Strange Invaders (1983)

Charlie's ex-wife disappears, and he travels to where she grew up--a rural town in the Midwest--to look for her. But, surprisingly, nobody knows about her or any of her many relatives, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Laughlin

Writers:

Bill Condon (screenplay), Michael Laughlin (screenplay),

Stars:

Paul Le Mat, Nancy Allen, Diana Scarwid

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Le Mat	...	Charles Bigelow
Nancy Allen	...	Betty Walker
Diana Scarwid	...	Margaret
Michael Lerner	...	Willie Collins
Louise Fletcher	...	Mrs. Benjamin
Wallace Shawn	...	Earl
Fiona Lewis	...	Waitress / Avon Lady
Kenneth Tobey	...	Arthur Newman
June Lockhart	...	Mrs. Bigelow
Charles Lane	...	Prof. Hollister
Lulu Sylbert	...	Elizabeth
Joel Cohen	...	Tim
Dan Shor	...	Teen Boy in Prologue
Dey Young	...	Teen Girl in Prologue
Jack Kehler	...	Gas Station Attendant

Storyline

Charlie's ex-wife disappears, and he travels to where she grew up--a rural town in the Midwest--to look for her. But, surprisingly, nobody knows about her or any of her many relatives, the Newmans. He meets aliens; but when he contacts the FBI, they don't believe him. He tells his story to a tabloid; and suddenly, he is chased by the aliens.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | alien contact | flashback | new york city | alien abduction | 

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Taglines:

25 Years Ago They Arrived From Another Galaxy. Surprise--They're Still Here.

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Genres:

Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Extraños invasores

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Lone Wolf McQuade Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Two stars from the cult classic sci-fi series "Lost in Space", Mark Goddard and June Lockhart, appear in this film, which is a homage to cult sci-fi.

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Goofs

The red truck at the beginning of the movie that has the teenage couple in it keeps changing. The wooden side rails on the truck box disappear and reappear.

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Quotes

Betty Walker: Earl, a strange woman has locked herself in my bathroom and won't come out
Earl: Well, Betty, how did she get in there?
Betty Walker: I let her in, Earl.
Earl: I guess I'll check it out.

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Connections

Features The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

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Soundtracks

"1,000,000"
Performed by R.E.M.

User Reviews

Really liked it as an homage.

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