Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Invaders from Mars Blu-ray Movie Review

"Don't worry, Son! We Marines have no qualms about killing Martians!"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 21, 2023

I sense something. A presence I've not felt since... Dan O'Bannon? Ah, yes. Lest ye forget, O'Bannon (Dark Star, The Return of the Living Dead) is the scorned screenwriter who almost gave us an alt-reality version of Ridley Scott's Alien that you definitely would not consider to be one of the best sci-fi/horror films of all time had he had his way. With Invaders from Mars, though, the cheesy remake of the 1953 film of the same name, he gets his way, this time with the help of co-writer Don Jakoby (Lifeforce, Arachnophobia) and some very tongue-in-cheek impishness courtesy of director Tobe Hooper (yes, he of Texas Chainsaw Massacre infamy). There's quite a bit of fun to be had in Invaders from Mars, and a spirit of '50s nostalgia that permeates everything from the bizarre creatures (God bless practical FX) to the intentionally ham-fisted dialogue and throwback performances of the cast. Comparisons to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and suggestions that it's one of the clear inspirations of Tim Burton's Mars Attacks are not far off at all, and the parade of instantly familiar '80s character actors and bizarrely mish-mashed beasties is what makes this one such a blast. It's not great cinema but it works in a weird way. Just imagine what Alien would have been with O'Bannon and Hooper at the helm? I can't tell if I'm offended by the idea or intrigued...

The plot is simple. A young boy tries to stop an alien invasion of his small town who take over the minds of his parents, his least-liked schoolteacher and other townspeople. What follows? How well does it work? Let me briefly defer the answer to that question to Jeffrey Kauffman and his 2015 review of the now out-of-print Shout Factory BD release: Some curmudgeons may question the wisdom of casting young Hunter Carson in the lead role of David, a little boy who is convinced that, yes, nefarious Martians have landed on Earth and are engaged in, if not outright replacing folks via another “invasion” film, 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or at least controlling them via a disturbing “portal” drilled into the backs of their necks. Carson, real life son of co-star Karen Black and noted writer-director L.M. Kit Carson, had received stellar reviews for his role in the Kit Carson penned Paris, Texas, but here he occasionally seems to be playing to the veritable second balcony, only upping what is already a fairly florid, hyperbolic presentation, making the film feel like more of a cartoon than even Hooper himself might have intended. (It doesn't help that the young boy sometimes seems to be on the verge of laughing in some of the scenes with his mother.)

But perhaps the most salient question of all concerning the 1986 remake of Invaders from Mars is one that again includes an assessment of films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers; namely, the tendency on the part of 1950s era science fiction filmmakers to make not so subtle references to the so-called Red Menace in their formulations of an alien attack stealing the hearts and minds of good old red blooded Americans. The Menzies Invaders from Mars was actually one of the more artful allegories of McCarthy Era paranoia, one that traded an interstellar “red menace” for the one then making headlines in papers across the country. While the mid to late eighties may well have been a time when President Reagan was decrying the existence of an “evil empire,” there wasn’t the same feeling of an existential threat from the Soviets, at least not at the same level, which seemed to be a subliminal element of so many 1950s science fiction “invasion” films. Divorced from that context, this “new, improved” Invaders from Mars is still a lot of fun, but it’s a decidedly less provocative film than the Menzies original.

It’s more than obvious that Hooper and screenwriters Dan O’Bannon and Don Jakoby have a lot of love and admiration for the Menzies film, for not only do they ape iconic imagery from the original (like that weird slightly akimbo farm fence proscribing the “hill” where David’s father goes to investigate the supposed spaceship landing), they also reference the legendary production designer and director with the name of the very school young David attends. First, though, we’re privy to the seemingly completely content home life David shares with his father George (Timothy Bottoms) and Ellen (Laraine Newman). The cheery suburban paradise is soon upset, however, when David is sure he has witnessed an alien landing in a hidden nook beyond that evocative fence.

When George returns from investigating weirdly altered, at least from David’s perspective, the little boy’s suspicions that something nefarious is at hand begins to grow to epic proportions. Meanwhile, though, he’s trying to navigate a seemingly equally thorny environment at his school, where he’s the object of much derision by his harridan teacher, Mrs. McKeltch (Louise Fletcher). Only the involvement of the concerned school nurse, Linda Magnusson (Karen Black), keeps David from devolving into complete terror. When his mother seems to join his father in a robotic ambience, though, all bets are off and David comes to conclusion that he’s going to have to get to the root causes of it all, especially since none of the adults (with the possible exception of Linda) believe what he tries so desperately to tell them. Soon enough David, along with Linda and (ultimately) a coterie of high powered military types, forage into a Martian den, where David has already seen the effects of Martian technology on the hapless Mrs. McKeltch.

The film is notable for some fun creature effects courtesy of legends like Stan Winston and John Dykstra, though on one level it’s kind of hard to be downright scared by Martians who are ineffably comical. In fact, this particular Invaders from Mars plays things at least partially for laughs, something that works very well within the confines of the film itself, but which undercuts the kind of incipient paranoia that made the original film so memorable. Invaders from Mars was rather roundly disparaged back in the day, but part of that may have been due simply to incorrect preconceptions. 1986 is, after all, not 1953, and it’s readily apparent that Hooper and his team didn’t really want to remake this film as much as reimagine it. Divorced from any subliminal subtext involving the dastardly Commies, this Invaders from Mars lacks the original’s creepy and almost quasi-hallucinatory foreboding, exploiting instead a kind of silly, childlike ambience. Taken on its own merits, this Invaders from Mars may not give viewers David Gardner sized nightmares, but it provides a substantial amount of fun along the way.

Invaders from Mars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The out-of-print 2015 Shout Factory Blu-ray didn't offer much in the way of a properly restored presentation of Invaders from Mars. In short, it was a disappointment. Not a lot has changed in the eight years since, or in the move to Sandpiper for distribution. The film's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer still traces its origins to a rough-n-tumble master that struggles with grain spiking, red and black crush, slight print damage throughout, and everything from more substantially visible specks and dirt particles to significant scratches. Contrast isn't always up to snuff either, coming on too strong or, on occasion, too weak, both of which haunts the picture. Otherwise, you could certainly do worse. Invaders from Mars at least bears the marks of a clear high definition upgrade, which is a plus if you've only ever owned the even faultier DVD version. Colors are decidedly stronger and more than up to the task at hand, with some welcome punch added to primaries, much richer depth and darkness infused into black levels, and more impressive shadow delineation. Detail receives a boost as well (at least when the aforementioned grain isn't swarming and blotting out what a full restoration might spare). Edge definition is clean and natural for the most part, despite a noticeable softness that returns to the forefront here and there, and fine textures are nicely resolved overall. The creature models and puppets look great actually, and it's easy to spot just how much care went into the design and execution of each monstrosity. (Although beware: optically achieved FX sequences are especially vulnerable to both softness and grain spiking.) Bottom line? Invaders from Mars, if given proper treatment, could look a whole lot better. Imagine a new 4K-scanned remaster! Even so, it could look much, much worse. Fans will be moderately pleased regardless.

Invaders from Mars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Talk about strange happenings. While the screener received and the previously released limited edition Blu-ray of the film featured both 5.1 and 2.0 lossless tracks, retail copies of Invaders from Mars apparently only include a 2.0 mix. That's not necessarily a terrible development -- the stereo track features intelligible dialogue, excellent prioritization, and plenty of bright, lively effects and music, all presented with lossless aplomb -- but it is disappointing that an even stronger 5.1 is out there, somewhere, and hasn't been added here. Take that as you take it.

Invaders from Mars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout Factory is know for putting together bountiful extras for its releases. Sandpiper Pictures is not know for such things. It's too bad. The out-of-print 2015 release special features haven't been acquired, making this yet another barebones Sandpiper disc.

Invaders from Mars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fun. There's that word again. Invaders from Mars can be described as many things; a lot of them positive, if you're in the right frame of mind. But fun is the word that returns to my mind over and over again. Hooper's 1986 remake is a whole lotta fun, and still delivers said enjoyment and entertainment all these years later. Unfortunately, Sandpiper, like Shout Factory before it, doesn't give Invaders from Mars its proper due. While the film's audio presentation is decent (despite a missing 5.1 track), its video transfer struggles, all but demanding a new 4K restoration and remaster, and its supplemental package, well, doesn't exist. Here's hoping Invaders from Mars one day gets a release worthy of its fun. For now, though, you could do a lot worse. Nab this Blu-ray release, pop some popcorn, ignore the issues and enjoy this underappreciated little gem of a cheeseball would-be classic.