The Day Mars Invaded Earth

This film was a pleasant surprise and reminded me of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" and "The Shining" both in plot content and, more particularly, the methods used to build atmosphere and suspense.

The film struggles to overcome its budgetary constraints and suffers from some rather wooden performances from the limited cast. It is unfortunate that when dealing with such a small cast a below par performance is a great deal more obvious than it would be in most films. A case of not enough flowers to hide the weeds.

I was surprised to see comments from another viewer who attributed this film to the UK, as far as I can see there are no links to the UK. The writer was Canadian and the cast, director, studio and locations all American.

It's certainly worth 70 minutes of your time to give this production a chance, if nothing else it is a refreshing change from the hideously unconvincing "rubber monster" flicks that were so prevalent in this genre.

Don't kid yourself as this is a very low budget shocker.But it is a shocker and a pleasant one at that.99% of the film is shot in one location but what a location!

A scientist with a troubled marriage sends a probe to Mars.Unknown to all concerned the probe sends back a little something,namely Martians as invisible energy beings.They become doppelgangers of the scientist and his family. Their mission is clear;to stop earth from travelling to Mars.(They like their high property values obviously).The Martians play havoc with his home life until the very end.

A small budget flick with an appealing cast of old pros.Quickly paced and well written by Harry Spaulding.Even a downbeat ending to add to the menace.Better than average and worth a look in a forgiving mood.

This was a 60's sci-fi movie that had somehow escaped my radar until today. I'm a particular fan of the genre. I almost did not watch it due to the low 4.8 rating on IMDb. This is one of the rare instances where I'm glad to say I disagree with the general consensus. I can see where the under 40 crowd, used to CGI and faced paced action/thriller type sci-fi movies would be bored with this film. Actually I would consider it a combination paranormal/sci-fi flick. The estate on which the film was made is stunningly beautiful, even in black and white. Not your average backdrop for a science fiction film. The premise is terrifying. There are the obvious flaws of "why in the world would they stay once they've seen what they did?" and other arm-chair quarterbacking thoughts that I'd have done a lot differently in their situation. I think it's difficult for 21st century viewers sometimes to put themselves in a 50's or 60's setting. How could they if they did not live during those times? I found the film to be suspenseful and entertaining. Doubt it will make to anyone's "top 10 film" list, but it was a very pleasant surprise and great way to spend a rainy afternoon. There is something primeval about the plot of the film that is very unnerving and thus makes it so scary. There are no cheesy costumed Martians or monsters to spoil this one. It's all intellectual type fear. Give this one a shot - especially if you are age 50+, you won't be disappointed.

The plot, very briefly, involves men from Mars who want to stop Earth from exploring their planet. The Martians travel through the galaxy to inhabit the bodies of a scientist and his family - that is, there is the "real" scientist and his family, and then there are their "body doubles" (the Martians, carrying out their mission). On top of this grave threat to humankind, there is a subplot as we view a crumbling marriage between the two leads. But I wondered if anyone who saw it really cared about them since it was definitely a B-picture. (Kent Taylor and Marie Windsor star as the scientist and his wife).

There were some truly creepy moments in the movie, though. Claire Fielding (Marie Windsor) learns from her son that there is an open door on the estate property where the family is residing. She goes to lock it, then hears movement around her. She becomes scared and hurries on. Suddenly her husband is standing there, with a look that is malevolent. "Where are you going, Claire!" he asks in an a threatening voice. We the audience know that it's really a Martian, but we watch from the point of view of Claire, who's never seen her "husband" this way, and the effect is unsettling. Another weird scene involves the daughter and her doppelganger - the doppelganger looks at her with evil intent. Not to mention what the daughter's doppelganger does to the young love interest of the daughter. As for the rest, watch and find out.

This film is better than its low rating, and I'd say if you like those low budget scifi's from the 50's and 60's this one is definitely worth your time.

This is an interesting little movie. The viewer's hopes are not raised when the opening credit sequence is on top of stock footage of a rocket blasting off. The movie struggles to gain altitude, barely avoiding clipping the trees with its cheesy Martian landing scene. But, baby, does this plane take off after that!

It turns out that the smoldering probe was actually the launching pad for the Martians -- essentially beings of pure energy -- to invade earth and produce dopplegangers of the scientist who built the probe and his family. It gives an interesting juxtaposition: Just who is invading whom? We tell ourselves that we're "exploring" Mars, but what would we do further down the line except colonize? Wouldn't it be reasonable to expect that sentient beings, seeing the planet being explored by another race, might take matters into their own hands?

In another light, one could look at the dopplegangers as the alternate face we show to others (even loved ones) that we may not even wish to recognize ourselves. This could be seen in the way the scientist and his wife relate to each other, especially when it is the "real" person meeting up with the doppleganged spouse. The final 10 minutes of this all-too-short movie are both shocking and thought-provoking.

Sterno says join the invasion forces.