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Strange Invaders

  • 1983
  • PG
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
Nancy Allen, Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, and Michael Lerner in Strange Invaders (1983)
Alien beings, whose settlement in a small midwestern town, are disturbed by a young professor determined to rescue his son from their clutches.
Play trailer1:28
1 Video
99+ Photos
Alien InvasionHorrorMysterySci-Fi

Alien beings, who settle in a small midwestern town, are disturbed by a young professor determined to rescue his daughter from their clutches.Alien beings, who settle in a small midwestern town, are disturbed by a young professor determined to rescue his daughter from their clutches.Alien beings, who settle in a small midwestern town, are disturbed by a young professor determined to rescue his daughter from their clutches.

  • Director
    • Michael Laughlin
  • Writers
    • Bill Condon
    • Michael Laughlin
    • Walter Halsey Davis
  • Stars
    • Paul Le Mat
    • Nancy Allen
    • Diana Scarwid
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    3.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael Laughlin
    • Writers
      • Bill Condon
      • Michael Laughlin
      • Walter Halsey Davis
    • Stars
      • Paul Le Mat
      • Nancy Allen
      • Diana Scarwid
    • 55User reviews
    • 53Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 6 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:28
    Trailer

    Photos118

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    Top cast30

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    Paul Le Mat
    Paul Le Mat
    • Charles Bigelow
    • (as Paul LeMat)
    Nancy Allen
    Nancy Allen
    • Betty Walker
    Diana Scarwid
    Diana Scarwid
    • Margaret
    Michael Lerner
    Michael Lerner
    • Willie Collins
    Louise Fletcher
    Louise Fletcher
    • Mrs. Benjamin
    Wallace Shawn
    Wallace Shawn
    • Earl
    Fiona Lewis
    Fiona Lewis
    • Waitress…
    Kenneth Tobey
    Kenneth Tobey
    • Arthur Newman
    • (as Ken Tobey)
    June Lockhart
    June Lockhart
    • Mrs. Bigelow
    Charles Lane
    Charles Lane
    • Professor Hollister
    Lulu Sylbert
    • Elizabeth
    Joel Cohen
    • Tim
    Dan Shor
    Dan Shor
    • Teen Boy (Prologue)
    Dey Young
    Dey Young
    • Teen Girl (Prologue)
    Jack Kehler
    Jack Kehler
    • Gas Station Attendant
    Mark Goddard
    Mark Goddard
    • Detective
    Thomas Kopache
    Thomas Kopache
    • State Trooper
    Bobby Pickett
    Bobby Pickett
    • Editor
    • Director
      • Michael Laughlin
    • Writers
      • Bill Condon
      • Michael Laughlin
      • Walter Halsey Davis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews55

    5.43.7K
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    Featured reviews

    6Sylviastel

    A kind of silly movie but worth watching!

    I never saw Strange Invaders until yesterday but I found it immensely pleasurable to watch. Diana Scarwid, Nancy Allen, Louise Fletcher, and the cast was pretty interesting to watch with their material about alien beings playing humans for 25 years. While it probably took off from E.T. in the previous year, Strange Invaders is worth watching for the fans of science fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed it immensely maybe because I think Diana Scarwid deserved better in terms of scripts and she should have been a household name ever since her performance as the older Christina Crawford in Mommy Dearest. Oscar Winner Louise Fletcher also deserved more than roles that were secondary, supporting or featuring. Nevertheless, Strange Invaders is strange but fun to watch for kids, adults, or anybody who doesn't take themselves too seriously.
    6utgard14

    "Yes, could I have a BLT? Room 2121."

    A college professor (Paul Le Mat) goes looking for his missing wife and finds a town that appears to be stuck in the 1950s. While there, he's attacked by an alien but manages to escape. He then tries to get a reporter (Nancy Allen) to believe his story, which she does after she has her own close encounter.

    The '80s was a fun decade for movies, not only for original material but also for movies that were inspired by the great sci-fi flicks of the '50s, such as this one. It's an enjoyable sci-fi horror movie that doesn't take itself seriously but isn't a straight-up comedy, either. Nancy Allen is lots of fun and Louise Fletcher is terrific in a supporting role. Paul Le Mat makes for an unassuming lead but he's quite good in the part. My favorite part of the whole movie is Michael Lerner's flashback scene. Love seeing older actors like Kenneth Tobey, Charles Lane, and June Lockhart. There are also some amusing genre references I got a kick out of. The sets, props, and special effects are excellent. Good use of location filming by director Michael Laughlin. Why does it seem no one shoots in small towns anymore?

    It's a little slow-going and I can imagine some viewers will be frustrated that it skirts the line between straight sci-fi and comedy as much as it does. It's an entertaining movie, particularly if you like '50s sci-fi. I think it gets better with repeated viewings.
    6Coventry

    Fun 80's treat for fans of nostalgic 50's Sci-Fi.

    "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.
    6ctomvelu1

    Lotsa fun and some real thrills

    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.
    4moonspinner55

    An homage to the 1950s sci-fi B-movie...tho non-genre buffs may not get the joke

    Entomology professor from New York traveling to a rural town in Illinois to find his missing wife, unaware that aliens disguised as humans took over the community back in 1958--in a deal with the US government. Apparently, director Michael Laughlin, who also co-wrote the screenplay with William Condon (from a treatment by Laughlin, Condon and Walter Halsey Davis), wanted his film to be nothing more ambitious than a retread of those dopey-sinister monster movies of 30 years prior (you could call this Laughlin's valentine to the drive-in sci-fi). It's a low-budget, sometimes-campy/sometimes-gross entry about alien invaders and their unsuspecting human targets, but Laughlin is merely imitating the genre without transcending it--and all we're left with is the formula. It's a ticklish concept, especially for film buffs; however, once it becomes apparent that the picture isn't going to stretch beyond its own cartoonish borders, interest begins to fade. Clueless leading man Paul LeMat (looking like an overgrown adolescent) doesn't appear to be in on the joke anyway--a bewilderment most audiences will likely share. ** from ****

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Second part of a planned trilogy, known as the "Strange Trilogy", by writer-director Michael Laughlin. The first part had been Strange Behavior (1981). A third was planned, but due to a lack of funding, it was never made.
    • Goofs
      Betty runs back to the hotel in the dark, then immediately heads down the fire escape with Charles. But when they get down to street level it is broad daylight.
    • Quotes

      Betty Walker: Well, now that we're past this awkward 'getting to know you' phase, let me buy you a drink. Well, come back tomorrow - maybe we can find this photograph.

    • Connections
      Featured in In Search of Tomorrow (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      Since I Don't Have You
      Performed by The Skyliners

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    FAQ19

    • How long is Strange Invaders?Powered by Alexa

    Details

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    • Release date
      • September 16, 1983 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cudni osvajaci
    • Filming locations
      • Centreville, Illinois, USA(Film Location)
    • Production company
      • EMI Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,362,303
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $655,461
      • Sep 18, 1983
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,362,303
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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