Les envahisseurs sont parmi nous

A clever plot -- aliens take over a small town in rural America -- is almost done in by a plodding pace and the weakest leading man to ever appear in a sci-fi movie, Paul LeMat. Nevertheless, the movie has a strange charm, as LeMat travels to this podunkville to find his ex-wife, who inexplicably vanishes while visiting the town. The ending holds a couple of surprises, but by then you'll probably be glad the damn thing's over. The main reason to watch this sort-of cult classic is to see how closely a film made in 1983 succeeds in paying homage to all those cheeseball sci-fi flicks of the 1950s, when commies were the biggest threat, often showing up in sci-fi movies disguised as invading aliens. I have no doubt that as low-budget as this production was, it had its influence on ABC's classic sci-fi show, THE INVADERS. Also, keep an eye out for several familiar faces dotting the landscape, including Ken Tobey, star of Howard Hawks' 1951 commie threat epic, THE THING FROM Another WORLD.

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

This movie is pays great respect to the Sci-Fi movies of the 50's, but takes itself somewhat serious. If you view this film in that sense, you will have a great time!

The special effects are on a low budget and some of the camera angles are kind of strange, but the acting and the story are what keep this film going. A pre Barton Fink Michael Lerner is here and is great as always!

Be sure to look for two cameo's from former Lost in Space stars! Also, a very early R.E.M. song can be heard in the back ground of one scene.

Again, if you watch this with the frame of mind that this is a 50's sci-fi movie made in the 80's, you will get a real kick out of it!

I give this film a B+

"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.

I reviewed this clever tribute to low-budget 1950s sci=fi flicks (most notably "Invaders From Mars") some years ago. Having just watched it again, I felt compelled to write it up one more time. The people who put this charming cult classic together definitely knew what they were doing: A big city college teacher (LeMat) goes searching for his missing ex-wife in a rural Midwest town, only to discover the town is populated by what appear to be very hostile aliens (for one thing, they love blowing up cars). The professor learns the aliens took over the town in the late 1950s, with our government's permission. One of the great gags in this delightful movie is that, 25 years later, nothing has changed in the occupied town. It's still full of hayseeds and sock hops and hideous American-made monster mobiles. A tabloid journalist (Allen) joins the professor in his search, and all hell breaks loose as the aliens attempt to keep their identity a secret. The supporting cast is populated by award-winning actors like Louise Fletcher, doing a variation on her legendary Nurse Wratchet (around the same time, she also appeared in a spoofy remake of "Invaders From Mars"), and Michael Lerner, whose woebegone character has lost his wife and kids to the aliens and has been locked away in the funny farm. The movie was clearly shot on a shoestring, with poor sound quality and way too many single takes (watch the little boy at the end put his right arm around his dad for a split second before dropping it and staring off-camera at what probably was one of his real-life parents). But the film also exhibits a unique charm and features some truly unnerving moments (dig the "Evil Dead" bit when the professor's dog, now a captive of the aliens, appears to rush back and forth past the professor on a lonely road, unseen but definitely there via incredible sound effects and unusual camera work. Also, some of the other effects are extremely satisfying in their crude way, such as a series of glowing orbs that hold the captive humans and the aliens' spaceship. Plus, the story's pace never slackens. There's something going on every second of this movie; there ain't no padding. The ending is utter hokum, but intentionally so, I suspect.