Invaders from Mars (1986)

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Invaders from Mars is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. The special effects and makeup were done by Stan Winston and John Dykstra (veterans of their respective fields). I was pretty interested in seeing this movie. Perhaps the best way for me to describe the film is: eh. Compared to other well-known remakes of the 80s (The Fly, The Blob, and The Thing namely), this one just falls kind of flat. The acting isn't very good. The main kid is pretty wooden. The effects aren't bad, but they pale in comparison to some of the works that Winston and Dykstra had done previously. Stan Winston worked on the alien makeup and effects on The Thing. John Dykstra worked on the visual effects for the first Alien movie. I really didn't like the ending of the movie at all. More than anything I was confused by what was onscreen (and not in a particularly good way). Maybe this movie was supposed to be bad, but succeeded a little too well. I think part of the problem could be that this was trying to emulate the 50s drive-in B-movie style. While the remake of The Blob kind of did this, it still felt like it was updated with that 80's style. There are a couple of moments in the movie I found memorable, and kind of cool, but they aren't enough. I feel like this movie could've been a little better and more fun if it went for more of a balls-to-the-wall R rating (again, like the superior remakes I previously mentioned).

5 / 10