Invasion from Inner Earth

I should have realised as the title music was a sort of electronic version of something Ennio Morricone left on the studio floor that I was in for a treat... This is dreadful. A group of young folks find themselves stranded in the Canadian wilderness as technology around them is breaking down. It appears that we are amidst an invasion - but of where, by whom - and why? Don't expect any answers to these and any other questions in this shockingly over-long, badly lit and directed piece of nonsense. The score is frequently outperformed by the sound of static on the radios and the acting (and dancing!) - well, think little Toby's Christmas nativity when he was 8. It didn't help that the version I saw recently was terribly over-exposed (perhaps a dodgy NTSC conversion) but by the middle, the invasion couldn't come fast enough - never mind by the end.

INVASION FROM INNER EARTH is one of those "non-movies" made during the 1970s. A "non-movie" is a film that: A) can be described as regional filmmaking. B) no budget. C) no recognizable actor. D) probably made by students. E) it's a genre movie, usually sci-fi or horror, that's very ambitious (in this case, UFOs and invasions) even if it can barely afford to pay for film stock! F) the soundtrack is a collection of stock music (the main theme was good though). G) was probably released in one or two theaters somewhere in and around where the film was made (hence, the regional aspect of the flick). H) the advertising (or video box cover) is always deceptive. There's no mention in the script that the aliens are from inside the earth, which makes me wonder why did they bothered to give it that title.

There were a lot of "non-movies" made in the 1970s (and in the 1980s, they morphed into the "direct-to-video" category) and IFIE epitomizes these kind of obscure, regional movies few people saw when they were made. The film itself is not very good. There's just no story. And what story there is doesn't make much sense. The dialogue is at times painfully bad. The direction hardly creates any tension. And the ending is inexplicable. But as bad as it is, the film is totally harmless, and in a certain weird way, as some sort of quaint charm to it.

A couple of people are trapped in a log cabin during an alien invasion of the Earth. They communicate with the unseen aliens and gradually make it back to civilization after much discussion. Every cliche in the book is used, and the low budget assures terrible special effects. Bad all around. Made in someone's back yard in Wisconsin.

How can one write a script and produce a movie without one entertaining moment. Film is supposed to be visual in nature and this has people sitting around talking the whole time. And it's no "My Dinner with Andre." Something is killing the people of earth. It's spreading. Some people, trapped in some pretty cold environs (Canada?) are left to try to figure it out. That's all they ever do. Try to figure it out. They have no plan. They have no vitality. The aliens never confront them, to speak of, and so we don't even know what's going on. The outdoorsy scientist has a theory, but it could just be a bunch of hooey. The conclusion is about as stupid as anything I've seen in years. How could someone get the money to put together such a snoozer. If you can't compete with the big boys, at least tell a decent story. As with so many of these, there are long treks through the snow and a snowmobile trip that goes for about ten minutes with nothing happening.

As a fan of "schlock" sci-fi, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I own a copy of "Plan 9 from outer space" and love to trot it out and "inflict" it on unsuspecting friends. It's a MST3K moment. This movie surpasses Ed Wood's classic by far.

The dialogue is so wooden and the "action" is so contrived that it is a joy to endure. A fan of "Kentucky Fried Movie" and it's ilk, I found this "movie" to be a joy - albeit a painful one. The acting is so terrible and the script so wrong, all the makings of a new "Plan 9".

I recommend this movie, watch it and get infected from its "wrongness", really, this movie is so bad, its great.

The "hero" of the story brings to mind the lumberjack in the Monty Python skit "The Lumberjack" and the "sister" - well, she is just plain clueless.