I well remember watching this in Indiana. We had picked up a cheap VHS at the check-out lane in Walmart. This video looked promising, but I really didn’t expect too much. But, boy, oh, boy was I wrong. It was awesome. It’s one of those under promoted, and under-reported movies that are just wonderful. It’s a movie about a group of hilariously incompetent Martians that try to take over the world during Halloween. OMG!
Kathy: "But dad, they're not really bad. They're just stupid."
And are they ever stupid. You’ve got a Martian pilot that sounds like a mutant Jack Nicholson, a most excellent duck costume, a tinker-toy mechanic, and a pile of super fertilizer alien shit. It’s pure awesomeness.
After mistaking a Halloween re-broadcast of Orson Welles' classic radio adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS for a real Martian invasion, a group of moronic Martians shows up on Earth looking to conquer only their plans go awry as they find themselves truly out of their element and in reality all alone. This really is often quite good and funny, with some decent lines (just check the memorable quotes) to boot. It will most likely appeal to Sci-Fi fans. This has passed the test of time for me as seeing it again recently it proved much better than I expected it to be. Despite a cast made up of no-name stars, this may just be the funniest Martian invasion ever put to film. Interestingly enough, the Martians themselves seem to represent almost every classic Action Hero/Sci-Fi Hero stereotype there is (cool 50s teen, fighter pilot, fearless astronaut, brave soldier and kooky scientist). Fun for the whole family. "Prepare to DIE! Earth Scum!" - Space_Mafune
Why so unknown…
While perfectly harmless, Spaced Invaders is a kid’s movie that had the potential to be something a little bit more than a silly Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoff.
Halloween night. A War of the Worlds rebroadcast. Except, this time, the humans know it isn’t real. It’s the Martians that don’t.
The idea is a nice flipping of history and, with throwback practical effects, it seemed that this production from Touchstone Pictures was destined to be something special.
Except it wasn’t.
The movie was skewered by critics at the time of its release and ignored by audiences.
Crippled with a throwback vibe many were not expecting, the madcap flick was disappeared from theaters as quickly as it had arrived.
And is slowly being rediscovered by net-citizens all over the internet.
The Characters:
I first saw this movie in 1990 when it first came out on video. I agree that it is total nonsense, but it is also one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. The very idea that a group of "advanced aliens" would be running for thier lives from a bunch of country hicks is totally side-spliting. Why do all science fiction movies have to be about murderous beings? This group of Imperial Martian Atomic Navy misfits reminds me of some of the idiots that I knew in the army! No wonder they were left on asteroid patrol while the rest of the fleet went to war. Leave this movie alone. We need more like it. - boomryoung
- Sheriff Hoxley – He just moved to this small town and already has an alien invasion on his hands.
- Mr. Wrenchmuller – Some of the farmer’s lines are exceptional for a movie of this kind. When faced with losing his farm he morosely asks, “Why did I have to go and get old?”
- Mr. Klembecker – Total bastard who owns the liens on many farms in the area, including Wrenchmuller’s.
- Kathy & Brian – She is the sheriff’s daughter and the owner of an awesome “Alien” costume. He is dressed as a duck, but deadly with a trash can lid.
- Blaznee – Martian pilot who sounds and acts a lot like Jack Nicholson.
- Capt. Bipto – Senior officer aboard the Martian’s ship. Limited duty? Yeah, you could say that.
- Lt. Giggywig – The gung-ho, kill them all, sort of alien invader. Lucky for us that he will not start shooting until someone notices him. Nobody pays the little guy much attention.
- Dr. Ziplock – Whatever those are embedded in his eyes, they look like they hurt.
- Cpl. Pez – As the FNG, he knows his place. Cowering behind the others is his only hope for survival.
- The Enforcer Drone – Remember the Russian political officer in “The Hunt for Red October?” Now turn him into a lethal robot. Blasted to smithereens.
Normally the best way to annoy me in a film is to include some reference to Orson Welles. But here is a sci-fi comedy quoting the War of the Worlds broadcast.... and it is gold! The very concept of a small bunch of diminutive,aggressive and stupid aliens being mistaken as kids in Halloween dress is magnificent. Don't be fooled by the notion that because it seems like a kids' movie it is unsophisticated - it isn't, there's a lot of hidden treasure... A gem! - Balthazar-5
The Plot:
Giggywig: "Look, when a vastly superior alien culture comes all this way to take over your world, certain basic laws of planetary conquest apply. For example, when someone points a quad-vected hypothermic cosmo-blaster at you, it's a fair bet you are about to become toast."
While the rest of their fleet gets its butt completely whipped during an ill conceived attack upon Arcturus, an asteroid patrol ship full of Martians intercepts a stray radio broadcast coming from Earth. As luck would have it, the station they tune to has “The War of the Worlds” playing.
The little green menaces are ecstatic!
Earth is nearby; they can join in the carnage! The patrol craft departs from the asteroid belt and heads pell-mell for Big Bean, Illinois.
Looking at some of the negative posts, you really have to wonder what some people do for fun.... I was lucky enough to see the film during its all-too-brief theatrical run. The audience laughed its heads off. I'm watching a tape of it as I type and it's still dang funny! It's also got a sweet side, with unexpected turns of genuine pathos. The late, great Royal Dano is especially effective as the lonely, down-on-his-luck farmer Wrenchmuller. Ariana Richards and J.J. Anderson are great as the lead kids. And the actors in the Martian suits, although limited to mime, do a great job Another thing to look for is the background details. The film is full of homages, pastiches, and references to other SF and fantasy films. Take a look at the Martian costumes next time. One of them is wearing a Marty McFly costume, another is a Ghostbuster, a third is in a House Atreides uniform, and a fourth is wearing a Last Starfighter flightsuit. - davidemartin
I hope that all the “Invader ZIM” fanboys have taken notice at this point. Short aliens, really hyper, sort of goofy, with big heads and advanced technology (let alone the Martian’s crest of arms and the little robot).
In Big Bean things are not entirely without strife. Klembecker is snatching the land from under poor farmers. The greedy twit wants to capitalize on the town’s new highway off-ramp. One of Hoxley’s first calls is to deal with Wrenchmuller. The elderly man was about to walk into the twit’s office with a double barrel shotgun. The scattergun was unloaded, but Wrenchmuller begins looking for shells once Klembecker appears and starts acting like an evil banker. The situation is diffused. Later, the sheriff drops his daughter off at a Halloween party.
I've watched this movie so many times the video is worn out. It is a movie I can put on whenever I need a good laugh. The farmer is hilarious, the duck boy is too. It's an overall feel good movie. Even kids 12 and up can watch it without being inundated with sexual innuendos, violence and cursing. The TNT award at the end is the best... "well, you can just say your prayers." LOL Oh yea, and so are the two old guys and the old woman after the martians fly by them when they are crash-landing on earth - "okay, go get the bucket" It's great! I think kids under 10 might be frightened by the enforcer drone, maybe. I don't know though, with all the crap they see on TV on a regular basis, it might not be. So go out an rent it today! If you have Blockbuster Rewards(TM) program, you can use one of your free rentals and you'll enjoy. - becca239
The patrol ship arrives on Earth with a bang; it crashes into Wrenchmuller’s dilapidated barn. The old farmer, with the help of his trusty dog, expends a lot of effort trying to capture, or at least photograph, a Martian. Only Blaznee is left aboard though, because the others gleefully embark upon a campaign to crush humanity. Bipto quickly runs afoul of traffic. More precisely, a truck. He is pried from the grill of Klembecker’s vehicle by the gas station attendant. No, no, no – he is not dead. In fact, the resourceful Martian clamps a mental control device onto Vern (the attendant). It turns the poor guy into a cross between Christopher Lloyd in “Back to the Future” and Christopher Lloyd in “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.” The two begin building a super weapon.
This movie is to Halloween what the hilarious "Christmas Story" is to Christmas: both are relatively low-budget, no-big-name-stars type films...and both are two of the absolute greatest and funniest movies available, both seasonal CLASSICS!!! "Spaced Invaders" comes galloping out right from the start with warmth and humor and a superb cast of characters...all five goofy Martians, Klembecker the Realtor, Russell the deputy, Vern at the "fuel dispensing depot" and so many more! You just have to see this movie to believe it, and, like "Christmas Story", it just keeps getting better and better with each viewing, and you pick up on fun little things each time!! MOST DEFINITELY A TEN!!! - michael_shell
Elsewhere, Kathy, Brian, and the other Martians (a robot too – the Martians’) are being chaperoned around town by a heavyset lady. Only on Earth a short while and already consigned to the back seat of a station wagon. Ha! Despite waving around deadly alien weaponry, the poor little Martians are treated like spoiled brats by the frazzled mother. Lt. Giggywig does not help either, he keeps threatening her with total annihilation. The woman finally throws all of the green invaders out of the car. Kathy and Brian bail too.
Blaznee continues fixing the ship, along with parrying moves by one annoyed deputy and Wrenchmuller. The little fellow has everything in hand until the radio station reveals that the broadcast is science fiction. The Enforcer Drone decides to eliminate the entire inept crew. It zaps Blaznee, but he survives. Knocked unconscious and toted into town by Wrenchmuller as proof that they are being invaded, but alive.
Anyone who does not find this movie funny, does not understand simple comedy. This movie is not a complex comedy, it is full of one liners, and sight gags, and will make anyone who wants to laugh, laugh... The alien who is doing a Nicholson impression will crack you up! - John Wersan
The pilot wakes up just in time to crawl out of the truck bed. The excited citizens are further distracted from looking for him when the rest of the crew broadcasts an ultimatum. Surrender now Earth scum! The Martians heroically blast a silo with their portable cannon. What results is a deluge of popcorn, which has the positive effect of temporarily swamping the Enforcer Drone (it had been closing in for the kill). Blaznee dashes back to the ship as several truckloads of shotgun wielding hicks converge on the destroyed silo.
Did I mention that the aliens are inept? Oh, also be it known that Kathy and the little robot become friends.
I understand many will think "Spaced Invaders" a lame farce about little green men trying to take over Earth; but believe me, compared to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," which I have just finished watching with my family, "Spaced Invaders," along with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", makes me weep with nostalgia for how low Disney has fallen in quality. While "Spaced Invaders" is the film of least quality of the trio I mentioned, it nonetheless has a cheeky sense of humor, with a wonderful script and actors (er, voice-over artists for the Martians) who make this film highly watchable (and with no lame CGI effects of dragons or fireballs to ruin the fun!). The Martians themselves make a great team. Their antics and delusions of grandeur are insanely fun to watch. One person compared the ostensible military commander of the Martians to Invader Zim, the protagonist from the eponymous Nickelodeon cult classic, and I think it is an apt comparison. Why does one Martian have a Jack Nicholson voice? I don't care, and I love it. Enjoy the futile attempts of the Martians to get their jalopy of a spacecraft to go airborne, and their desperate fight against the hicks and yokels of Big, Bean, Illinois. The human robot slave is one of the coolest sidekicks I've seen, and his creation, a robot made from tractors and other farm machinery, is one of the best special effects I've seen in a Disney movie. How can you hate his best line: "the smell of battery acid makes me thirsty!"? Answer: you can't. This is one movie where you root for the alien invaders all the way. The human, denizens of a small Midwestern farming town, are made to be less than sympathetic characters, especially the wicked banker named Clembecker (or whatever his name was). One of the good humans is a brilliant example of character design, a crazy, wiry old farmer named Wrenchmuller who has a way with words and with nitroglycerin. The kid in the duck costume who also speaks with a lisp is also fun to watch, though he isn't in the film all that much. Don't take "Spaced Invaders" too seriously as a film, nor look for any important theme or message. Sit back and enjoy Disney before CGI and Jerry Bruckheimer eliminated any camp value the company once had. - michael_the_nermal
Faced with numerous American bred fans of the Second Amendment, Dr. Ziplock activates the “distress-o-matic.” The device should summon the ship to the beacon’s location. However, the ship is still not fully repaired. It goes hopping across empty fields with Blaznee struggling to kill the autopilot. It crashes to a halt at the terminus of a dead end road. The Martians (all of them) pile inside, then the angry locals arrive and start shooting at the ship. Idiots! It flies through an asteroid belt! Your weapons are useless! Bunch of dolts (apply to either group, as you desire).
If the creators of this film had made any attempt at introducing reality to the plot, it would have been just one more waste of time, money, and creative effort. Fortunately, by throwing all pretense of reality to the winds, they have created a comedic marvel. Who could pass up a film in which an alien pilot spends the entire film acting like Jack Nicholson, complete with the Lakers T-shirt. Do not dismiss this film as trash. - knappws
The sheriff tries to calm everyone down. Then the Martians emerge from their patrol ship. They are surrounded by a metal ring. It is none other than the “Donut of Destruction!” (DOD for short.) This device will obliterate a sphere one million miles in diameter, but leave what is inside the donut unharmed. The exact usefulness of the DOD is called into question by everyone present. Sure, the invaders will be unscathed. In the middle of a rapidly expanding ball of plasma, but unharmed. Unfortunately, this means they will be left “unscathed” in the middle of space once the planet and everything around them (ship included) is gone. Fat lot of good that thing is.
The Martians wisely decide to run away and rethink their plan.
This movie is not for everyone. You're either bright enough to get "it" or you're not. Fans of sci-fi films who don't take themselves too seriously definitely will enjoy this movie. I recommend this movie for those who can appreciate spoofs and parodies. Everyone I've recommended this film to has enjoyed it. If you enjoy Monty Python or Mel Brooks films, you'll probably enjoy this one. The voice characterizations are done in a tongue-in-cheek manner and the one-liners fly fast and furious. - joseph_lauer
As silly invasion movies go, this is pretty good. The costumes are better than average and you can quickly begin to identify individual Martians by their voices. Besides, what could be more fun than a bunch of enthusiastic, but hopelessly inept, invaders from Mars? Armed with lethal weaponry, I might add.
Things I Learned From This Movie:
Hoxley: "Where is Kathy?" Mrs. Vanderspool: "She got out with your Martian surfer nephews." Hoxley: "Mrs. Vanderspool, do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?"
- There is such a thing as too many pockets when you are looking for your shotgun shells.
- Police radar guns go up to 3,000 mph.
- Nose cone art is alive and well on other planets.
- Too much chocolate is bad for anybody, regardless of physiology.
- Extreme speed limit infractions are punished with the death penalty in some states.
- Never fire a plasma cannon at a silo full of unpopped popcorn.
- Dynamite is a farmer’s best friend.
- The aurora borealis are caused by spacecraft dumping their toilet systems into Earth’s stratosphere.
Zany and fun -- that's all this movie is about! Don't think about trying to read too much into it. If you do, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's just a farcical take-off on monster movies and contains some real good slapstick moments. No violence, no sex, no foul language -- safe for the kids and fun for the adults!! - wjeffer
Stuff To Watch For:
- 2 mins – That would be a CR-1398977 “Cactus” heavy assault cruiser.
- 20 mins – Captain, you really should look both ways before… …never mind.
- 25 mins – What does he think it is, a potato bug?
- 45 mins – Ten feet of rope could have saved you a lot of trouble.
- 50 mins – RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST AN OFF-RAMP!
- 53 mins – Humans: 1, Martians: 0, Cats: -1
- 63 mins – You know, the Martians’ heads look a lot like watermelons. I wonder what they taste like? (I am, after all, an unevolved savage.)
- 74 mins – The little scout ship can implode and take the universe with it? Sounds like cause for a recall.
Being from a small town in Illinois myself, I can instantly relate to this movie. Considering the era it was made in, the townsfolk look uncomfortably like a lot of people I grew up with. Yes the plot is so-so. And yes, the Acting is not going to get nominated for an Oscar anytime soon. But that isn't the point. The point is to suspend reality and just have FUN. And this movie has Fun aplenty. From the greedy,uncaring banker to the well meaning,but dimwitted deputy, this movie was made to poke fun at the SciFi genre and small town living at it's best. Who can't smile at the sight of the Enforcer Drone or the Vern Droid? and I LOVED the FarmZoid. Wish I had one when I was growing up. Overall, considering the technology they had available at the time, this is a pleasant romp into one's childhood, when you could sit back on a Saturday afternoon, Popcorn in hand, and laugh at the foibles of small town living. This is a movie I would watch again and again, if for no other reason than to poke fun at myself and my small town ways. - johnboy1260-1
Conclusion
This is a gem of a movie not just for people who like fun and quirky premises, but who love the history and traditions of Sci-Fi and Classic Hollywood movies.
Each alien of the Martian crew is the embodiment of a classic Sci-Fi character or member of Hollywood royalty. As such, it’s pure pleasure watching them bounce of each other and the residents of Big Bean, Illinois.
If I were you, I’d stop being so serious and instead gather your loved ones around the video monitor. I’d spend the time making up some fried chicken, some fries and /or coleslaw and/or some mashed potatoes. Get some biscuits, and a couple of cases of icy cold beer and enjoy yourselves. Life is about spending time with friends and family, and this movie is just silly enough to tie it all together.
"Spaced Invaders" is one of the funniest movies, I´ve ever seen. I don´t understand, why this movie didn´t get better critics, it´s funny, harmless and sweet. I first watched it, when I was 11, and I really fell in love with it... 2 days later, I got it on VHS :-P Till today, I´ve shown it to many friends, and they all liked it, but nobody knew the movie before. I think, that´s the problem, nearly nobody knows it, so nearly nobody can like it... This movie never got a real chance, that´s sad, "SI" has really the potential of a comedy like "Monsters Inc." or "Spaceballs". Ok, enough displeasure - What I really wanted to say, is that, if you ever want to laugh your head off, watch it! Even if you don´t get mad about it, it´s worth watching! --> Prepare to laugh, earth scum! - Amy_Brigman
I do hope that you enjoyed this post. I have other posts on movies in my Movie Index, here. Check them out…
MOVIESArticles & Links
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
- You can start reading the articles sequentially by going HERE.
- You can visit the Index Page HERE to explore by article subject.
- You can also ask the author some questions. You can go HERE to find out how to go about this.
- You can find out more about the author HERE.
- If you have concerns or complaints, you can go HERE.
- If you want to make a donation, you can go HERE.