Das Geheimnis von Centreville

A college professor (Paul Le Mat) goes looking for his missing wife and finds a town that appears to be stuck in the 1950s. While there, he's attacked by an alien but manages to escape. He then tries to get a reporter (Nancy Allen) to believe his story, which she does after she has her own close encounter.

The '80s was a fun decade for movies, not only for original material but also for movies that were inspired by the great sci-fi flicks of the '50s, such as this one. It's an enjoyable sci-fi horror movie that doesn't take itself seriously but isn't a straight-up comedy, either. Nancy Allen is lots of fun and Louise Fletcher is terrific in a supporting role. Paul Le Mat makes for an unassuming lead but he's quite good in the part. My favorite part of the whole movie is Michael Lerner's flashback scene. Love seeing older actors like Kenneth Tobey, Charles Lane, and June Lockhart. There are also some amusing genre references I got a kick out of. The sets, props, and special effects are excellent. Good use of location filming by director Michael Laughlin. Why does it seem no one shoots in small towns anymore?

It's a little slow-going and I can imagine some viewers will be frustrated that it skirts the line between straight sci-fi and comedy as much as it does. It's an entertaining movie, particularly if you like '50s sci-fi. I think it gets better with repeated viewings.

Seems that the foremost reason why this movie isn't much appreciated is because most people don't seem to understand that this movie is being an homage to the science-fiction movies from the '50's. As an homage this movie is really a quite good one, surprisingly. So, all of those silly and sloppy moments, that weak story and unusual camera handling and editing was all intentional. The creators did a good job at recreate the same sort of style and atmosphere but at the same time also manage to place it in the modern world and time of 1983. I liked some of the subtle and nice touches in the movie, that were a nod and throwback to the '50's genre movies. Those who are a bit familiar with that period of genre movies will most likely be able to appreciate this movie. But a good homage of course doesn't make a great movie as well. No, in the end this movie will certainly not make any of my favorite lists but the movie remains a good enough one to watch. The movie fails to make a lasting impression, also because it's an obvious low budget one, so it's lacking in any big spectacular moments. Also the story isn't' that much special and basically is like a whole bunch of other science-fiction movies thrown together but then again, also those movies from the '50's never really featured a great or original script and to be fair, they weren't always that much good as movies. So in that regard this movie also pays perfectly homage to that and I don't think it ever was the film-makers goal and aim to make a spectacular and classic genre movie. They just wanted to have fun, paying homage to the movies they love and with this movie they also give the viewers, that understand this, some good fun to watch as well. 7/10

In 1958, in Centerville, Illinois, a spacecraft lands on the city in an alien invasion and the population vanishes.

Twenty-five years later, Margaret Newman (Diana Scarwid) leaves her daughter Elizabeth in New York with her ex-husband Charles Bigelow (Paul Le Mat), who is an entomologist and professor of Columbia, since she would go to her hometown Centerville to attend the funeral of her mother. Margaret disappears and Charles drives with his dog Louie to Centerville to seek out his ex-wife. He finds a weird population living in a typical 1958 town. While looking for Margaret, Louie disappears and Charles is attacked by an alien but he succeeds to escape.

Back in New York, Charles visits a government department directed by Mrs. Benjamin (Louise Fletcher) to report his findings but she does not give credit to his words. Charles finds a tabloid newspaper with a picture of an alien and he visits the editor Betty Walker (Nancy Allen) that discloses that she has made up the story using a photo that the newspaper received ten years ago from a lunatic. Soon Betty has a close encounter with an alien disguised as Avon Lady and is chased by them. So she teams up with Charles expecting to rescue Elizabeth from the extraterrestrial beings.

"Strange Invaders" is a nostalgic tribute to the sci-fi from the 50's. The naive story is very well written with humor and good screenplay. The cameo of June Lockhart and Mark Goddard from the original "Lost in Space" is another tribute to the series that is part of the childhood of a generation. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Estranhos Invasores" ("Strange Invaders")

"Strange Invaders" is a cheerful and likable 80's movie, regretfully forgotten these days because nowadays audiences don't understand the charm and inside jokes of authentic "Alien Invaders"-science fiction from the 1950's. This movie is one giant spoof/tribute to wonderful films such as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Invaders from Mars", but the screenplay is intelligent enough to add new and surprisingly original twists of its own. We have the typical remote American town – Centerville, Illinois – getting colonized by hideous aliens that take over the identities of the locals and examine the earthly life-style in the meantime. The ingenious elements in the script are, however, that this whole invasion-project was seemly approved by the government AND that the aliens never evolved after they landed on our planet. Centerville still looks like a swinging 50's town, with jukeboxes, old cars and traditional dress codes. University professor Charles Bigelow teams up with a gossip-journalist Betty Walker to investigate the town's bizarre secret. "Strange Invaders" is well-directed by Michael Laughlin ("Dead Kids") and cleverly co-written by Bill Condon. There's very few gore, which is a good thing, but the special effects are definitely not bad with a couple of adorable space-ship designs and the aliens' inventive method to "cristalyze" people. The acting performances are vivid, with Paul LeMat ("American Graffiti) and Nancy Allen ("Carrie", "Dressed to Kill"). The supportive cast is even better with spirited roles from Michael Lerner, Diana Scarwid and the wonderful Louise Fletcher, once again as the mean shrew. The happy-ending is somewhat lame and far too Disney/Steven Spielberg-like, but I suppose that's forgivable. Good, cheesy and nostalgic 80's entertainment.

In the 1950's, aliens landed on Earth and blended in with our society. Now, they're ship is back, and they will do anything to silence the few who know they're real identity. "Strange invaders" has a good cast, top-notch visual effects, some really creative creature effects, a decent plot, and a fairly adept (If not rather routine) script. The cast includes: Paul Le Mat, June Lockhart, and Wallace Shawn. Recommended.