst from a hidden fire extinguisher provided the drone's post-meal belch.

Note from me: The scene in which Louise Fletcher is gobbled up by the Martian was funny!

~ Near the beginning of the film the parents are getting David Gardner ready for bed, and start shuffling things around his bedroom. The father picks up a magazine and starts to read it. The magazine was a late 70's slick fanzine called Fantascene. That issue had a very fine article on the making of the original Invaders from Mars (1953).

Note from me: The producers of the movie definitely had a great deal of respect for the original.

~ Wade Williams had acquired the rights to Invaders from Mars (1953). For the remake rights, Williams received over 50 times the amount he had paid. Williams had already made a very handsome profit from the original film from television, cable and video releases.

Note from me: We owe a debt of gratitude to Wade for preserving movies like the classic movie — although in the case of Flight to Mars he used a print with some very damaged sections that mar the viewers enjoyment. Sad

~ The school that David goes to is the W.C. Menzies School, a reference to William Cameron Menzies, the director of the earlier film of this title.

Note from me: Wow, spotting the in jokes devoted to the original would make a great "drinking game"!

~ The film strongly implies, although never directly states, that the entire story is in the imagination of David Gardner.

The story is told entirely from David's point of view, with many of the camera angles shot from a lower perspective, as if from the height of a child. The general dialogue and mannerisms of the adult characters, who appear to be far more interested in what a 12 year old has to say than would normally be the case, also suggests David is living out a dream where he is the hero.

Lastly David in fact appears to wake up from the story as if it were a dream, only then to re-live the nightmare again.


Note from me: The movie does indeed support the same concept presented in the classic original, in that David dreams the entire story. William Cameron Menzie's version is loaded with obvious clues to support this idea, and this version does this, too. Very Happy

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~ The Space Children (1958)
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