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!
14 Reviews
Wasted potential.
littlejimmy8354 March 2011
The premise of the movie had least some potential: deliberately crummy looking aliens invade a small town movie theater which is screening a B-movie marathon. The aliens take over the projection booth, to enact their plan to first numb the mind of the audience with the terrible films they are watching, and then when the audience is at their weakest, in some nonsensical to control them in order to take over the world. Naturally only a group of young kids are the only ones aware of what's really going on, and it's up to them to save the day.
Now of course, this isn't exactly the material for the next Citizen Kane. But that said, there's no reason this movie couldn't be some cheesy fun, maybe as a "monsters gone mad" movie the likes of Gremlins (1984) or Critters (1986), or perhaps as a nostalgic throwback to monster the movies of days gone by, the likes of say The Monster Squad (1987), or at least Transylvania-6-5000 (1985).
Apparently there was a reason it couldn't be any fun.
The problem is while the movie is about aliens making an audience watch old movies, that's the ONLY thing this movie is about. The thing is, there are more scenes of these old movies, than there are scenes of the actual movie itself! I'm serious; about 80, perhaps even 90 percent of the movie is simply clips from old B-movies. Out of the few and far between clips of original footage, most of it simply consists of the audience members watching these clips. There is perhaps only 10 minutes worth of actual "plot" scenes in the entire 79 minute film.
So it's not really a movie; it's just a 79 minute montage of scenes from other movies, occasionally inter-cut with clips of aliens making an audience watch the said montage. It's as if the filmmakers starting off by trying to make a movie about this group of kids, but then ran out of film 10 minutes in, so they had to make up the rest of the movie with stock footage. In fact even out of the original footage in the movie much of it gets reused over and over again, but set to different voice tracks.
The film is just wasted potential. Of course it couldn't have been a masterpiece, but it could have been a bit of harmless fun. Thank god I only paid bargain bin price for the DVD.
Now of course, this isn't exactly the material for the next Citizen Kane. But that said, there's no reason this movie couldn't be some cheesy fun, maybe as a "monsters gone mad" movie the likes of Gremlins (1984) or Critters (1986), or perhaps as a nostalgic throwback to monster the movies of days gone by, the likes of say The Monster Squad (1987), or at least Transylvania-6-5000 (1985).
Apparently there was a reason it couldn't be any fun.
The problem is while the movie is about aliens making an audience watch old movies, that's the ONLY thing this movie is about. The thing is, there are more scenes of these old movies, than there are scenes of the actual movie itself! I'm serious; about 80, perhaps even 90 percent of the movie is simply clips from old B-movies. Out of the few and far between clips of original footage, most of it simply consists of the audience members watching these clips. There is perhaps only 10 minutes worth of actual "plot" scenes in the entire 79 minute film.
So it's not really a movie; it's just a 79 minute montage of scenes from other movies, occasionally inter-cut with clips of aliens making an audience watch the said montage. It's as if the filmmakers starting off by trying to make a movie about this group of kids, but then ran out of film 10 minutes in, so they had to make up the rest of the movie with stock footage. In fact even out of the original footage in the movie much of it gets reused over and over again, but set to different voice tracks.
The film is just wasted potential. Of course it couldn't have been a masterpiece, but it could have been a bit of harmless fun. Thank god I only paid bargain bin price for the DVD.
I liked it!
richardhorne18 May 2005
Truly bad. One of those 'films' that has you shaking your head and asking "what were they thinking?" Crap acting, no character definition, bad editing, one-dimensional people, too many clips from other movies, no discernible storyline, shockingly poor effects. In fact, all the elements of a truly bad schlock movie.
I liked it.
How they got financing to even process the film stock is a mystery. Getting it past the editor, sound guys, distributors and money men has to be a work of pure genius. That's where it stops though. This film is complete s***e from start to finish.
If you have 118 minutes to waste, watch this one.
I liked it.
How they got financing to even process the film stock is a mystery. Getting it past the editor, sound guys, distributors and money men has to be a work of pure genius. That's where it stops though. This film is complete s***e from start to finish.
If you have 118 minutes to waste, watch this one.
There are no words to describe how bad this film is...
junk-monkey27 February 2005
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!
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!
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY WITHOUT NO DOUBT THE WORSE "FILM" I HAVE SEEN
eagl3f3ath3r20 May 2003
Please dont watch this "movie". Its terrible and not even the funny terrible....(except for a split-second) where a giant shouts "i dont want to grow anymore" then falls off a cliff with the worse possible special effects known to man. Stop reading this review, enjoy your-life without EVER see-ing this movie...... if it can even be called that. As its made from lots of really bad movies. If you get lots of bad movies and put them into a seires of clips without a story-line.... well you get my drift!!! 1/10......just
A clip-show disguised as a real movie
KnatLouie15 July 2008
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.
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.
Gosh... I really don't know what to say.
sickeningjar5 August 2009
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.
AVOID LIKE SWINE FLU.
Never before has watching someone eat popcorn been so thrilling!!
thryrcks29 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This film is a masterpiece in breaking relationship stereo types. From the concerned alien father and rebellious world conquering son. To the drunk and the nun. To the punks seduction of hight society women. To the absolute best seduction a women by an alien I have ever seen. But my all time favorite relationship in this film was the elephant alien and his popcorn.
Let's break it down. In the end the leader of the aliens gets a worried call from his father telling to return home because his mother is worries sick. This was a turning point in the film's plot. However the sons disobedience ultimately leads to his down fall and by the end of the film wishing he had listened to the concerned words of his father.
The juxtaposition of the drunkard and the nun is a gripping exposition of challenging stereotypes. We would expect the nun to cling to her prayer beads as peril befalls her, but we would not expect her coldness to the drunk and he sits next to her, thus challenging our world view of religious acceptance. Meanwhile one would expect the drunk to swagger off in his drunken stupor, but we did not expect him to be continually reevaluating his drinking habit as the clearly well written plot causes him to question the world around him.
The brilant Cinematography of this film introduced us to two of the most important characters, punk 1 and punk 2 right from the get go. Their blatant disregard for the people around them. This idea is further illustrated as they proceed to hurl popcorn at two unsuspecting women in front of them. The women soon fall under the spell of the popcorn and join in with the punk's shenanigans. The unlikely match meets a bitter end when the punks pull out their boombox in the middle of the theater and all four mysteriously disappear in a puff of smoke. Clearly, this is a commentary on societal silencing of new and unabashed self expression.
Our unfortunate heroin starts the film off in a very stick situation. She is clearly uncomfortable as her date makes countless unwarranted advances. However, after dumping popcorn on his head, she unknowingly stumbles upon the love of her life Alien #3. It's love at first sight and their relationship quickly solidifies and they can be seen entangled with one another through the remainder of the film. Love knows no bounds.
One alien is tasked with manning the concession stand. He quickly falls under the allure of the popcorn. Devotes the remainder of the film to consuming it. Completely disregarding his other responsibilities. As the film draws to a close, he ultimately leaves his passion behind for the greater good of helping Tim and Mike find their own path in life. Each with a bag of popcorn in hand.
Other comments: Fair warning, the entire film takes place in one movie theater Overall, a good film and a good time
Let's break it down. In the end the leader of the aliens gets a worried call from his father telling to return home because his mother is worries sick. This was a turning point in the film's plot. However the sons disobedience ultimately leads to his down fall and by the end of the film wishing he had listened to the concerned words of his father.
The juxtaposition of the drunkard and the nun is a gripping exposition of challenging stereotypes. We would expect the nun to cling to her prayer beads as peril befalls her, but we would not expect her coldness to the drunk and he sits next to her, thus challenging our world view of religious acceptance. Meanwhile one would expect the drunk to swagger off in his drunken stupor, but we did not expect him to be continually reevaluating his drinking habit as the clearly well written plot causes him to question the world around him.
The brilant Cinematography of this film introduced us to two of the most important characters, punk 1 and punk 2 right from the get go. Their blatant disregard for the people around them. This idea is further illustrated as they proceed to hurl popcorn at two unsuspecting women in front of them. The women soon fall under the spell of the popcorn and join in with the punk's shenanigans. The unlikely match meets a bitter end when the punks pull out their boombox in the middle of the theater and all four mysteriously disappear in a puff of smoke. Clearly, this is a commentary on societal silencing of new and unabashed self expression.
Our unfortunate heroin starts the film off in a very stick situation. She is clearly uncomfortable as her date makes countless unwarranted advances. However, after dumping popcorn on his head, she unknowingly stumbles upon the love of her life Alien #3. It's love at first sight and their relationship quickly solidifies and they can be seen entangled with one another through the remainder of the film. Love knows no bounds.
One alien is tasked with manning the concession stand. He quickly falls under the allure of the popcorn. Devotes the remainder of the film to consuming it. Completely disregarding his other responsibilities. As the film draws to a close, he ultimately leaves his passion behind for the greater good of helping Tim and Mike find their own path in life. Each with a bag of popcorn in hand.
Other comments: Fair warning, the entire film takes place in one movie theater Overall, a good film and a good time
"Ed Woodesque"
Thoreau-23 December 2000
First of all, I think that this movie should not be taken too seriously. That's the only way to like it. It's so bad it's good, with some very funny stuff. Besides, I really loved the clips from old sci fi films. That alone made the whole movie very amusing and enjoyable to watch.
Fantastic!!!
sgale_esquire22 February 2007
I don't know what film the other guys were watching, this film is brilliant! It's one of my all time favourite movies (and no, I don't have bad taste in films generally). It's really funny, and the footage is cleverly put together... an added bonus is you get to see the highlights from a load of old films without having to actually sit through them (and some of them are really dull to watch all the way through). I would recommend it to anyone who loves old sci fi films for this reason. Yes the acting is bad, the effects are rubbish, and the ending is incomprehensible. But I think this adds to the greatness! I show this film to everyone I know. It's about time it got some sort of cult status! I would put it in the same sort of category as Peter Jackson's Bad Taste and Braindead personally. But with less blood.
An ok movie
ab-210 October 1999
This movie sometimes got boring but besides that it was funny. If you like movies that have old previews of old movies watch this. Even though my friend said it is bad (though he didn't see the whole movie) I think he should watch the whole thing.
Awful... a wreck of a movie.
Lasse-2115 June 2002
To date, this is the single worst movie I've seen. It's not even bad-funny, it's just a tragedy that it's been made. It's only 1h. 15 min. anyway, but anyway it's a waste of your life! Have I made myself clear? Don't waste your money nor your time on this horrible, horrible semi-movie!!! It's not a request, it a direct order!
Art mimics life
alicethebookfairy29 October 2019
The story follows our heroes, not Joanie and Billy, but Tim and Mike. It may have taken us the entire movie to figure out their names, but if anything it made it all the more enjoyable. Thrilling romantic subplot that will you make you question every romance movie you've ever seen. Other reviews state that the ending is confusing, but it's pretty straightforward. And of course the whole purpose of the film, art mimics life... probably
Recycled sci-fi
lor_28 March 2023
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.".
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.".
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