Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here

Okay, when I got this movie (on Danish VHS for less than $2), I was expecting a low-budget cheesy movie, which would be good for a laugh or two.. but what I actually got was a muddled incomprehensible mess of a "movie", just above an hour in running-time (fortunately!), consisting mainly of clips from such "classics" as "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "The Blob" and - my personal favorite - "Reptilicus".. but why even bother to disguise this as a movie? Why not go all out and a make a 90-minute clip-show from the old classics?? Instead, we have these stupid characters, looking like something take straight from a random Troma-production, which have the potential to be very funny, but are all wasted as random movie-goers who sit and eat popcorn, annoy each other, and are one by one assimilated by these alien "bug-creatures", who plan on taking over the world by making people watch crappy movies, so they are distracted and can easily be taken over, "Invasion of the Body-Snatchers"-style.

Anyways, because of the constant inter-cutting between new footage and old clips, the viewer can't really understand what's actually going on, and is left with a bunch of random scenes, sloppily put together, only creating few giggles here and there, but overall leaves a "what-the-hell-is-going-on"-feeling, which isn't helped by the many different characters either.

Highlights: A random biker goes into the cinema and asks the alien with an elephant-trunk to give him some popcorn. He then proceeds to fetch 10 huge packs. Hardy-har-har.

1/10, only because 0/10 is not an option, and because some of the old clips were good.

This movie was shot over a couple weeks at the Warner Grand in San Pedro Ca. Getting to dress up as one of the aliens was fun also getting painted green was fun. Getting to know the cast was the best part. And the director was wonderful. The worst part was seem to a screening of this and about halfway through looking at my watch to see how much longer it would last and I was in it!

I was after the BBC DVD of Invasion: Earth, that really rather good mini series, but somehow received this terrible dross in the mail. I never suspected for a minute it would be a serious horror film; yet neither did I suspect it would be this tragically incoherent mess. There are theoretically good ideas: The now-irrelevant commentary on the human condition of wasting time in movie theatres, could have been a good basis for exploration, but it is hokey and poorly executed. The various pastiches of sci-fi horrors of the B movie days, while obviously a good idea on paper, are also horribly done. This is probably given that the low budget prevented any good material. But in the face of a low budget, most films of this ilk would have some truly clever dialogue, but not in this movie. The only redeeming feature comes from that which the film makers didn't even accomplish themselves. That is, to say, the clips of the B movie films of the bygone era of cinema, are a fun nostalgia trip. Unfortunately, you'll find yourself being irritatingly interrupted from watching classic moments from films such as Them, and The Blob, by the amateurish and childish plot.

AVOID LIKE SWINE FLU.

My review was written in September 1988 after watching the movie on New World video cassette.

Part fiction, part compilation, "Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here" is a subpar nostalgia piece for monster movie fans. Lightweight effort bypassed theatrical release and currently is in video stores.

Premise is similar to an earlier film (also unreleased theatrically) "Midnight Movie Massacre". Aliens from Outer Space invade a small town where a motley audience is watching sci-fi pictures. Pic is set at the Gem Theater (actually filmed at the Warner Grand in San Pedro, California), and its audience stereotypes lack the humor which highlighted "Massacre".

Four youngsters unite to fight the invaders, who in a nod to Don Siegel's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" are using pods to take over the bodies of audience members after first numbing their brains with endless sci-fi features and trailers.

Unfortunately, this film, credited to George Maitland but with special effects expert Bob Skotak announced as director during production, also is numbing with its endless clips from very familiar pictures, mostly from the 1950s. A very young or novice sci-fi fan probably will enjoy the excerpts, but pic's target audience has seen them all many times over, complete. Unimaginative use of vintage movie theater material is also a letdown, consisting mainly of a "Let's All Go to the Lobby" animated intermission short film.

Insect-styled humanoid monsters created by Michael McCracken are okay but not scary. Casting of Mel Welles, erstwhile Mr. Mushnick from "The Little Shop of Horrors", as the theater manager is a cute touch; he also doubles as pic's production manager.

Producer Max J. Rosenberg co-produced the unrelated "Dr. Who" film with a similar moniker: "Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A. D.".

Oh God! I wish I could communicate how bad this film is - but just having watched this film I somehow seem to have lost the use of the English language and the will to live.

No matter how bad a movie is (and I have watched a LOT of bad movies recently) there is always some redeeming feature: a horrendously ill-written line, an idea that falls flat on its face, a moment of unintentional humour - something. There's always a little something that lifts it for a moment and leaves you with a warm nugget of discovery - something to hold on to as the rest of the mindless drivel flickers past your eyeballs... this movie's only redeeming feature is that it is just 78 minutes long.

It is crap. Pure unmitigated, grade Z, unadulterated, high-fibre, total sh*t from the hopelessly confused start to the pathetically flat non-ending.

I wish I could vote it a zero. No! I wish I could vote it MINUS 10!

I want my 78 minutes back!